Men’s Fashion Week in Milan will be short but intense

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Jan 15, 2015

A short but dense week with plenty of innovations. Fashion Week dedicated to ready-to-wear menswear collections for winter 2015-16 will be "well calibrated, between prestigious brands with international renown and new names that have chosen the catwalks of Milan to present their collections," summed up Jane Reeve, Chief Executive of the Italian Chamber of Fashion.

The programme for the week, taking place in Milan from 17 to 20 January, has indeed been reduced due to several defections. In all, 42 shows are on the schedule, including Dolce & Gabbana, which does not appear on the official programme, compared to 45 shows for the June 2014 edition and 43 for the January edition last year, to which are added some thirty presentations.

Several names are missing this season. Iceberg, which has opted for a presentation, and Z Zegna, the young line from the Ermengildo Zegna group, which is holding a soirée-presentation on Monday the 19th before the departure of its artistic director, Paul Surridge, leaving his position as of next season to Francesco Muzi, ex-head designer of menswear at Jil Sander.

Trussardi is also continuing with the presentation formula. Likewise, Tod's, which walked the runway for the first time with its men's collection last June, is leaving the podiums to return to its usual presentations in the historic Villa Necchi Campiglio.

These defections are nevertheless compensated by some major events and a few big returns, which will make for memorable moments for this Fashion Week. It all starts with the big soirée-show organised by Dsquared2 to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

Next is the return of Brioni to the catwalk, after several seasons of being absent. The Italian luxury menswear brand acquired by the Kering group in 2012 will close the day on Sunday the 18th.

It's also a return to the runway for Jil Sander, who opted out in June, preferring instead to go with a presentation while the house's new creative director, Rodolfo Paglialunga, made his start.

Finally, the Gucci show on Monday the 19th, which has been created by an internal style team for the first time, as creative director Frida Giannini decided to leave the house before the end of her contract that was to carry through to the end of February.

Also present on the calendar this season are German designer Tom Rebl, a fixture at Milan since 2008, as well as several young talents, such as Swiss designer Julian Zigerli, and Korean designer D. Gnak, who are returning after their first go in the capital of the Lombardy region in January 2014.