Well! Now THAT was an interesting couple of fashion weeks! After a year of musical chairs in the creative director posts of major fashion houses across Europe, this season saw many MANY debut collections and a lot of them really rose to the occasion (take a bow Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, Louise Trotter at Bottega Veneta, Jonathan Andersen at Dior and Pier Paolo Piccioli at Balenciaga). A couple missed the mark entirely (Versace and Gaultier are best glossed over), but interestingly, the general buzz seemed to get more established design teams to up their game, too. Naturally, the emphasis was on womenswear, but here are some of our favourite co-ed shows – including a couple of brands who were reintroducing menswear after a long pause.
Bottega Veneta
Matthieu Blazy at Bottega Veneta was a very difficult act to follow, but Louise Trotter proved she is more than up for the challenge. By far the standout show in Milan, this was a testament to craftsmanship, elegance and serious luxury price tags. Whilst the menswear was less showy than the stunning womenswear, it oozed low-key logo-free style. And trend spotters take note: knitwear knotted around your shoulders like your camp uncle used to do in the seventies is definitely back.
Ferragamo
Not a debut this time, but the continuing upgrading of a rather stale and fusty Italian house into something much cooler without losing sight of the luxury that defines it. There was no sportswear in this glamorous but convincing show of silk, leather and easy, slouchy tailoring: it was the perfect wardrobe for slinking around a cocktail bar at night. The multicultural casting also made it feel like a new start for a bourgeois label.
Onitsuka Tiger
A brand that has been around for decades (it was started as a footwear brand in Tokyo in 1949), Onitsuka Tiger has recently started showing its youthful take on Japanese streetwear in Paris, and we are liking what we are seeing. Nothing here that really pushes the envelope in terms of innovation, rather a ton of cool pieces that would look good on most of us as we strolled down Omotosando on a summer afternoon.
Celine
Another brand that really doubled down on its heritage and location was Celine, where Michael Rider introduced menswear for the first time on the runway (before it was shown in video format, making it feel like an add-on rather than a serious attempt). Building on Celine’s horsey, Parisian archive vibe, he showed some very tight trousers that looked a little toooooo Hedi Slimane for us, but we loved the looser pants, the logo knits and the silk scarf-inspired shirts. This is one to watch.
Miu Miu
Despite its insanely popular womenswear, Miu Miu called time on its menswear line back in 2008. That is, until this season, where a few outfits appeared (worn in one case by Richard E Grant, no less). It lacked the very clear point of view of the women’s clothes, but had undeniable charm. The best pieces for us looked like really good vintage finds, and that ability to fit straight into our existing wardrobe is a real plus point. And for sure, we will be checking out the accessories when the collection launches.
Tom Ford
Balancing the heritage of a brand with a new designer’s own vision can be a very tricky business, but Haider Ackermann at Tom Ford is NAILING IT. In a stunning runway show that reminded us of the first scene in The Hunger, he showed a collection that looked like quintessentially Ford and also just like his own aesthetic. Not for the shrinking violets (see-through shorts and jock-strap anyone?), these are clothes for bold lounge lizards with a lot of cash. We also spotted those knit draped shoulders again…
Maison Margiela
Another designer leaning heavily into the archive of his new brand – with sensational results – was Glenn Martens at Maison Margiela. His riffs on the original master’s ‘dust jacket’ clothes and plastic-covered tailoring looked fantastic, as did the distressed denim. He also played with our minds somewhat by pairing terrifying mouthpieces (made to look like the signature four stitches of the Margiela label) with the utterly charming soundtrack played out by a children’s orchestra doing classical hits in a wildly discordant and ramshackle way.
