Brains at the Shows. Renata Molho - Illustration by Anna Higgie

02/12/2014

With a sense of anticipation, while Milano womens fashion week is about to start, some of our favourite style analyzers tell us about what they saw during last menswear catwalk shows and presentations. 3 compendiums: first Renata Molho, thinker and journalist, author of Essere Armani, the first and only biography of the designer so far.

If all those steps, that great coming and going of men who come from every corner of the world and travel miles without ever reaching a goal, could be watched in succession, in a hypothetical infinite sequence of images in Muybridge style, the Milan fashion shows would be more interesting than many essays on contemporary anthropology. Because, in addition to the obvious prevalence of tailoring skills and aesthetic sensibility there remains the undisputed heritage of Italy, which once again, it appears, has a propensity for spontaneous thought. Whether to the sound of the latest cutting edge DJ or the music of Tchaikovsky, whether the collection is set amongst monumental sets or within a context of sobriety and savings, on the runway there should be introspection, even before the product. In January, all possible male identities were represented, we retraced history and travelled in outer space, we looked at details, choosing the more traditional language of the wardrobe, just to forget the clothes themselves, there were daring hypotheses and bold solutions, but everything was the result of an acute sociological analysis, even when unconscious and rushed. Unlike what happens in other fashion capitals, the spectacular nature always has intimate features and roots. This is the great strength of the runway in Milan: a kind of risky, snobbish individualism but, being endemic and constant over time, it has taken on the characteristics of a real project. The stucco and old buildings provide the backdrop, the shock of the new for the sake of novelty or the exotic is giving way to a greater awareness of talent. So, all of us on the road, with voluminous coats and elegant materials, dressed in charcoal grey, tomato red or lizard green, know that getting to the top is tough, but we also know that the ability to capture the nuances of new behaviours is substantial and to represent a feeling in fabric is a much stronger factor than guessing the length of the lapel. The trend then? Relaxation and a certain acceptance of one’s own personality. Country gentlemen, rebellious and restless urban knights, astronauts or samurai, use fashion to understand each other better.