Menswear

Men’s – Close To Nature Wherever You Are. Phipps AW20

| Design & Culture by Ed

The American brand named Phipps might not be the most “Parisian” and “fashion” of them all. But Spencer Phipps seems not to care. More importantly, since starting his label few years ago, he has been seriously devoted to sustainability (before it was “thing” for the industry). This season’s “Treehugger: Tales of the Forest” collection caught everyone by surprise with a collaboration that has to be Smokey Bear. Even the authorities at the U.S. Forest Service were perplexed at first, the designer said. But once the deal was signed, Phipps had decades of archives to riff on: Smokey turned 75 last year. Despite teen-camping nostalgia and authentic lumberjack style  – one of the models was, in fact, a lumberjack! – the designer noted that this collection was “a big step up in terms of luxury.” Placing a concern for nature within the luxury space is a serious challenge. To get there, Phipps said he tried to focus on suiting in a very smart way, sourcing cloth in northern England and paying close attention to details such as linings and buttons. He also used Steiff (the teddy bear brand) materials for sweatshirts and embellishment. “It’s biodegradable, very artisanal, and it has a luxury appeal,” he mentioned. “It’s not faux fur made from plastics. It’s a more traditional way of working.” Another favourite: the forest shaman spirit behind the huge blankets worn as shawls and whimsy, wooden “accessories”. Phipps’ commitment to slow fashion also prompted him to introduce what he’s calling his “gold label” – a range of curated vintage pieces, embellished and elevated to “treasure items” with a stylized gold star or forest ranger patches. That studied mashup included market-found jeans and flannels, heirloom pieces, and even a pair of jeans Phipps’s mom made back in the 1970s. “I’m just focusing on the lifestyle of sustainability. I’m not making you a new plaid shirt because there are so many out there already, and they’re beautiful,” the designer said. If only the big brands got the memo…

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Men’s – Rave Like You Are Five. Gucci AW20

| Design & Culture by Ed

A huge pendulum ticktocked back and forth, drawing a line in the sand beneath it. The mood felt far more sober that usual. Time for reflection? “Fashion is a sort of clock,” Alessando Michele rightly observed after his  Gucci autumn-winter 2020 collection for men. Michele’s very first show – of a collection assembled in only five days after Frida Gianini’s abrupt departure – was held at the Milan menswear week in January 2015. And who would have thought it’s impact will be this big – not only for Gucci, but fashion in general? Michele referred back to that first collection – the open-back kangaroo-lined loafers that were his first big accessories hit were among the footwear in the new collection. But this was not self-reference for the sake of it. “I haven’t got any nostalgia,” he said. “I don’t cling to the past…. I use the past because the past is a very interesting space.” Grannyish knits and David Bowie-ish metallic flares, Kurt Cobain-ish grungy ’90s denim and a Courtney Love-ish leopard-print coat. Those were the first references that came to mind. And the tongue-in-cheek title of the show – ‘Rave Like You Are Five’? Most of the clothes were styled the way children wear their clothes when parents aren’t around: the way they like, not the way they areobliged to. Michele was also exploring the big idea of the season: an emphasis on the potential boundarylessness of masculinity rather than its long-constructed boundaries. “This is not a narrative that excludes or rules out mainstream masculinity; on the contrary, I want to talk about how complex it is to be a man. And this means growing up maybe in a different way because the world of men is very diverse and full of different elements like the feminine world.” But what I enjoyed the most in this collection was the lack of the Gucci-fied over-the-topness (which the designer signalised for the first time in his spring-summer 2020 line-up). Without all the drowning opulence that Michele made us used to in the last couple of years, you really feel and see his pure aesthetic.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Men’s – Satin 90s. Tom Ford AW20

| Design & Culture by Ed

As told by Tom Ford’s team at his Milan showroom, when the designer was making his name at Gucci in the latter-half of the 1990s, he had a routine when it came to pants. Apparently Ford would loop a strip of leather through the two front belt-loops either side of his fly and knot them to ensure a just-so fit. For autumn-winter 2020, Ford offers his pant-tie – now called an Obi – that was incorporated into the kicky iron-creased pants that accompanied his attractive jackets. The looks is non-chalant, yet at ease. These suits came in a multitude of hues and fabrications – like gently washed denim or the incredible lilac satin(or the Madonna-Gucci-shirt-blue!). When shorn of a matching jacket the pant shape in denim looked as if taken straight from the 90s. Summing up, Ford’s wardrobe is super hot this season.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Men’s – Anti-Heroic Masculinity. Prada AW20

| Design & Culture by Ed

“Let me say what’s the point of this show,” Miuccia Prada started backstage of her Prada autumn-winter 2020 men’s show: “That in the big – not ‘confusion’- but the complication of the current time between the world going wrong or going better, the discussion on sexes, on surviving or not… I thought to give an indication that the only thing that makes me calm and optimistic is to give value to work… to give value to things that matter in your life and your work. And so the creativity is mixed with technicalities, which is a little bit similar to the Secessionist period (boldly colored graphics shared  with the fabric patterns associated with Koloman Moser and other artists of the Vienna Secession) when ideas, creativity, and actual work had to be all together.” And what about the rather anti-heroic, equestrian statue, was this also about the contemporary heroism? “Not heroic, but heroes… I want to give a hope that in this casino (‘chaotic world’) if you do well your job, paired with intelligence, and with culture, then this already is something… It’s to give respect to work, to effort, to fatigue, and to what is difficult.” So here’s some forever-intelligent Prada-ism to delight in. On the set that closely resembled one of Giorgio de Chirico’s metaphysical paintings, Miuccia presented earnest, simple, smart and easy-in-approach clothes that are both classic and modern. Three-piece suits or mismatched tailored separates, portfolios thrust between arm and hip. Rural worker in mid-calf boots and oversized corduroy jacket. Then a more urban kind of Prada man whose clothes have technical touches and piped sport raised graphics on pocket flaps. Scientist-like rubberized coats matched with baggy pants tucked into beaten leather galvanized sole boots (plus rectangular lensed shades). Different characters, different personalities. Yet not so dramatically different clothes.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Men’s – Neo Archetypes. Salvatore Ferragamo AW20

| Design & Culture by Ed

The only thing I disliked about Salvatore Ferragamo’s autumn-winter 2020 for men was the ‘millenials’ talk – isn’t using this marketing term slightly outdated? Still, Paul Andrew’s collection was really good. The peculiar way young guys address masculine archetypes was apparently revealing for him. “Millennials break down archetypal references, mixing them into new categories that defy categorization,” Andrew said. He identified six different alpha-male paradigms of masculinity: the businessman, sailor, surfer, race car driver, soldier and biker. These served as canvas to create new masculine style species, mixed together into a freeform hybrid. “Once upon a time, men identified more clearly with these categories,” said Andrew. “If a surfer wanted to go to Wall Street, he surely didn’t know what to wear. Today you might be easily wearing surfer-style pants with a tailored jacket.” Maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. Still, he has a point. If you sum up a sailor & businessman archetype, what do you get? Answer: A perfectly tailored peacoat in the finest herringbone Scottish tweed. If you’d like to add a bit of your inner 1980s California surfer to the mix, you’ll wear a matching pair of oversized shorts over the trousers of an impeccably tailored pinstriped suit, a three-piece extravaganza fit for a new breed of businessman & ocean man. Or else, the soldier & surfer combo could result in a daring twist on the camouflage pattern, inspired by a Hawaiian shirt and reworked in military colors. Probably, less words would work even better for this inventive line-up.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.