BEAUTY: Clothing--Misc. Milano Moda Uomo, SS '17

Before we move on to Paris, here is a wrap up of some miscellaneous details from the Spring Summer '17 Milano Moda Uomo shows.

MP Massimo Piombo took his lookbook to the Indian Subcontinent as did many designers so far including Alexander McQueen (here), Craig Green (here), Casely-Hayford (here), and Astrid Anderson (here). Piombo's color choices on his kurta tops conjure images of India.

Bottega Veneta showed a lookbook with some gorgeous, extremely full trousers out of a nylon-ish material (or perhaps waxed cotton?) that made me recall a garment I have been obsessed with since 1978: the enormous, olive green, very high-waisted plastic trousers cinched with a wide belt David Bowie wore on his Isolar II-Low/Heroes-Stage World Tour. Oh, I have coveted those trousers for nearly 40 years now...

Now on to shoes:

Dolce and Gabbana's collection, while fun, well-done, and full of the usual staggering variations on a theme, did not thrill me. But the shoes are another matter. The motif for their SS '17 collection was a 1950s jazz night club in Palermo (they have to get that Italian angle in there, bless them, and I can't blame them...I'm Italian too...) and the loafers, lace ups, and sneakers came in metallic, sequins, and animal prints. I'll take one of each , please...

Les Hommes showed a beautiful studded Roman sandal in black and white leather. They are simply cool, that's all...

http://mpmassimopiombo.com/
http://www.bottegaveneta.com/
http://www.dolcegabbana.com/
http://www.bottegaveneta.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Milano Moda Uomo Misc. SS '15

Well, we have wrapepd up this year's Milano Moda Uomo for Spring Summer 2015 and here are a few highlights...

There are usually some good summer shoes to be seen here and there at the SS collections, but it seemed there was a plethora, more than usual, of fantastic sandals and versions thereof...

Iceberg showed some really fun strappy numbers in orange, blue, white, and aged leather!

Angela Missoni erected a geodesic domed yurt decorated with dream catchers for her sexy hippies to saunter through. The footwear of choice there was a multi-colored woven huarache, a type of shoe from Pre-Columbian Mexico!

The classic Missoni pattern seems to lend itself to the idea of South American clothing perfectly...

Ferragamo was founded by shoe maker Salvatore Ferragamo, so it makes sense that Massimiliano Giornetti, menswear designer for Ferragamo, would riff on classic shoe styles for summer sandals. I love how these look like they started out as tasseled and fringed brogues before having their fronts, backs, and sides lopped off!

And Giornetti created a fun little detail for the collection: a giraffe print that, combined with the cut of the clothing, suggests a safari in the 1950s!

And finally, Versace, whose clothing is never attractive to me, showed some really fun footwear: handpainted lace ups, stroppy sandals that look like twisted cloth, Gladiator sandals, and a pink suede lace up with cut out sides, suggesting a sandal more than being one!

Now on to some clothes! There was a lovely faded theme popping up at Fendi... denim in the collection was so faded, it simply read as the texture of a cotton cloud...

...and at Bottega Veneta, sweaters were beyond faded, they were bleached and aged by the elements, giving these pieces a wistful, timeworn sense.

http://www.iceberg.com/
http://www.missoni.com/
http://www.ferragamo.com/
http://www.versace.com/
http://www.fendi.com/
http://www.bottegaveneta.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Misc. Milano Moda Uomo

Well, Milano Moda Uomo has wrapped and I must say that taken as a whole, there was not much bang for the buck. There were certainly some pleasant enough collections from brands such as Emporio Armani, Gucci, and Canali, all of whom showed lovely, well-tailored pieces in expected luxurious fabrics. And there were some collections that were fairly uninspired (Prada, Jil Sander). There was even a border-line offensive collection: Dsquared's penitentiary themed collection because, apparently in the minds of the Caten brothers, nothing says artistry and clothing like the prison system in the United States.

Here are a few miscellaneous stand out moments worth a mention or a photo or two...

MSGM showed what might end up being the Hundredth Monkey element: text and portrait graphics (we have seen McQueen use the photos of John Deakin, Antonio Marass use images of his father from the 1950s, and Andrea Pompilio use antique photos by Eadweard Muybridge). I like the hand-written scrawl of the words coupled with the digitally manipulated portraits.

I like the reference to vintage flight suits at Bottega Veneta. The slim silhouette, and ribbed cuffed bottoms of jackets and trousers feel military...

Iceberg had a great little motif that was not explored enough: a black and white glen plaid on trousers, pullovers, and coats was interrupted by a digital smear... a glitch in the Matrix...

And Maurizio Modica and Pierfrancesco Gigliotti who are collectively known as Frankie Morello showed some humorous, space-themed shirts (a shot of Dave Bowman played by Keir Dullea in Kubrick's iconic "2001: A Space Odyssey" and a Renaissance Madonna and Child painting with an astronaut standing in for Mary!)... and a "Batman style" cap!

Let's hope that things pick up in Paris. Fashion Week there starts tomorrow.

http://msgm.it/
http://www.bottegaveneta.com
http://www.iceberg.com/
http://www.frankiemorello.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Milano Moda Uomo Misc. June 2013

Milano Moda Uomo has concluded, and here is a brief wrap-up of odds and ends, things worth mentioning...

Jil Sander is ever the minimalist, designing in patternless neutrals, which is why her use of color and pattern in her Spring-Summer '14 collection made it look as if she had lost her mind! But the beautiful, slick bonded-leather coats and jackets seemed more in keeping with her style.

Bottega Veneta showed suits with edges and features outlined and limned in what appeared to be remnants of tailor's chalk. Lapels and buttons are drawn on where none exist. The effect actually made the suits crisp and sharp!

Diesel Black Gold: Great thick double buckle belt and jeans that look bleached or paint splashed but in actuality are woven with a faded floral pattern in silver...

Donatella Versace's use of neon colored sports tape at first seems rather comical, but I have to admit the overall look is pretty cool... the bands of riotous color appearing all over the clothing and models' bodies looked celebratory and bright. Like racing stripes for a body...

Ermenegildo Zegna showed a funky detail: long sleeve tees rolled up over the cuffs of coats and jackets. Kinda gives the slick tailored look some street cred...

On to Paris Fashion Week!

http://www.jilsander.com/
http://www.bottegaveneta.com/
http://www.dieselblackgold.com/
http://www.versace.com/
http://www.zegna.com/us/home.html

BEAUTY: Clothing

Bottega Veneta showed an engaging F-W '12-'13 collection full of suits (this seems to be the season of The Suit). But the twist here is the color blocking and random, colorful embellishments. It looks like there is metallic leather mixed in with the wool...

The jackets have a vaguely 80s sensibility to them with their side zippers and shoulder pads but there is an unstructured-ness to them that makes them seem contemporary as well...


http://www.bottegaveneta.com/default/