#Fashion

Mrs. Prada said backstage: “In this moment you can’t avoid talking about subjects that are relevant. For instance, nature.” As she and Raf Simons jointly explained, the thinking behind the collection was intimately entangled with the notion of our natural environment—how we are insulated from it, and how to go back to it. Added Simons: “Most people’s screensavers are nature but then at the end we sit in this very synthetic human made environment.” There is simple assertion, of a deep and essential human need to connect with the world around us. The seasonal rhythms of nature, the natural order, determine gestures within garments. These clothes in turn reflect and react to their surroundings, to these disparate and distinct environments, interior and exterior. This collection is about something basic - the emotional instinct to remain attached to something that we know, the cycles of nature. A world with seasons, with weather, not an artificial reality. These clothes reflect the idea of the environment and of the seasons - wherever you may live. There is a sense of the outdoors, of the actuality of nature, and direct expression of the desire to go outside, to experience the world. For the Fall/Winter Prada 2024 menswear show, AMO creates a set design juxtaposing an office interior with a natural landscape. Demonstrating the paradoxical dichotomy between these two coexisting worlds, this show explores fundamental truths of humanity, our natural instincts, our emotional needs.

The Jordan Luca AW 24 is ”about hope and the joy of coming together,” Bowen said backstage about the show. With a balloon tied to each chair and balloons placed around the entrance, one would assume the duo are in a mood for a celebration. But as they share, the balloons were intended as a bittersweet metaphor as well, reminding us that hope is fragile. The spiky details scattered through the collection and on accessories playfully reminded us of this duality throughout the show. It gave a more grown-up attitude to the punk aesthetic the label went for, with heavy tailored coats and blazers. A tone of power dressing and sleek sartorial options dominated the show, and elevated the collection.

During Milan Fashion Week on Saturday evening, Emporio Armani unveiled its Fall/Winter 2024 collection in a dark, imaginary lighthouse. Set to Loredana Berte’s “Il Mare D’inverno (Winter Sea),” the renowned menswear designer showcased new styles on a slate-gray runway inspired by the sea. The collection reflected Mr. Armani’s love for the ocean, featuring sharp formalwear, precise tailoring, and a neutral colour palette. The initial outfits had a nautical vibe, with navy sailor hats complementing buttoned overcoats and zip-up jackets featuring silk cut-outs on the shoulders. Black leather gloves and sturdy boots paired well with striped sweaters and scarves, while navy and off-white wool outerwear provided warmth against the sea breeze. Transitioning to browns and beiges, Armani's expert tailoring took centre stage. Blazers and trenches were popular choices, often paired with flowing trousers cinched at the ankles. Shirts with minimal, asymmetrical buttons and monotone turtlenecks served as base layers, while knee-high brown leather boots completed the look. The collection then embraced skiwear, with models temporarily swapping leather accessories for skis, snowboards, helmets, and goggles. Snow white down parkas, puffers, and puffer vests gleamed, while knitwear in the same tone featured in dresses, sweaters, and skirts. Armani's slopes-ready interludes showcased his versatility. Maintaining the maritime theme, grey formal coats were adorned with sparkling shells and barnacles. Shimmering navy jackets, vests, and tops took the spotlight over black trousers, with loosely wrapped ties around bare necks. The designer concluded with a display of crystal-covered eveningwear, adding a tasteful feminine touch to traditional men’s suiting separates.

“I love Pitti Uomo because it feels like an extension of Savile Row,” British designer Steven Stokey-Daley told Hypebeast backstage at his Fall/Winter 2024 runway show during the biannual menswear event. “Where Savile Row is maybe not so alive now, it feels like it’s more alive here. It’s a lovely cyclical thing.” In both places, bespoke tailored suiting is the protagonist — and in Daley’s Florentine display, there was a seamless blend of the two regions’ age-old practices on show. Amidst a legion of Mannerist masterpieces inside the historic Salone dei Cinquecente of Palazzo Vecchino in the Italian city, models traversed through columns that were stuffed to the brim with pillows, referencing the poky living quarters that Oxford University students shared in decades past. “I wanted to transform the set into this abstracted version of a dorm room,” Daley explained. His execution of this inspiration is quite interpretative, thankfully leaving the fashion in the foreground. Nonetheless, here’s to hoping the collection’s academic ensembles are able to squeeze into his conceptual residence hall’s closets. EM Forster’s 1911 novella The Story of a Panic sits front and center on the mood board. “It’s about a British boy who comes to Italy for the first time and has his cardinal awakening,” said Daley. The story takes place in a fishing village, far away from the “confines of British institutions,” and there, the clothing is much lighter, per the designer. In homage, the line’s hero motif is a fish, which appears enlarged across a white button-down shirt in blue, and a yellow fishing coat satisfies the utilitarian appetite. “I really wanted Florence to inform the collection and so that’s why you see such incredible tapestries,” said Daley. “They’re hard to find elsewhere.” His affinity for intarsia is obvious, with Rowan yarn blankets transforming into oversized rugby shirts donning classic British iconography, including horse-riding hunters and wildflowers. Here, there’s a fusion between Italian and British design languages that ultimately encapsulate’s the full line’s identity. Clapping louder for Britain’s sartorial heritage, a playful cardigan houses illustrations of two innocent leaping lambs on either side of the chest. The piece imitates many of those youthful sweaters hanging in the closet of Harry Styles , who Daley has previously (and famously) worked with. Perhaps, though, it was a clue for the headlines that would imminently follow the show’s conclusion: “Harry Styles Invests in UK Fashion Label S.S. Daley.” “Harry and I have a shared vision for the future of S.S. Daley and we look forward to this new chapter together as we focus on brand longevity and scaling the business into a modern British heritage house,” said Daley, who is looking to expand his direct-to-consumer business through a “sustainable and long-term expansion.” Terms of the deal were not shared; but in any case, Styles’ minority stake is a game-changer for the fast-rising fashioner, who only graduated from the University of Westminster three years ago. If one had to guess how Daley is sleeping tonight, they’d be smart to point at the lettering on Look 32’s wide-collared sweater: “Snug as a Bug.”

