Tod’s

At Tod’s Diego Della Valle has been on a mission to bring back some fashion heat to his house. By hiring Carlo Beretta as manager and appointing Walter Chiapponi as designer he has exactly done that. Chiapponi only had a short time to come up with his men’s collection and so he stuck to what he believes in and knows best. Refined gentlemen’s style with a 70’s twist. The eveningwear section with a black and white tuxedo with exaggerated lapels was magnificent. On top, he worked all the codes by using leather in unexpected places. Grounding the collection with a military vibe, all his outside pockets on jackets and shearlings were made in leather as all the closure pipings. The fit of his jeans was spot on as well sitting high on the waist for a long and lean silhouette combined with long camel coats and chunky knitwear. Everything telegraphed an unforced Italian style, which skews years younger than previously. Mission accomplished with regard to returning fashion relevance and we are looking forward to the women’s collection.

Salvatore Ferragamo

Paul Andrew has been updating the image of the Ferragamo house by introducing new colorful ad campaigns using groups of models and his upbeat shows have cleverly been using the shades of vibrant colors found in the Tuscan countryside. First going co-ed to introduce his new vision he is now showing men’s and women’s separately again to elaborate further on his design vision. One of his guiding principles has been regular visits to the Ferragamo shoe archive to update his runway offerings as this show’s lace boots, which were based on a model from the 50’s. Plus, Andrew is upping the tailoring. Attaching Velcro to the waist on pleated pants as well on the chest area at jackets, the effect is either a taut silhouette when Velcro’d up or a relaxed fit when open for the Ferragamo man.

Etro

Kean Etro has made it clear that current new trend in men’s wear is corduroy. He held his show in a cool garage, which was decorated with oil painting portraits of noble men, and the collection took its cue from their posture and attire. Mohair ponchos with elaborate jacquards and the house’s Paisley were also part of the line up. Casting former male supermodel Mark Vanderloo along a gang of younger Etro dudes added the freshness in casting Etro is known for. The finale showed every model in a corduroy suit, mostly double-breasted in rich orange, red, greens and blues.

MSGM

MSGM is probably the most Italian of all the Milan designers. Ever since his Bar Basso scarf show, he has been at the forefront of channeling the Italy as a global youth culture force vibe. Back in the 80’s Fiorucci and Italo Disco were a global phenomenon. Massimo Giorgetti is exactly there with his MSGM playing Italian music at his shows and flashing his roots casting young Italians and choosing Italian brands for the collaborations. This time he turned to Dario Argento, the horror movie director, to borrow the color story from the posters of the director’s movies like Suspiria. Think rich reds and greens. The collection hit the sweet spot of grown up sportswear in a series of well-tailored suits worn under oversize parkas. In fact, Giorgetti’s suits were the highlights in the show bringing a new fluid elegance.

Prada

Miuccia Prada also had a more dressed up man in mind for her directional collection. Storming through Fascist architecture looking courtyards, the models seemed to have a purpose; let’s call it the urgent return of sartoria. It was good to see the familiar boxy shaped three-button jackets and coats in the line-up sometimes worn with ties in strong colors like yellow. A school uniform vibe always ripples through a Prada collection as in the opening look of a tight vest over skinny pants with a flash of color shirt underneath and later a coated shearling vest with a tie.

MCM

MCM’s Global Creative Officer Dirk Schönberger was proudly beaming in Milan’s iconic fashion shop Antonioli at the end of Sunday as he unveiled his second collection for the German luxury leather brand on an international shop floor. And a significant one as Antonioli is heralded around the world for its tight edit and focused selection. His design touch was clearly visible on all the garments, which hung as total looks from the ceiling. Cool cargo pants, a great brown leather shearling for women, new all over logo embossed leather on jackets and backpacks and best of all a clear direction of tailored sportswear guiding the collection. Formerly, MCM’s ready to wear seemed to be accessorizing the leather goods while here they held their own.