It's been a season of refining and redefining the menswear codes of tailoring. From Valentino to Zegna and Prada to Tod's, designers adopted a reductionist approach to tailoring, offering comfort-driven, relaxed, fluid and roomy silhouettes.
For instance, Prada proposed a closet of ultra lightweight jackets (as light as a crisp poplin shirt), which were cleverly crafted with enhanced tailoring and teamed with preppy schoolboy shorts. Languid tailoring in neutral hues was also seen at Giorgio Armani and Zegna. JW Anderson's show stood out thanks to his vibrant and evocative take on knitwear.
Here are some of the key summer-spring trends that emerged from the fashion week:
Blazers paired with matching shorts, twin sets and shackets styled with micro shorts in matching tones have inundated the runways this season. At Valentino, creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli reexamined the life of men, the life of their clothes, the reality of masculinity now.
Sending out blazers and coats worn with brief shorts, he added youthfulness and crisp urbanism into the offerings. Classic workwear pieces were given a hint of delicacy. Pure cotton, drill, popeline and cotton double, was elevated. The high points were the bloom accents that pointed towards the house's penchant for romanticism. The MSGM collection, too, echoed this playful mood with models sporting bowling shirts worn with skater shorts.
With luxury corridors full of chatter about quiet luxury, there was an unmissable undercurrent of fine-tuning and paring back across brands. Most of the looks at Valentino were in primary monochromes, white, black and red. Some of the shirts did feature embellished bloom motifs, but the overall effect was on the placement-oriented ornamentation that didn't really shout excess.
At Zegna by Alessandro Sartori, there was an air of soft precision that informed the collection. Fluid volumes lent ease to each ensemble, from the deconstructed jackets with low or standing collars to the airy duster coats. Steeped in freewheeling weightlessness, the round-neck tops replaced the jackets and bombers flowed into shirts. The palette, worked in scales of similar tones and irregular monochromes, was an amalgamation of neutral hues. Prada, too, embraced stark, muted colours with an exception of a few shirts, which came embellished with tassels.
Micro shorts were major last year and looks like the trend is spilling into most of this year and the next one. Prada's opening look comprised a lightweight tailored blazer, which came with pronounced sleeves tucked into a pair of matching schoolboy shorts. JW Anderson also showcased an array of collegiate shorts with exaggerated shapes.
Saint Laurent's menswear show, which happened a week before Milan Fashion Week, in Berli, was a bellwether of the sheer sensuality that eclipsed Spring 24 menswear. Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello presented its signature crisp tailoring offset by wispy sheer tops, polka dotted separates and one shoulder pieces crafted out of diaphanous fabrics.
At Milan Fashion Week, Dolce & Gabbana exhibited an array of sheer black looks worn with evening suiting and Etro's opening look was a bohemian knitted tank top.
Fendi's SS 24 menswear showcased as part of Pitti Uomo (the menswear trade show in Florence held before Milan fashion week) surprised menswear style savants, with some chic utility-inspired details.
Silvia Fendi reimagined a manufacturing unit and her models came sporting apron belts with pockets for tools like pliers, scissors, hammers, etc.. There were Fendi coffee mugs for quick breaks in between the rigorous handwork. Also worth mentioning is JW Anderson, who sent out knit sweaters and dressers, which resembled fruit bags.
At Zegna, there was a play of irregular lines which ran on the exterior of items as well as inside, in the linings, showing up on turn ups, marking the tension of uniform/non-uniform. The textured knitwear, always a Zegna high point, accentuated the sense of ease and suppleness.
