Gentle Masculinity. Giorgio Armani AW26

January 19, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

Leo dell’Orco saved Milan Men’s Fashion Week with his gently masculine Giorgio Armani collection. As the passing of the Italian maestro still feels absolutely shocking – and I remain in denial – the brand is clearly in very good hands, guided by his protégé and a rigorously disciplined team. After seeing today’s show, I truly don’t want to hear the Hedi Slimane rumors anymore. What was sent down the runway was a genuinely aspirational vision of menswear – one that is neither performative nor toxically pumped up.

This was pure Armani: elegance, solidity, timelessness. It’s impossible to count all the menswear staples I loved in this line-up – from Giorgio’s signature bombers, first introduced in the 1980s, to a cropped trench coat; from heavy-duty reversible shearling coats (buttoned only at the neck, a quintessentially Armani gesture) to tailored jackets in fluid velvet (the colours – ah!). It truly felt like a candy store – only this one offers extra-fine dark chocolate, with no sugar added.

Giorgio Armani has always stood for continuity – something designers like Phoebe Philo and Hed Mayner have clearly taken up – serving excellence, quietly and consistently. That tradition is beautifully nurtured.

ED’s SELECTION:

Giorgio Armani Men’s Herringbone Cashmere and Wool Bomber Jacket

Giorgio Armani Men’s Silk Denim Effect Button-Down Shirt

Giorgio Armani Men’s Woven Leather Tassel Loafers

Giorgio Armani Men’s Silk Stripe Neck Scarf

Giorgio Armani Men’s Stripe Chenille Double-Breasted Shawl-Lapel Sport Coat

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Melancholy. Prada AW26

January 19, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’s joint effort at Prada may not have been conservative in concept, but it unmistakably foreshadowed recession – economic, political, cultural. The show venue at Fondazione Prada resembled a ruined palace or temple constructed from spolia. The clothes sent down the runway – on models decidedly less hunky than those seen at other houses – bore visible signs of distress. Slender, waist-cinched jackets were deliberately creased, their worn wool appearing raw and coarse. A beige leather coat was frayed at the edges, as though it had been worn – and lived in – for decades.

There was something deeply melancholic about the collection as a whole, something distinctly 1930s in its sense that the good days were coming to an end. Prada’s runway tailoring felt resolutely anti-Bezos, anti-Vance. READ MY FULL REVIEW HERE.

ED’s SELECTION:

Prada Men’s Wool Knit Stripe Crewneck Sweater

Prada Men’s Poplin Chest Logo Full-Zip Shirt Jacket

Prada Men’s Hawaiian-Print Short-Sleeve Shirt

Prada Men’s Collapse Nylon and Suede Low-Top Sneakers

Prada Men’s Solid Short-Sleeve Sweater

Prada Men’s Re-Nylon Snap-Front Jacket

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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The Coolest. Ralph Lauren AW26

January 17, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

I suppose Ralph Lauren had a good laugh watching the resurgence of preppy style. It’s everywhere: from Bode to Michael Rider’s Celine, from ERL to Jonathan Anderson’s Dior. This season, the American king of cool – and of all things preppy – was essentially saying, “hold my cup.”

John Wrazej, the brand’s senior creative director for men’s Polo, RLX, and Purple Label, arrived in Milan to show how it’s done. The collection felt both familiar and sensational, as if all your Bruce Weber dreams had finally come true. A fascinatingly recut remix of the lodestone mid-century navy blazer and grey flannel Ivy League uniform – seasoned with Bengal-striped shirts and wide paisley ties – has rarely looked this hot.

Tailoring was characteristically cut in a carefully baggy silhouette: the Hayworth, designed to echo the inclination Lauren’s team observed among young collectors of the brand’s vintage pieces. The collection then shifted into a gentleman-adventurer mode, with highlights including a cream shearling utility parka and a tuxedo-black airman’s jumpsuit worn over an evening shirt and tie, cinched with a hand-tooled Western belt. And my personal favorite? A British Army–inspired red coat worn with ripped jeans and opera shoes.

ED’s SELECTION:

Ralph Lauren Men’s Stewart Leather Single-Breasted Sport Coat

Ralph Lauren Men’s Merino Wool Maxi-Check Overshirt

Ralph Lauren Men’s Cashmere and Silk Polka Dot Handkerchief

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Demna On Tom. Gucci Pre-Fall 2026

December 4, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Looking at Demna‘s sophomore collection for Gucci – the pre-fall 2026 lookbook – I can’t help but wonder: will this brand ever give Tom Ford’s archives and identity a rest? From the images shot in Ford-era, runway-style dimmed lighting to the general sultriness emanating from the clothes and their cosplay-like styling, this feels like yet another studio-designed collection made simply to fill the stores. Knowing Demna’s capacity for concept and irony, venturing into Tom Ford territory this straightforwardly feels a tad too early – and far too unchallenging.

Don’t get me wrong: the collection does have strong moments, especially in the menswear. The 2000s footballer aesthetic is back and fully alive in the V-neck T-shirts (my personal nightmare, but fine – we live in a @gettyimagesfanclub-lensed world). The tackiest-looking monogram-merch bags are everywhere (and somehow feel cool), and I love the men’s ballet flats paired with very basic denim and a trench-coat-buttoned-to-the-top. There’s definitely some wit here. Metrosexuality is in.

But the womenswear? I find it as shallow as Demna’s September debut. It has neither the sass nor the sauce. If this is truly what the new Gucci is, I’m seriously concerned.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Expensive Wit. Loro Piana SS26

November 25, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Loro Piana is a brand that isn’t about fashion per se – but it is unmistakably about (wealthy) style. The Loro Piana client doesn’t care about fads; rather, they are entirely confident investing a fortune in a wardrobe that is at once timeless, durable, and subtly nonchalant.

For spring–summer 2026, the Italian house’s design team delivered precisely that: tailoring in gentle muesli tones, elongated silhouettes with an aristocratic air (reminiscent of Marella Agnelli’s swan-like neck in Richard Avedon’s photograph), and a poised balance of countryside statesmanship and Milanese sophistication. There is also a touch of playfulness, captured in exaggerated cone-shaped hats that lend a light-hearted quirk to the cashmere empire. Those moments of wit make Loro so compelling – and standout from all the other “beige” minimalism that suffocates the industry at the moment.