Continuing its progressive evolution, POST ARCHIVE FACTION (PAF) has now returned to unveil its “7.0” collection. The Fall/Winter 2024 expression from the standout South Korean label follows the theme of “POST-MORPHOSIS.” Exploring striking alterations in form, function, and material from previous collections, like an organism changing its form during development. The elements of the wares entangle, bifurcate, and convert to envision the progression of garments. Standouts found in the “7.0” collection include the 7.0 JACKET CENTER defined by asymmetrical variation through three-dimensional pockets. The essence of nature’s unpredictable organic forms is continued with the 7.0 JACKET LEFT marked by utilitarian design by incorporating hidden interior pockets within the visible ones, accented by vibrant color contrasts. The 7.0 COAT CENTER presents a reinterpretation of a classic Korean duffle coat, capturing a moment in the transformative journey between deconstruction and reconstruction. While the 7.0 TECHNICAL PANTS LEFT embodies the organic design of spiral elevation, featuring exaggerated three-dimensional pleats converging into a cutout to accentuate the contrast between the patterns.

Stone Island was among the freshest names on the Milan Fashion Week Men’s calendar this season. The Italian brand, founded in 1982, had never staged a show in the country’s fashion capital before this week. But on Friday evening, the future-minded label introduced a new manifesto to fashion’s glitterati for Fall/Winter 2024 , titled “The Compass Inside.” At La Cattedrale, Stone Island dropped a mammoth black curtain to reveal its next-season wares inside a gargantuan cage. Trapped, models stood still in their respective containers under changing lights for the duration of the show. With dedicated technical research, the brand’s key pieces were shown in multiples, demonstrating the label’s longstanding affinity for uniforms and the versatility of its core shapes. Among them, the Metal Mesh PVD Nanotechnology Down Jacket possessed an illusory facade that mimicked liquid glass, made with two layers of organza and a strong nylon base. The nanotechnology was utilized to fuel the polyester organza with aluminum, to ensure that the metal would attract to the yarn for the optical effect. As usual, the brand’s signature compass motif appeared on the arm. Then there was the Stone Island Ghost collection, which enlisted various wools to reimagine the brand’s classics. Among the standouts, military-inspired peacoats and single-breasted jackets were composed of heavy 95% wool and 5% cashmere, and both flashed the monochromatic “Ghost” tag on their left sleeves. Additionally, the line featured a hooded suede sheepskin jacket, which was treated with a PFC-free, anti-drop agent. Two hooded coats and a parka employed polyester mesh for a see-through finish, as part of Stone Island’s experimental research. These pieces fell under the “Glass Cover-TC” moniker, for their liquid-like appearance, which was made possible through garment dyeing. Rounding out the lineup, the brand’s famous Nylon Metal textile supplied the bones for a light jacket and two bombers. The former silhouette operated with snap closures, while the latter coats were filled with PrimaLoft-TC for warmth.

Dean and Dan Caten’s show was about—surprise!—the idea of twins. Who better than the irrepressible Canadian brothers should have a say in the representation of “the two sides of the coin,” as they said backstage? Drawing upon their own reality of being a sort of day-and-night double version of each other offered the Catens the occasion for an entertaining show—fun, uplifting, with the right amount of camp and lots of maximalist mashed-up styling, which in today’s flat-as-the-Atacama-desert fashion landscapefelt rather refreshing. The cast was obviously made of sets of twins, one of which was dressed in Dsquared2’s typical grungy daywear; upon entering a “makeover machine,” the other twin emerged glammed up in the evening version of what the first was wearing. The set, a shiny white box, served as glossy backdrop for the finale coup-de-théâtre, with the Catens taking their bow—Dan looking macho in fitted black jeans and an alluring see-through glittery chiffon shirt, and Dean playing the diva in a flame-red hairdo and black corset dress slashed at the front revealing a great pair of legs, teetering with consummate confidence on ultra-high stilettos. They brought the house down.

Fendi just presented their AW24 menswear collection at Milan Fashion Week. It is an interesting combination serving a balancing act of the great outdoors and city swagger. While the collection itself wasn't ground-breaking per say, it posed a beautiful tapestry juxtaposing textures on textures in a Fendi fashion, albeit the earthy, muted colours. Accessories form a big part of any fashion show, and in this one we see the camera focusing on a Fendi x DEVIALET Mania portable speaker, dressed in Fendi's famous FF monogram and promising "outstanding audio purity".

Sabato de Sarno just presented his first menswear collection for Gucci. Replacing Alessandro Michelle exactly a year ago, the designer is tasked with transforming the brand and tackling the ultra rich. From the get-go we can see a transformation from the flashy, over-the-top, maximalist approach of Michelle, to this more commercial and tailored look, which makes sense, since it will appeal to a wider audience. This was followed by a look in 3 colours, of a double-breasted blazer with a signature draping on the sleeves and the mid-blazer area, which creates an interesting silhouette. The next two outfits comprised of floor length coats, one was normal, the other was sleeveless, long to the waist ties, and interesting take on the Gucci loafers, one of them was even studded.