S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: D&G

August 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

Collection: D&G
Designers: Domenico Dolce, Stefano Gabbana
Season: Spring/Summer 2011

 
 
 
 

Having just opened an exhibition celebrating twenty years of menswear, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce may be thinking of a mini vacation, or at the very least a few hours at the Polo Lounge in Beverly Hills. They are so hardworking they probably won’t, though their Spring collection for their secondary line, D&G, suggested their customer might. Green, red and black check collared shirts, shorts and sweaters were everywhere, followed by floral print shorts. A Hawaiian print and tanks paired with loose fitting khakis followed with the same easy, breezy feeling. A part of the show favored lighter and darker blues, in solid colors or in a print that looked as though it had been found underwater. As for the suits, they were loose or double-breasted in light blues, green, pink, and cream. A few of the looks featured sweaters draped around the neck, and perhaps this look could sum up the luxe message of the show. If the D&G label is representative of the good life, then it was on full display here.

 

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S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Givenchy

August 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By: Michael Kowalinski

Collection: Givenchy
Designer: Riccardo Tisci
Season: Spring/Summer 2011

We would love to see Riccardo Tisci’s dental bills, as his fascination with vampire and goth-like looks have garnered him a following that is unparalleled.  This time, it was a fascination with another fanged creature – the leopard – that propelled his spring collection for Givenchy. It began with black suits with a leopard – like print and moved, at times, towards something soft and demure, as in a white lace collared shirt. Shorts with panels in the front that gave them the look of skirts were paired with waistcoats, jackets and oversized shirts in white, black and leopard. When black leather pants with a creamy beige shirt that had leopard sleeves emerging from underneath, we knew we were in the right place. It had the quintessential Riccardo Tisci vibe; new with a sense of history and, oh, some serious sex appeal. Shorts, pants and jackets in leopard print led the way towards a full suit in the print. These were wearable clothes that any chic, progressive man could incorporate into their wardrobes, and that factor is important, now more than ever.

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S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Louis Vuitton

August 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By: Michael Kowalinski

Collection: Louis Vuitton
Designer: Paul Helber
Season: Spring 2011

In one episode of ‘Absolutely Fabulous’, Patsy Stone said her new year’s resolution was to be more relaxed, funny because her demeanor must be one of the most relaxed in television lore.

Louis Vuitton’s spring collection, similarly, felt as relaxed as can be. While Louis Vuitton’s story of a well-heeled traveler isn’t a new one, the collection excited in that way that only spontaneous travel can. Slouchy pants and baggy shorts paired with belted safari-like shirts suggested an outing in the wilderness (albeit a chic one, but would the Louis Vuitton man settle for anything less?) but when paired with a leather blazer was ready for the streets. Boxy coats and jackets mingled with easy, relaxed collared shirts or tees. Sheer sweaters preceded the sheer blue shirts that were as obsessed with the company’s iconic monogram as the bags, which accompanied many of the looks. These matched neck tattoos the models sported, by artist Scott Campbell. Cool green jackets and shorts made a quick appearance, before an army of black, navy and printed suiting that would feel right anywhere. This man is the man we’d like to travel with.

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S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: DSquared

June 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

Collection: Dsquared2
Designer: Dean Caten, Dan Caten
Season: Spring 2011

 
 

Do you recall that joke which said that if you found the definition of something or other in the dictionary, you would find your picture? Well, look up “classic menswear” and you may just find pictures of Dean and Dan Caten’s spring show. Reworked trenches and double and single breasted blazers in navy, pink, cream, yellows and blues were paired with shirts open down to there. The casual sports jackets and tees had the same obsession with color. It was clean, classic sportswear, ideal clothes for looking through a dictionary.

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S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Alexander McQueen

June 29, 2010 By 1 Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

 
Collection: Alexander McQueen
Designer: Sarah Burton
Season: Spring Summer 2011
 
 
 
At the McQueen menswear show in Milan, Sarah Burton, the new creative director and, since 2000, the head of design for the womenswear, showed her first menswear collection for the house. Having worked with Alexander McQueen for fourteen years, she understood more than who he was as a designer but who he was as a person and she is continuing his legacy respectfully and seamlessly.
  
It was achingly cool but wearable, a dance between the very wearable and touch of madness that only the McQueen man will understand. Make no mistake; there were clothes here that any clever man would sport. If people talk about the past meeting the future too often, let them, because that is what this was, captured seemingly effortlessly. It was a fluid and masterful execution of jackets, either second skin suiting, belted washed black leather or loose long fitting coats. Grey pants with black insets on the outer leg, for example, or baggy striped pants worn with, say, a waistcoat or a tucked in, high collared shirt. A red and gold brocade coat was memorable, but a baggy black sweater with oversized neck hole with a crisp white shirt underneath was as chic and youthful as can be.
 
 
Thank you, Ms. Burton, for nurturing and continuing Lee’s spirit so well.
 

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S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Marni

June 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

Collection: Marni
Designer: Consuelo Castiglioni
Season: Spring Summer 2011

Consuelo Castiglioni’s menswear collection for Marni felt youthful and very New York. Clearly, these were clothes for downtown. Cuffed denim and a backpack made us want to be sixteen again, but let us move into adulthood, as this collection did. “It had a sort of rigorousness that is new to Marni in sense,” said Marni stylist Lucinda Chambers of the Fall womenswear collection, but these words would be entirely appropriate here too. A cropped sweater or a long, loose collared shirt could be layered under hooded cropped jackets. Cropped pants were everywhere. The signature Marni graphics could be found in skinny ties, shorts and long shirts that were layered. Indeed, it was about layering in an extreme way, but there were as many ideas about the art of layering as there were layers in the looks.

