Fall men's Milan ... Zegna, Ports 1961, Costume National

Well maybe it was the palette. Maybe it was one of the extremely rare times that I can say the models for the most part were hot. Maybe it is just because there were some great pieces that can be worn by those who really have great style. I know it wasn’t the cropped pants or another bomber jacket. I know it wasn’t the faux stylized Japanese prints. I just know that there was something about this polished Ports 1961 presentation that spoke to me as fashion... albeit fashion without a brand but fashion.

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If there is one complaint about Zegna,  it would be that the casting of the show is silly and worse than that it is foolish. These clothes deserve to be shown on med not pubescent teen agers but men who look like men. So Pilati, a man of nuance, is all about a subtle almost Armani-ish palette, a more relaxed silhouette and pleated pants. The designer has reimagined the brand and catapulted it forward to a brand that now has fashion under its awning instead of just wardrobe staples for the well-heeled man. And yes, the Zegna DNA is intact and the designer has put his imprimatur on the heritage brand without making it look foolish. Pilati is a fabric man and yes it shows and it shows off his skill as a designer who designs rather than some piker who thinks they invented thread.

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Costume National, Ennio Capasa, does what Hedi wishes he could do and that is to design beautifully made sexy clothes for men who want to look hot and cool not like some wannabe rocker strong out on heroin. To be 30 years younger, I would be all over these clothes provided of course I had the lifestyle to wear them. This is a collection with obvious niche appeal that serves the fashion enlightened rather than the trendoids.  And yes, I believe that the client harbors some inner rock start which is great and now they have what to wear without looking like they are wearing their kids’ clothes. Sadly it is my belief that these designers are really doing themselves a disservice by casting these young boys who look barely old enough to shave.

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Roberto Cavalli.. Ports 1961.. fall 2015 men's

Stufato Milanese fall 2015 Cavalli …. Ports1961 men’s

Roberto Cavalli is one of those collections that is paid attention to because the clothes demand attention and sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a more fashion victim kind of way. This season my attention has been caught for several reasons.

How I see this is simply that Cavalli does what Saint Laurent does and now Gucci hopes to do and that is capture the sexy rock n roll fashion that attracts the supposed youth of fashion. Here is the news flash and that is Cavalli does it better and with more polish than the other 2 brands. Hedi thinks he invented the 70s and the “who” at Gucci haven’t a clue to capture androgyny in a way that is palatable and stylish.

Cavalli has been beating this horse for ages and now it seems everyone wants to ride it too. Sometimes being too soon is as bad as being too late. Kering will find out that they can’t support 2 look alike same audience collections and it might have been far wiser to leave this rock star mentality/inspiration to Cavalli and to Hedi.

Ports 1961 is one of those collections that always intrigues me but usually fails to ignite a spark in me except that this season it started a fire under me. The color blocking is crisp and clean and the design flourish is brilliantly executed by incorporating it into shapes that are as understandable and as basic  as they can be. The result is quite simply a collection that looks fresh, ageless and most importantly... Timeless. The palette couldn’t be simpler but as far as I can tell, these are clothes that speak if not yell... Buy me!

The only drawback I saw is when the looks became a bit too “uniformy”… think tracksuit, bellboy or military but that was only because of how the looks were assembled and not because of the pieces that make up the turn out.

Once again it is refreshing to see a collection that is shy on trend and long on looks and appeal!