Milan Fashion Week 2023: 3 utility-driven runway shows, from Prada’s detachable collars and Simon Cracker’s Vivienne Westwood-inspired upcycled collection, to Charles Jeffrey Loverboy’s workers theme
- On January 15, the Milan menswear runway was full of spare looks and utility-driven collections including Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’ latest Prada show, which K-pop band Enhypen attended
- Filippo Biraghi and Simone Botte’s Simon Cracker collaborated with designer Gaia Segattini and Sex Pistols’ art director Jamie Reid, while Charles Jeffrey Loverboy celebrated Scotland and workers
The Milan menswear runway was full of spare looks for next autumn and winter, as if the fashion world is taking a deep breath to see what happens next.
The colour of the season: black. The silhouette of the season: slim or relaxed, but mostly tailored. Bags: utilitarian. Shoes: oversized and sole gripping. Still, all of this utility was punctuated with romantic, feminine and even sexy gestures.
Here are some highlights from the third day, January 15, of mostly menswear previews for autumn-winter 2023, as many big brands seemed to be hitting the reset button …
1. Prada’s retro-futurism
The sharp collars, which appeared also on cardigans, are detachable, giving garments a longer life and utility. On the runway, they were sexily styled without shirts.
The pair continued their exploration of uniforms, the sort that exemplify the value of working and not projecting authority. In that vein, suede tunics with matching overcoats recalled an artisan’s apron, worn with a shirt and tie to emphasise the virtue of work, and over the season’s slim trousers.
The clean looks and minimalist tailoring had an intentional retro-futuristic feel, that Simons defined as “very Prada, in my opinion”.