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S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Prada

June 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

Collection: Prada
Designer: Miuccia Prada
Season: Spring Summer 2011

 
 

Gentlemen, gentlemen, quiet please! Let’s be serious for a moment. Oh, alright, let’s have a bit of fun. Perhaps Miuccia Prada was thinking this at the spring show in Milan that could be considered an exercise in discipline. Narrow black suits and cardigans suggested a serious side to the Prada man, at times with visible white stitching but were followed with intense blues in the form of a narrow three button jacket with baggy pants and cobalt blue shorts, pants and shirts. These had a sporty feel, made more so by the drawstring bags that hung from waists. The main attraction was undoubtedly the vibrant shirts in yellows, reds, greens and blues that had the look of a nurse’s uniform.

 

 

Did we remember to take our vitamins today? Who needs to when you saw the elongated, loose black sweaters with wide neck holes that were interesting and effective in their simplicity, worn with baggy white shorts that almost had the look of kilts. Intense color made also made an appearance, later on, in wide stripes on baggy white shirts and ribbed sweaters towards the end. This move towards intense color has been making the rounds in Milan. If designers are feeling extreme with color, let them, as they celebrate simple silhouettes and seem to be a sure hit with editors and buyers. Thick-soled shoes gave the clothes the quintessential Prada touch. It felt less rebellious than usual, and perhaps Miuccia Prada is hinting to us it’s time to grow up, for now.

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S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Bottega Veneta

June 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

Collection: Bottega Veneta
Designer: Tomas Maier
Season: Spring Summer 2011

 

The man who was partly responsible for putting the words “power dressing” on editors’ lips last season, Tomas Maier, has decided to feel a bit relaxed. It’s spring, after all, but luckily for the Bottega Veneta man there will still be plenty of men’s suiting to choose from for spring.

It began with patchwork suits in camel and beige, and double breasted suits in white or cement grey that had an ease and modernity that is addictive. It’s “something you can think about but you can’t get to”, Maier said in reference to fishnet bodysuit last season. Is he proposing it for men this time around? No, It was sophisticated but very youthful, as were the shirts in the same green or brown as the shorts they were paired with, with asymmetrical closures that unbuttoned to the shoulder. Much of the collection was baggy or crumpled, but there were instances of an athletic element, with mesh-like inserts. Indeed, the nylon, cotton, suede and leathers provided a sumptuous diversity, as did the incredibly diverse looks of the models, who were both very young and older. If the womenswear runways are crying out for diversity and less ageism, why can’t the men? Well, the cardigans in the blue or rich red hues that accompanied the baggy pants certainly did suggest being comfortable in one’s skin. Easy, loose fitting suits finished the show and while the show may not have given us great insights into the mind of Maier, it left us thinking on our way to the dressing area. No, we wouldn’t dare!

 

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S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Missoni

June 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

Collection: Missoni
Designer: Angela Missoni
Season: Spring Summer 2011

 

It seems it takes someone who cares a great deal or someone who doesn’t care very much and wants ease and comfort and easy clothes, wearing the elongated, loose and hallucination inducing colorful sweaters at Missoni.

A touch of psychedelia is nothing new to Missoni, as the house’s signature zig zag pattern has always suggested a kind of chic and luxe freedom, but it’s clear that Angela Missoni has plans to take the label elsewhere, but where exactly has yet to be decided. That’s okay, as she works out where to take her brand. Oranges, blues, reds, really every color, danced together on plaids, stripes and zig zags on sweater vests, jackets and oversized shirts.

 
It was the quintessential picture of layering, but really seeing every layer, thanks to Missoni’s eye for detail, which helped every color and pattern stand out on its own. It made us want to be at a Woodstock of the future, hanging out in a tent and being cool and young. With the house of Missoni, there is always a sort of elegant mystery, but Missoni has opened the door a little bit with its offerings for spring. We would love to run in and stay awhile. Oh, and we take our tea with just milk.
 
 

 

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S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Burberry Prorsum

June 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

Collection: Burberry Prorsum
Designer: Christopher Bailey
Season: Spring Summer 2011 

 
Christopher Bailey must have been in a bit of a subversive mood when he showed his menswear collection for Burberry in Milan. The studded vests, jackets and belts resembled what the young men who stand outside after the shows in Paris might wear. On second thought, it may have been a collection for a British soldier who plays with his bands in the evenings. What would they be called?
 
 Later on, white mesh sweaters were effortlessly worn with a structured jacket or trench and paired with Bailey’s gladiator-like sandals. Collared shirts with, once again, epaulettes, were sheer and suggestive. The second-skin motorcycle jackets or sweaters felt chic and strong, but still felt incredibly optimistic.

But what about the clothes? It was about mixing a recipe of fabrics and textures, like pairing leather with jersey, for example, or one long trench whose sleeves were a sort of hide. Incarnations of army inspired jackets and braided sweaters worn with tight black pants tucked into knee high boots that had the look of Wellingtons. Leather made an appearance on studded belts, jackets and the trench coats, which were longer than usual, or the jackets that were quite short.

 

It was a mix of hard and soft, which is perhaps the real masculinity of today. Hard elements were paired with soft ones, but make no mistake; this was a man’s man collection. Perhaps he is wearing these clothes in our dreams.


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