Fall is my favorite season in terms of getting dress. You get to layer your clothes which allows you to show off more clothes and at the same time, maximize the price-usage ratio value of your clothes; it's a win-win situation. As we are already in the midst of the winter, its prime I would say, Fall 2011 finally emerged for menswear. That means, these clothes are what people would be wearing next fall (of course, by "people", I mean the rich and the famous). It's amazing how designers and stylists are able to predict and dictate what people will be wearing 7-8 months away from now. Of course, the logical explanation for the widespread time period between each season can only be attributed to the nature of the fashion business. During the months between the showing of the collections and its actually arrival into store in mid-August, there's an intense period of many months where the real business and transactions occur. Buyers put in their orders, manufacturers are making the clothes, and the publicity starts to run. It's a never-ending cycle, but one that results into a multi-billion dollar industry.
So in two parts, I will list my favorite collections that walked the runway of Milan. The ones that really tend to my personal taste; the taste of the common guy with no professional view or knowledge of "fashion". I might be the "artist"'s worst nightmare as I put a lot more emphasis on what's wearable in real life. I guess I'm more of a "buyer" than an "editor", if I was to be anyone in the fashion industry. But I digress, here are my favorites:




Christopher Bailey is by far one of my favorite designer out there and what he does for Burberry, to me, is revolutionary. He single-handedly transformed Burberry, a very traditional and somewhat conservative jacket brand, into a luxury brand that is edgy and always on top of the fashion industry without sacrificing Burberry's values. Just like in Piranha 3D (where you'd think there's only one way of dying in the movie, but people died right and left from different horrific mediums), Bailey always comes up with new ways to improve Burberry's rain jackets, always surprising the viewers. For Fall 2011, Burberry went with the whole sherpherd meets the butcher in the mountains, creating beautiful jackets made of fur, sherling, cashmere and leather. Although not his strongest collection, it is a fun one to look at.
MONCLER BLEU GAMME




Thom Browne is a very peculiar designer. I don't get his designs and aesthetic, especially when it comes to his own line, Thom Browne, with suits constructed on purpose to be fitted smaller and shorter. But as creative director for Moncler Bleu Gamme, he made quite a charming Fall collection, if not whimsical! It's very early 20th Century British and slightly eccentric, but I find it to be very cool looking. Maybe it's the rain boots, the businessman-going-hunter look or perhaps the dogs that intrigue me in this whole collection, but in any events, it intrigues me and I like that. I feel like this is self-explanatory and one cannot make a unified and organized review of this collection. But I definitely agree with whatever Browne is trying to say with this.
TRUSSARDI 1911




I'm first to say that I'm not a fan of leather pants for men. Never did and doubt I ever will. Trussardi 1911's collection was like an explosion of leather pants and I did not quite fancy that. But for the amount of leather pants they showed down the runway, they made it up with the fine jackets in buttery leather and suede. Despite the leather pants, the looks were very strong, manly and very cool. You can definitely wear 'em out in the city or travel to a ski resort in 'em as well. It's very versatile. If only the leather pants were not leather pants.
SALVATORE FERRAGAMO






So far, Salvatore Ferragamo is my favorite collection. It was hard to choose the main pictures to give the overall essence of the collection because all the looks were very nice. I think in this collection, you really get the whole "look" of fall and not just jackets over jackets. You get knitwear, sherling, leather, wool, and colors! What I find that works best with this collection is the styling. I thought it was very impeccable and the outfits made sense and was aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. The colors also are exquisite; the white is pearly and cloudy, the camel shades are rich and soft, the turquoise is luxurious and warm I'm not even throwing adjectives in there for the sake of sounding more expertly, I truly mean it. I'm very impressed and if I had the $$$$$$$$$$ to spend, this is what my closet would look like next fall!
photos courtesy of GQ
So in two parts, I will list my favorite collections that walked the runway of Milan. The ones that really tend to my personal taste; the taste of the common guy with no professional view or knowledge of "fashion". I might be the "artist"'s worst nightmare as I put a lot more emphasis on what's wearable in real life. I guess I'm more of a "buyer" than an "editor", if I was to be anyone in the fashion industry. But I digress, here are my favorites:
BURBERRY





MONCLER BLEU GAMME





TRUSSARDI 1911





SALVATORE FERRAGAMO







photos courtesy of GQ