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For one of those typical reversals of fashion, at this moment there is nothing newer, more propulsive and disruptive than the classic, rejected until a few years ago as retrograde, boring, the exclusive prerogative of “cumenda”, perhaps with the paunch, opaque bureaucrats, Pharisees of magnificent and progressive fortunes. But no: at this exact moment – chronological clarification is a must – progress passes through indispensable cornerstones, immovable pillars and family codes. This means a return to tailoring, of course, but also the rediscovery of everything that is so popular with those who actually don’t follow fashion, and perhaps disdain it, inheriting timeless wardrobes from very elegant ancestors. Indeed, it must be said, the new generation classics are out of register, perpetually stuck in the convergence of masculine and feminine which is the cornerstone of the present.
Fendi, the FW 24-25 collection
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Silvia Venturini Fendi is the tough but silent guide of this movement. With the transliteration of the classics and their re-signification, the creative director of menswear and accessories of the Roman maison has practically always worked, in a very personal way that corresponds to her character, seditious behind the polite but shy appearance. The collection, characterized by a feeling of a trip to the countryside and subsequent return to the city, could ideally have as its reference icon Queen Elizabeth out of town at Balmoral, with the handkerchief on her head, the raincoat and the pleated skirt. In fact, there is no shortage of kilts, and so are the wide Bermuda shorts with the crotch so low that they look like skirts, mixed with polo shirts and field jackets with compact volumes, with the touch of sparkle of lurex which has now become, in turn, a classic . In the oscillation between otium and negotium, between snappy leathers and rigorous cassocks, the accessories introduce a lazy and indolent note, complete with a siesta bag that acts as a pillow if necessary.
Neil Barrett, a designer with pristine lines and admirable precision, also works on the classics, imagining a meeting between generations. The classic, grandfatherly wardrobe then changes in details, proportions, fabrics, and what was old appears new. The idiom of Jordanluca, a London brand that has chosen Milan for its fashion show for a few years now, is classic in its tailoring, but abrasive in its tone of expression and which this season is producing a mature, tense test, projected towards a brilliant future.
Federico Cina’s melancholy becomes dry, but always vibrates with feeling, while Massimo Giorgetti chooses the mezzanine of the Porta Venezia underground station, inaugurated in 1964, as the site of the MSGM fashion show, and pays homage to Franco Albini, who designed it, using a The shape of the unmistakable handrails is very graphic. The collection oscillates between urban dynamism and domestic laziness, between long coats and padded sweaters, seasoned with various sparkles, but the different elements do not combine in a harmonious way, and in the end the homage to Albini and the frenetic Milanese spirit, so acute and timely, remains unexpressed.
Emporio Armani, the FW 24-25 collection
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Finally, at Emporio Armani, it is sea time in winter, under the tower of a black lighthouse that flashes on the catwalk: Atlantic scents and crossing elegance, large coats and oilskins, and the inevitable sachet hats, but also suits with blouses from same fabric and embroidery that recall the concretions left by the open sea on the keels of ships. It is an Armani in dazzling form who is at work here, who finds a sharp dryness in his expression and who, with inveterate radicalism, puts the same clothes, re-proportioned, on women too, because the rediscovery of the classics cannot and must not be one-way, but a true and fluid dialogue.