BEAUTY: Clothing--Antonio Marras

It has been quite a while since Antonio Marras has appeared here on Oh, By The Way, (last seen here). But his show at Milan Fashion Week for women was a co-ed show (like so many designers now, he showed men's and women's pieces in the same presentation), and it was quite a beauteous affair.

Based on the life of Eleanor of Arborea or Eleanor De Serra Bas (1347— June 1404), the queen who united all of Sardinia under her rule, the show featured garments that mixed contemporary cuts with Medieval silhouettes and details to wonderful effect. The results are quite powerful. Marras is from Sardinia, and much like Dolce and Gabbana who love to use various iterations and aspects of Italian culture and history specifically from Sicily as a springboard for inspiration, Marras uses his beloved home island the same method. The show itself opened in a highly theatrical way with an actor sporting the first look of the show (a lovely doublet made of a cable knit sweater with slashed sleeves) entering the runway space in search of Eleanor herself. Her spirit soon found him and the show began...watch the video below!

https://antoniomarras.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Giorgio Armani

Oh, Armani, Armani. I waxed rhapsodic about the legendary Giorgio Armani in my last post for Emporio Armani here, so ditto for this glorious Fall-Winter 2024-2025 collection he showed at Milano Moda Uomo. It is full of the kind of exquisite tailoring, cuts, and silhouettes for which he is rightfully known. Just look at how all of these garments lay on the body and fall...it is the epitome of refined luxury.

It's hard to exaggerate the contribution of Giorgio Armani to fashion history. Along with names who changed silhouettes and shapes and ushered in new cuts and styles and materials, Armani takes his place in the pantheon. I have a personal soft spot for Armani designs...it has a bit to do with my age and when I grew up (seeing Armani clothing first hand in the 70s and 80s), and the film "American Gigolo" for which Armani made the clothing, but also the fact that Armani has managed to stay relevant and creative over such a long span. He deconstructed the men's suit in the 80s, turning it into something soft and sensual, something sexy and flowing, without altering the basic concept of what it was. He removed layers of felting inside suits, making them relaxed and able to behave like thin silk; making a suit soft and casual with a sense of effortless power. This revolution rippled out into the industry and we see its waves even now: designers still grapple with ways to make suiting less stiff, to make clothing more luxe without being precious, and to make pieces with more innate ease without being sloppy. In short, to make clothes more Armani. But no one does Armani like Armani. Clean lined and impeccably tailored, Armani's sensibility is about luxe fabrics and the way a garment hangs and drapes on the body (of both men and women).

Yes, his designs rely on classic tailoring but also a vague sense, a shadow, an echo of historical fashion. The way a jacket or coat is cut or its stance, the inclusion of waistcoats, belted outerwear, loose cut and high waisted trousers...it all reminds me of...what, the 1920s and 30s? The 1880s? The 1940s and 50s? Yes to all of it, as evidenced below. Armani is simply a master.

https://www.armani.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Emporio Armani

I love Giorgio Armani: I say it every time I blog about his work. Every season for his own eponymous label or for his Emporio Armani line (the more causal and sportier version of Armani), I swoon at what his house creates and sends down the runway. I respond most to designers, designs, and shows that have a strong inspiration and concept, and a near-performance art presentation. But Armani does not need concepts. He has been creating his own sense of easy luxury for nearly half a century now, and it's still fresh and relevant today.

He deconstructed the men's suit in the 80s, turning it into something soft and sensual, something sexy and flowing, without altering the basic concept of what it was. He removed layers of felting inside suits, making them relaxed and able to behave like thin silk. Just take a look at the iconic clothing from the film "American Gigolo" and you will see what I mean. It was soft and casual with a sense of effortless power. This revolution rippled out into the industry and we see its waves even now: designers still grapple with ways to make suiting less stiff, to make clothing more luxe without being precious, and to make pieces with more innate ease without being sloppy. In short, to make clothes more Armani. But no one does Armani like Armani. Clean lined and impeccably tailored, Armani's sensibility is about luxe fabrics and honoring the way a garment hangs and drapes on the body (of both men and women).

There is something else I really respond to in each Armani collection and that is a vague sense, a shadow, an echo of historical fashion. The way a jacket or coat is cut or its stance, the inclusion of waistcoats, belted outerwear, loose cut and high waisted trousers...it all reminds me of...what, the 1920s and 30s? The 1880s? The 1940s and 50s? Yes to all of it. But there is one more layer that can pop up in an Armani collection and that is an ethnic or geographical inspiration. And for this SS '24 collection shown at Milano Moda Uomo, the motif for the collection was a simple gingko leaf. However, this deceptively simple object signified something vast and historic: a beautiful, Zen-like Japanese sensibility. Armani's interest in clean lines and luxe fabrics seems to be the perfect fit for such a silhouette and style of dress.

