Friday 29 June 2012

Hey Mambo, Mambo Italiano...

Sorry to quote such terrible itali-disco no idea what kinda music it is, music title! But I am muchly super duper excited to do the Milan mens round up, it was an absolute corker! I wish I could include every show I love but I would be here for a long long time, I would be like 103 by the time I'd finished... and don't even get me started on Paris! Hubba Hubba is all I can say... more on that next post.

Burberry Prorsum S/S 13







First up is the legendary Christopher Bailey and his offerings at Burberry Prorsum, I was well and truly blown away. This was one of the many shows that made me wish I was a man! I just hope that the women's collections are this covetable, actually no I don't! I will have one empty bank account if they are... Anyway back to the case in point, I simply loved this show. There was an air of Dior Homme circa 2008-2009 to it... Correct me if I'm wrong, but it reminded me of those heady early days of Kris van Asche. This collection was so directional and forward thinking it almost made me a bit sick from joy. I loved the fact that all the models looked like a band made up of Quality Street flavours. I am huge fan of all things shiny, sparkly and/or metallic so Burberry was an utter joy if I say so myself. I loved the tailoring teamed with this crazy foil inspired fandango. The Burberry boy is just so damned cool. Bailey even managed to make the old British geek tradition of 'socks and sandals' a little bit cool with metallic minimal sandals off setting his achingly edgy ensembles. The focus as always was on the outerwear, and the check flashed through in out of place tote bags, but on a whole it was so lovely. I loved the quirky, sixties-esque prints that popped up on tilored shorts and shirts that were all the more quirky teamed with the metallics. If I had to choose I think the pink is my favourite...


Jil Sander S/S 13






Jil Sander knows how to cause a stir! After the lovely Raf bowed out last season the namesake emerged as the successor to Monsieur Simons... I have been looking forward to both the mens and womens Jil shows, not just because I am a total pervert when it comes to this brand (regardless of who is at the helm, i did have a soft spot for Raf though) but because I was intrigued to see what Sander could come up with in such a short space of time (six months is no time people!) and what direction she would take the brand in. I can't say I was surprised by her offering, Jil Sander (along with the Ann Demeulemeester, Dries van Noten and early Miuccia) championed minimalism and the aesthetics of austerity way back in he last recession and she did this with total aplomb. She was celebrated and revered for it, and along with her aformentioned peers to name but a few, was responsible for shaping the whole look of almost a decade, and then Gianni came along and the rest is history. I loved how fabulously minimal this collection was, it was what Jl does best. I especially liked the Piet Mondrian-esque knits, they were very cute and I could see them all over the cute cool boys at Pitti Uomo next season. The primary colours and deconstructed tailoring added a cool and somewhat commercial edge to the proceedings. I don't know why but I felt like there should have been something more, but like I said this is Jil and I knew there wouldn't be... Despite this little niggle in my fashion heart it was simple and stunning all the same.

Marni S/S 13






My favourite thing about about the Marni mens collection is that it so far removed from the aesthetic of the womenswear that it almost feels like a seperate brand sometimes. ThE simple and minimal air that has been prevalent at Milan was present here, which in comparison to womens is almost a wee bit shocking. I love that there is a total focus on the cut, silhouettes and tailoring because of this, and I am a stickler for detail so Marni satisfied my fashion appetite sufficiently. The muted palette was refreshing in comparison to some of the riots of rainbow colour so far in the mens collections, I loved the stripes and the relaxed tailoring mixed with boxy shapes and silhouettes. I loved that there was a little geeky element to it all with the tailored shorts-with-socks-and-shoes thing going on. I am loving the contrasting colours that Marni was rocking, like sky blue cardigans with navy sleenes, pink kagoule with navy pocket, it was all very patchwork and 'paint by numbers' but in a cool dorky boy way. All in all a loverly offering from Marni...

Salvatore Ferragamo S/S 13 






I have saved my absolute FAVOURITE for last, think of it as a Milanese finale if you will... Salvatore Ferragamo was the standout of Milan for me. Simply because it was like a crazy beautiful rainbow of mannish joy! There were pastels, there was orange! It was the whole child like aesthetic of it all, I loved the patch pocket trench coats with white binding trim on the pockets, like a childlike outline. I loved the layering and the printed knits, and the bookish nerdy trainers that came in a multitude of rainbow colour ways which just made me smile. There was skimpy see-through knits that showed off the prints and colourwarys perfectly, and the odd flash of print to keep it ll a bit cray cray... I think the main reason I loved Ferragamo was because the whole thing just summed up the idea of "spring/summer" to me... Bold, fun and not taking yourself too seriously. There were flashes of tomato red which king of gave a feel of something being a little off, and this just did it for me. The loveliest part was how there were flashes of white peeking through in dip dyed tailoring and piping, and as it edged on the white patches grew and then BAM! ALL white baby (and it's not even after Labour Day!) It was like a sartorial bitch slap... and it was the best kind of ending to the most fun show I ever did see. The bags! Oh the bags!!! This collection showed off the leather goods history of the house, I wanted it all, or a boy to wear iT all so I can hang off his arm and twirl him around with pride. I wish all boys dressed like this... A girl can dream!


All images courtesy of style.com

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