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--Les Hommes

Les Hommes (Tom Notte and Bart Vandebosch) unveiled a dark, urban Spring-Summer '14 collection at Milano Moda Uomo that included leather tops worn alone or under suits, leather details on suits, and prints of oversized, lurid lilies in red, black, and white.

http://www.leshommes.com/

BEAUTY:Clothing--Les Hommes

Les Hommes, headed by Tom Notte and Bart Vandebosch, showed a '13-'14 F/W collection at Milano Moda Uomo that, like their current '13 S/S collection (here), used evening wear and tuxedos as a springboard. For S/S, they reinterpreted tuxedo wear with light colors and light fabrics, creating a casual and slouchy silhouette, yet keeping the cummerbund pure and central in their deconstruction. But here they return to the elegance, drama, and classicism of the tuxedo. Cummerbunds are still center stage (being in the middle of the body, they can't really help it) but this time they are peeking out from under zippered bottoms of waistcoats. Models walked the runway to the strains of an achingly lovely violin concerto in sweeping capes which recall Old World Counts and Princes attending the opera, and somehow, the jodhpurs, riding boots, and military cuts of the coats later in the collection play nicely with it all, reminding me of scenes in ANNA KARENINA or WAR AND PEACE where men of note in the armed services dance with eligible young society women at grand balls. Unique pieces include a floor length skirt (which once upon a time would have been a very edgy idea, but these days nearly every single designer includes skirts, tunics, or kilts for men in their collections), and clear plastic jackets and rain coats (I personally love those!).

http://www.leshommesfashion.com/
Photos via http://www.style.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Milano Moda Uomo Misc

And some miscellaneous highlights from Milano Moda Uomo...

Les Hommes decided to take the idea of the elegance of the tuxedo and deconstruct it for a younger audience. In this interesting theoretical exercise, the tux became slouchy, with a more casual feeling. The only constant was the cummerbund, even worn with shorts! And speaking of shorts, they were also worn over trousers in an apparent homage to the skater/surfer youth. Are they really going to be buying and wearing Les Hommes? Of course not. The audience are the ones who want to pass as skaters and surfers.

Cavali, now headed by Roberto's son Daniele, showed a lot of metallic in a Spring/Summer collection that was said to be inspired by butterflies: models walked around a central cage full of them. Metallic showed up in a lot of collections including Burberry Prorsum. It is an example, yet again, of the Hundredth Monkey theory, where an idea metaphysically builds and leaps from being to being, or in this case, designer to designer.

Jil Sander showed an interesting jacket cut like an Edwardian frock coat, coupled with loose cut shorts that hit below the knee (this length for shorts seemed to be another Hundredth Monkey moment for designers this year).

http://www.leshommesfashion.com/
http://www.robertocavalli.com/index_rc.plp#/home
http://www.jilsander.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Les Hommes

I must confess that I am not familiar with the work of Tom Notte and Bart Vandebosch, known collectively as Les Hommes. Apparently, they have not done any runway presentations in many seasons, preferring instead to show by appointment only. But this first collection back after their runway hiatus has me interested, although Matthew Schneier of Style.com says that, considering what Les Hommes has created in the past, this collection feels like it comes out of left field. Les Hommes claim that their inspiration was Peruvian dressing, and I can see that a bit in the use of knits and colors and patterns. But if one did not know that, one would simply see a fascinating, rich, textural collection full of unexpected colors (for Fall-Winter) such as teal and bright orange. The loose cable-knit motif looks both traditional and modern, especially when paired with python trousers (photo seven)...


http://www.leshommesfashion.com/