The gingko leaf was embroidered and cut out on jackets and woven into silk jaquards. Large gingko leaves were embroidered over lattice work tops that recall shoji screens. Three dimensional florals make an appearance as well. The shape of garments echoes kimonos, samue and other temple garments, and the gloriously super wide cut trousers seem like elevated hakama. I do love the low cut vests paired with Buddhist tasseled beads. And just like the Spring Summer '24 shows from Saint Laurent and Dolce & Gabbana, EA also used sheer fabrics like organza to great effect. And just like those previous collections, a restricted color palette shifts the focus to structure and material. It's a masterful collection.

https://www.armani.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Dolce and Gabbana

For their SS '24 show at Milano Moda Uomo, Domenico Dolce and Stafano Gabbana sent out their invitations in a black envelope containing a metal version of a credit card and a booklet of the show's images entitled STYLE. Now of course, style is very different from fashion. The latter you can purchase, the former you cannot. Of the credit card, Stefano explained, "The credit card is an indicator, a symbol of identity. You are its only owner, it’s about you being who you are. Style also is about having a strong identity, solid foundations." With the idea of individuality in mind, they showed a super pared down collection. I say pared down but it was so in many ways. Not only was the look number significantly reduced to 77 (they are often in the 100's), their usual over-the-top-Baroque sensibility was quite tame as well. A certain refined simplicity infused the entire collection, one that saw a continued deconstruction of the suit, that classic symbol of masculinity and power, into something softer, more forgiving (a masculinity that is forgiving of others but also, most importantly, of itself). Strength and solidity does not mean an unyielding rigidity, indifference, or a stoic coldness so they went further, taking the paradigm of "suit" and creating it out of sheer fabrics and adding body wrapping (which felt a little Rick Owens) and embroidered flowers. A highly restricted color palette reinforced the sense of minimalism. It might seem simple on the outside, but the statement is profound.

https://www.dolcegabbana.com

BEAUTY: Clothing--Misc. Milano Moda Uomo FW '23-'24

Milano Moda Uomo has wrapped up and the attention now turns to Paris. But before that, there were a few miscellaneous details at Milano Moda Uomo that caught my eye...

...Gucci showed skirts...and not the Thom Browne men's suiting skirt or the let's-pretend-this-kilt-is-a-skirt-so-we-can-still-pretend-to-be-masculine-and-not-wear-women's-clothes type of skirt. No, eff it. It's a long floor length skirt. And the cut is fantastic. Also in the collection: a 70s-80s retro flashback to leg warmers!

Here are some more long skirts at Etro. I must say that I miss Kean Etro (the son of the house's founder stepped down in 2022 and his last collection can be seen here)...aside from the skirts, this collection was fairly lackluster.

I am not sure how practical they are from a functional point of view (what if you have to kneel down to get a dropped iPhone?), but Alyx showed pants with spiked knees...

And finally, how awesome are these clever and unique metallic loafers with claws at the toe area from Charles Jeffrey? They make me giggle...

https://www.gucci.com/
https://www.etro.com/
https://www.alyxstudio.com/
https://charlesjeffreyloverboy.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Giorgio Armani

I love Giorgio Armani: I say it every time I blog about his work. I said it yesterday when I blogged about his Emporio Armani FW '23-'24 collection here. And I will say it again now. 

Every season for his own eponymous label or for his Emporio Armani line (the more causal and sportier version of Armani), I swoon at what his house creates and sends down the runway. I respond most to designers, designs, and shows that have a strong inspiration and concept, and a near-performance art presentation. But Armani does not need concepts. He has been creating his own sense of easy luxury for over half a century now, and it's still fresh and relevant today.

He deconstructed the men's suit in the 80s, turning it into something soft and sensual, something sexy and flowing, without altering the basic concept of what it was. He removed layers of felting inside suits, making them relaxed and able to behave like thin silk. Just take a look at the iconic clothing from the film "American Gigolo" and you will see what I mean. It was soft and casual with a sense of effortless power. This revolution rippled out into the industry and we see its waves even now: designers still grapple with ways to make suiting less stiff, to make clothing more luxe without being precious, and to make pieces with more innate ease without being sloppy. In short, to make clothes more Armani. But no one does Armani like Armani. Clean lined and impeccably tailored, Armani's sensibility is about luxe fabrics and the way a garment hangs and drapes on the body (of both men and women).

But there is also something else that I really respond to in each Armani collection and that is a vague sense, a shadow, an echo of historical fashion. The way a jacket or coat is cut or its stance, the inclusion of waistcoats, belted outerwear, loose cut and high waisted trousers...it all reminds me of...what, the 1920s and 30s? The 1880s? The 1940s and 50s? Yes to all of it. And while his FW '23-'24 Emporio Armani collection shown yesterday at Milano Moda Uomo evoked the 1920s and the era of celebrity aviators, this FW '23-'24 Giorgio Armani collection, also at Milano Moda Uomo, has that aforementioned wonderful, wistful undefined sense of history. The show notes spoke of the architecture of Milan as an inspiration--hence the set clad in refined marbles in sophisticated grid patterns--but the execution seemed to be quite a subtle manifestation. I just notice the insanely luxurious materials, the stunning tailoring and cuts of garments, and the seductive and oh-so-Italian sense of sprezzatura exhibited in a casually draped wrap or fur scarf. And speaking of fur, several floor length faux-fur coats came down the runway and were just delicious. Do watch the video at the bottom to see details of the pieces and how they move and hang.

https://www.armani.com/