BEAUTY: Clothing--Etro

Kean Etro has always had the heart of a mystic and the spirit of a hippie; he has been revealing that for many seasons now (browse through past collections here) and this SS '22 collection at Milano Moda Uomo was another glimpse into his world.

This season, the Etro man strode down a disused railway line in Milan, dressed in classic Etro paisley and floral combinations, some amazing metallicized canvas trousers in jewel tones, and eye-popping ombréd orange and green hues on suits. But the fact that he was traversing the rail sleepers carrying rolled up sleeping mats and canteens suggested nomadism and hitching a freight car to journey to places unknown. It was a typically romantic idea from Kean Etro and one that is suffused with a richness of texture and pattern. In fact, the destination of some of these models could very well be the Southwestern United States...many pieces sported beautiful patterns reminiscent of Native tribes from that area.

https://www.etro.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Etro SS'18

This year at Milano Moda Uomo, Kean Etro decided to forego a runway show and present a lookbook and clothing on mannequins and shelves at the Etro atelier on Via Spartaco. Much like his showing for last season, Winter '17-'18 collection, which relied upon 60s psychedelia and the book MOUNT ANALOGUE by René Daumal (it served as one of the source materials for Alejandro Jodorowsky's cult film "The Holy Mountain" previously here), we are back at a similar place for Spring Summer '18: Indian Summer. But not only India Indian (elephant motifs show up in this collection) but also Indian as in South American Indian, with visual references to Huichol shamanism (witness a tree frog with a South American shaman headdress). In fact, Kean Etro (who took over the men's wear branch of the brand his father Gimmo Etro started in 1968--the year, by no coincidence, of The Summer of Love!) shared some books that inspired this most recent, far-out manifestation of the Etro brand: THE MAHABHARATA, Robert M Pirsig’s LILA, a chakra manual, the histories of a Piedmont hippy commune from the late 60’s, and Ignazio Maria Gallino’s broader history of the Italian countercultural press.

The beaded, embellished jackets are fantastic as are the great paisley espadrilles (crossed with a desert boot!) but the real stars of each Etro collection are the prints in rich, earthy, heady colors.

http://www.etro.com

BEAUTY: Clothing--Alexander McQueen

Sarah Burton, who took over for Lee Alexander McQueen after his suicide, is on maternity leave so the house did not present a runway show at London Collections: Men for the Spring Summer '17 season. Instead, they showed a lookbook which turned out to be as equally effective since the collection is so stunning.

It must be the Hundredth Monkey moment for fashion so far, because, like Craig Green in Tibet (here), Casely-Hayford in Kashmir (here), and to a lesser degree Astrid Anderson, we find McQueen in the Indian subcontinent. Well, India itself to specific. Harley Hughes, head of McQueen menswear, offered up a brief story to get us started: “A ’60s guy, in London, going off traveling and immersing himself in imperial India.” And while the foundation might be what McQueen does so well--classic, sharp, English tailoring with military touches of uniform braiding--the embellishments are breathtakingly Indian. The absolutely gorgeous shimmery-gold-on-black paisley jacquard, the prints featuring vintage mail post marks from Calcutta, the dense leopard spots, and the gold-bullion embroidery worthy of a Raja paint a subtle portrait of our '60s guy in India. Of course the finishing touch for the look is, like the Casely-Hayford collection, the beautiful jewelry. Yes, including the cheek piercing pieces...which are, of course, clip-ons. No actual models were hurt in the photographing of this collection.

http://www.alexandermcqueen.com/