I can’t help it, but I would like to begin with Gucci.
Maybe partly because MFW has a more traditional feel and the neutral gender awareness was not as intense as in NY or LON or partly because Alessandro Michele gave us an overwhelming , theatrical SS17 catwalk presentation !
His geeky -chic style, the perfectly matched cacaphony of prints and colours brought both male and female collections nicely together.
We saw men in salmon-coloured wide trousers and pink sweaters with a gold bow tie. Or they wore a pink plisse skirt dress with trousers underneath. This was accessorized with lot of rings and facial tattoos.
Meanwhile, the women wore yellow glitter-metals seventies male-style suits; think David Bowie in Stardust. This confirmed that a gender-fluid tone was all-present !
Another designer whose girls and boys walked the catwalk together was Peter Dundas for Roberto Cavalli. The cowgirls and cowboys wore silk blouses with striped flared trousers. Both sexes had a similar Indian style jewellery : a thin long tie as a necklace and, in a way, they really ended up wearing the same type of clothes.
But even in the women-only collections for most of the designers, a message was sent out: “girl power”! When you present sportswear attire, a high level of androgyny is always recognisable. As an example, we can take the bomber jacket at Dsquared2 with the strong masculin shoulders. This type of 1980s power dressing was also noticeable in Jill Sander’s dresses with balloon blow-up or airfilled arms and shoulders. It’s as if the girls sit in a strong harness, well protected.
It represents a strong male image which, to me, represents an empowered femininity.
Talking of such, Donatella Versace put fit, strong, self-confident looking women in the picture with her sports de luxe. They walked the walk and talked the talk with the nylon tracksuits and parkas covering their midriff tank tops – truly fit for a female style.
This can also be said for Max Mara, who’s utility wear collection was marked with tropical prints.
And finally, I would like to mention the well known tailored suits chez Giorgio Armani. Isn’t it lovely to see the male models parading in blue metallic jackets, stepping away from the traditional fabrics for a male blazer ?
All in all, I would conclude that in Milan a lot of male touches were visible in the female clothes and a continuation ( like in NY and LON ) of feminine details was present in the men’s collections.
Maybe it’s a lighter touch of gender blender, but nevertheless it’s there.More and more, we are getting used to seeing it.
Therefore, in my humble opinion, the neutral gender dynamics becomes daringly and attractively acceptable.
Next and final one up is PFW.
To be continued.
TeDe
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