MILAN—Milan’s menswear shows kicked off in style on Saturday with Italian designer Giorgio Armani going for classicism and duo Dolce & Gabbana looking for “extreme beauty” for next spring’s fashion.
Their shows were among the first of some 40 catwalk runs during Milan’s spring/summer 2010 menswear fashion week, which runs until Tuesday and comes amid hopes for a recovery for the Italian sector, hit by the global financial crisis.
Armani, considered the doyen of Italian fashion, called his menswear line “classicism of 2010”, and used oversized patterns on shirts, ties, shimmering silk and linen.
Fitted suits were chequered or striped, in greys, light brown or in pale, luminous colours, teamed with loose shirts.
The 74-year-old, who last month said he was recovering from hepatitis, coupled sky blue patterned tops with plain white suits. He also brought out some denim designs, giving a lighter touch to casual suits, sometimes with waistcoats.
Models, sometimes teamed with female models, wore two-tone lace up shoes or ankle boots, sunglasses and small cases.
Focusing on embroidery, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana chose sparkling jackets over black trousers rolled up to the ankle and silk shirts tucked into short, tight swimming trunks.
Italy’s most famous designer duo said they paid homage to the “hedonistic beauty of a sartorial suit studied to its finest detail” from the proportions of the lapel to the fabric.
They put sparkling silver, gold and shiny black embroidery on jackets, scarves, trousers and velvet slippers. They added caps, square-shaped sunglasses and small square-shaped bags.
