Aside from a tropical vacation, nothing quite brightens up January like men’s fashion week(s). Kicking off on the stylish streets of Milan, the Italian shows are the first to bring us out of the humdrum of January. With, big designer houses like Gucci, Prada, Fendi, etc giving us a glimpse into the world of men’s styling for the next season to come. It’s always bold and abundant, over the top and yet mesmerizingly inspiring.
This year however was no regular year, with Gucci presenting a collection created without a creative director, due to Alessandro Michele’s departure late last year, Marco de Vincenzo’s first menswear collection for Etro, and the first showing of anything RAF Simons since he closed his own brand down, in the form of Prada. Throughout the shows, there were hints of rock and roll, disco glitter, and general upbeat fun. Winter is already looking much better.
Let’s delve into the best of what we saw at Men’s Fashion Week Milan 2023.
Prada
Prada’s Let’s Talk About Clothes show from Miuccia Prada, and Raf Simons was an excellent, straightforward take on archetypal menswear. Featuring parkas, overcoats and tailoring, the show opened with 11 suits in shades of dark grey and a camel cardigan. Coats were the stars of the collection from oversized, to eye-catching orange-lined parka/bomber hybrids, duffle coats, and more. There was a nice mix of colour and warm neutrals, with practical accessories like tote bags with clip-on water bottles and lovely footwear. The sneakers were a real hit.
Take a look at our select looks from the show above, and watch the entire presentation below.
Fendi
Italian luxury brand Fendi presented their Men’s Fall/Winter 2023-24 collection in Milian. Designed by Artistic Director of Accessories and Menswear Silvia Venturini Fendi, the collection is a well-conceived study of glamour, elegance and overall opulence. The mix of textures from camel hair jersey to Shetland wool flannel, sprayed shearling and FF fleece, with shadow effects creating antique finishes in waxed and burnished leather or overdyed denim. With the addition of lush cashmere, glittering jacquard silks and engineered leather, the materials were the real stars of the collection.
Aside from the elegant materials, the key takeaway from the collection overall is the use of asymmetry and volume. The collection is literally throwing shapes, and we love it
Gucci
The expectation was high for Gucci’s Fall Winter 2023 collection, which was the first showing from the brand since Alessandro Michele stepped down as creative director. The show took place in a circular setting, with American noise-rock trio Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog performing in the centre and the models walking around them. The collection was centred on the idea of ‘improvisation as methodology,’ which acted as a cheeky metaphor for the current state of the brand. The collection featured the reappearance of the most beloved fur-lined backless loafers, a throwback to Michele’s early work, oversized overcoats, oversized shirts, colourful oversized boiler suits, and more. A lot of nods to previous Gucci classics.
We’ve selected our favourite pieces above. Watch the presentation below.
Etro
Etro’s newly minted creative director Marco De Vincenzo presented his first menswear collection for the brand, and it was a good one. The collection was self-referential, digging into the brand’s history of luxurious textiles. De Vincenzo literally had the house’s fabric warehouse transported to the industrial space to act as the backdrop to the show. With fabric stacked in piles and hundreds of design samples hanging from racks, the nod to the house’s past where evident while still making way for the future. From our standpoint, the collection was a success. Look at a couple of the noteworthy pieces above, including the tapestry parka, button-down shirt with floral embroidery, and a nice 70s vibing all-brown suit. But the whole collection is worth the look, so watch the full presentation below.
Dolce & Gabbana
Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce’s Men’s Autumn Winter 2023 collection was a step back from the bright and flashy work of previous seasons, with clean and immaculate tailoring living in the world of blacks, greys and whites. Like almost every collection presented by the big houses this week, the designers expressed their desire to get back to Dolce & Gabbana’s ‘essence.’ This of course comes in the form of fine tailoring, a lot of double-breasted pieces, a surprisingly fair amount of lightly cinched at-the-waist tops, cummerbunds, and the absence of fabric negative space. exposure in a celebration of the body. The collection is elegant and finely constructed, showing the very best of both Dolce & Gabbana and Italian workmanship.
Above you’ll find our favourites from the collection and below you will find the full runway show.
Emporio Armani
The theme of the Emporio Armani FW 23-24 collection is a tribute to the 1930s aviator, the heroic age of flight, with the show aptly titled ‘A View From Above.’ The show took place in the round show space at the Armani Teatro which was decorated with a map of Milan stretched across the floor. The collection features a ton of leather pilot hats, goggle-like sunglasses, beautiful flight jackets, and heavy combat-like boots. With coats, trench coats, double-breasted pea coats and blousons everywhere all worn alongside cropped trousers, and oversized T-shirts made from the same wool as coats and pants. Mixed with the throwback vibe was of course contemporary tailoring. This collection hits hard!
Take a look at our faves above and the full show below.