MILAN, Italy — Two of the Milan fashion world’s designing women — Miuccia Prada and Gucci’s Frida Giannini — like their men to be, well, masculine — but approached the job for next spring and summer very differently.
Gucci, which showed Monday on the third day of men’s Fashion Week, in Milan, was about fine detailing and craftmanship. Prada was nothing if not spare. What they shared was clarity.
Both designers also played with blue denim, which is making a cameo in many collections for next spring and summer.
Prada
Miuccia Prada described her menswear collection in bold colours and clear lines as “simplicity regained.”
There was a distinct industrial feel to the show, held Sunday evening on a catwalk bathed in low-hanging light and constructed of silver medal grids that would certainly have tripped up stiletto-heeled female models but resonated well for the thick-soled men.
Simply cut pullover V-neck shirts in cotton, and sometimes denim, resemble hospital garb and are worn over ample Bermuda shorts that have an A-cut more suggestive of a skirt.
Tailored jackets have three buttons, but only two are fastened, allowing the brightly coloured stripe along the button line — say, royal blue, or yellow — to peek through and are paired with skinny pants, a favourite of the season. Sweaters had boatnecks and featured bold stripes around the top.
The accessories were nothing if not postmodern. Sunglasses were wrapped around the neck. Soft leather bags were belted around the waist or carried with a handle that slipped over the wrist, bracelet-like.