milan - men's fall/winter 2008 - day four

FENDI
men's wear is very much a staid institution. there are so many rules that defines the clothes men wear that many designers tend to stay with the same format so as not to alienate their core clientel. especially at a house known for its refined luxury. however at fendi, which is one such house, the designer not only manages to reinterpret the classics, she might also be creating new ones. since fendi's blockbuster fall/winter 2007 show, silvia fendi has continued to play with the shapes, proportions, and volume of the clothes. perhaps because of experimenting with classic couture cuts from last year collections, she revisited them again. this time around however, there were no balenciaga inspired drop shoulder cocoon coats. it did however retained that same archetectural elements that was evident with the outerwear. one in particular was cut in such a way that fabric stood out like a tide moving away from the chest to create an almost super exaggerated pagoda shoulder. and others had what seemed like meters of fur just hanging, suspended in mid air but in reality was the lining of a sheered fur coat. a little too much maybe for an every day joe, but it made for a spectacular proposition.



MARNI
with miu miu's men's department closing its doors, it could be said that marni is the heir apparent to the throne of milan's eccentric boy/king throne. like miu miu, the marni man is straddled in between someone who can't seem to let go of his elementary school uniform, and someone who has discovered the feeling of twelve ply cashmere. a possible paradox perhaps, but one thing is certain, the marni man is someone who is confident enough to inject his own opinion on how a man should dress. funny considering that it is a woman who is designing these clothes. consuelo castiglioni, might seem to be an unlikely character that could propose such ideas to the opposite sex, but maybe just like how the most directional womens wear designers are men, perhaps it will take a woman to change the direction of men's fashion. as always the designer's trademark charm and wit are abundantly present in the pull over blazers, knitted capelets and her play with proportions that makes her clothes so endearing all the while retaining their ability to push men's wear onto unexplored directions.



D SQUARED
dean and dan caten's evolution into something more than a high end version of abercrombie and fitch that was perhaps kick started by the mature venture into opening their first flagship store in milan has become a welcome suprise. as always the highly sexualized image of the male species is still something the brothers continue to play with, but this time they combined their tradmark sense of camp with a more luxurious and more refined touch. combining elements of skinheads and the sport of skiing, the twins managed to reinterpret such diverse inspirations that resulted in clothes that was suprisingly understandable to a sophisticated vernacular. the plaids and camouflage prints on shirts and pants were paired with down filled parkas with the requisite army or hiking inspired boots. and gone were the logos and graphics that was so prevelent with their past collections. the clothes were cleaner which allowed the twins' attention to detail and cut to be undistracted and ultimately their talent to take center stage.




photo: men.style.com