In the latest Gucci show, I literally saw three things, repeated in different, trendy-looking colours and subtle lenght differences: a peacoat in exaggerated, rounded shape; a long, masculine coat (eventually embellished with sequins); and a wool dress with lace inserts. Well, Sabato De Sarno has a thing for repetition, and we’ve experienced that already with his first menswear collection that was a mirror reflection of his debut womenswear. Will the autumn-winter 2024 variations on three wardrobe staples sell? Probably yes. But is it fashion that’s worthwhile of a more complex consideration, delivering any food for thought or sparking emotions? Not really.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!
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At Tod’s, a very promising debut by Matteo Tamburini. This is one of these Italian brands that struggle to find their path to ready-to-wear. Walter Chiapponi had some solid ideas, but it just didn’t click. Tamburini’s autumn-winter 2024 was an ambitious observation of Milan commuters’ style. His office-bound travelers were a runway fantasy, but there’s certainly something undeniably chic about how Milanese people dress day-to-day, and this Tod’s outing was a convincing reflection of that. The motifs that ran through this collection were the belts featuring gleaming hardware inspired by vintage Alfa Romeo grilles, and the house’s emblematic driving shoes that came with enlarged and more robust gommino traction on the soles. Some of these shoes arrived with extravagant leather fringing, a detail that was echoed further down the line in leather scarves. Just as the Tod’s shoes came with that finely-calibrated customization to take them beyond the norm, Tamburini applied strokes of subtle oddness – double-collared shirting, hyper-break pants, four layered wool and silk falling-off charcoal “twinsets,” pushed proportion leather-panel trenches, knits in stiff boiled cashmere – to almost every look. If you’re not still persuaded to step into a Tod’s store, then at least you might want to get inspired by some of these styling tips.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!
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Peter Hawkings‘s sophomore collection for Tom Ford leaves you with a hard pressing question: what’s Tom Ford without Tom Ford? Unfortunately, the designer who used to work with the legend doesn’t reinterpret his legacy, but tries to mimic it, imitate it, in a very commercial, unreflective way. And that doesn’t work. The autumn-winter 2024 collection, presented in Milan, is bared of any emotions or feelings. What’s the point of all these proper, handsome peacoats and party dresses if there’s no charisma behind them? Some AI generator could do a far more creative piece of work. If Tom Ford, the brand, wants to thrive, it can’t move forward in such uninspired manner. Or else it will lag.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!
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Adrian Appiolaza‘s Moschino debut collection felt like a gush of much-needed fresh air in Milan – and the beginning of a very promising, new chapter. The brand needed an urgent revamp after a decade of Jeremy Scott’s camp over-the-topness. In November, the heart-breaking passing of Davide Renne (who became the forth creative director of Franco Moschino’s label just a month earlier), shocked the entire fashion industry. Appiolaza’s appointment was announced barely a month ago, and his first collection – completed in such short period of time – proves that he’s a supremely talented designer. The autumn-winter 2024 collection reflects the tongue-in-cheek spirit of the brand’s founder through a number of riffs and referenced: the over-sized silhouettes, XXL polka-dots and tomato prints, Rene Magritte-esque prints and the in-your-face flag of Italy used as the colour blocking palette for a couple of dresses and tops. Appiolaza also managed to convey the nearly-forgotten, super-chic spirit of the house which was contrived by Rosella Jardini in the 2000s: think slip-dresses covered in pearl necklaces or finely cut tailoring. But the line-up tells us a lot about Appiolaza himself, who for a decade worked at Loewe, and earlier with such creatives as Clare Waight Keller, Marc Jacobs and Miuccia Prada. The Buenos Aires-born designer is an avid vintage fashion collector – make sure to follow his page on Instagram! – with a soft spot for Martin Margiela and Comme Des Garçons. There’s an interesting connection between Moschino and Margiela – both designers played with surrealism and deconstruction, but in aesthetically different ways. Appioloza showed a bustier made from ties; trench coats worn inside-out; hats that looked like paper boats. Those little moments of humor are what Moschino used to be in its origins, and the new creative director certainly embraces that in a stylish, unconstrained way. Bravissimo!
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Prada o’clock is Milan Fashion Week’s prime-time. And with a collection like today’s outing, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons once again confirm that their dialogue is the ultimate creative powerhouse. The autumn-winter 2024 collection, presented on a glass runway elevated above terrarium of moss and streams, is an exploration of notions of beauty, of a contemporary world formed by memories. Romance with the past is a recurring theme in Miuccia’s work, and it seems that Raf is feeling more and more comfortable with playing around with the old-fashioned feminine decorum: prim cardigans, lace, bows. But in case of Prada, the old always feel new, revelatory and simply unexpected. Dresses were covered in layers of ribbons, but don’t you dare calling it “coquette“. These women, a bit bourgeoisie, a bit activists, in their knee-length boots and biker caps, aren’t here to lounge. The suiting and outerwear looked “normal” in the front, but in fact was absolutely revealing in the back. Prada and Simons really indulged themselves in the richness of textures and layers: we have feathers, crushed velvet, butter-smooth leathers, technical cotton, fur trims. Speaking of leather, these cropped perfectos – styled with apron-like skirts – felt so good. If “sexy” wasn’t really addressed so far in the creative duo’s work, then this collection delivers many levels and ideas of sexuality, from something kinky, even perverse, to classic Old Hollywood allure (think housecoats with sharp waists and the cold-shoulder moment of the finale dress kept in the most hypnotic shade of Victorian purple). A total YES.
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