‘Basta’ with overkill for men’s styles in Milan

updated 11:10 a.m. ET Jan. 17, 2008

MILAN, Italy - With a simple accessory — a felt fedora — Giorgio Armani summed up the feel of the fall-winter men’s collections: sporty, seductive and above all, gentlemanly.

The Armani show, which wrapped up Tuesday after four days of preview showings, was definitely a class act.

Models sauntered down the runway in perfectly tailored three-piece suits under elegant top coats, gloves in hand and wide-brimmed hats worn with a hint of a tilt, emanating self-assurance and aplomb.

“This fellow is used to being addressed as ‘Sir,’ not ‘Hey you,’” the designer said after the show, citing the British royal princes William and Harry as examples of his current fashion vision.

Everywhere on the Milan runway, elegance was in the air for next winter, but while it came naturally to Mr. Armani, it was a new trick for some designers who this round were in search of a more soft-spoken silhouette than the open-shirted, tight-trousered sex symbol that has become their trademark.

Dolce&Gabbana, for their second line D&G collection, turned their macho man into a proper gentleman by decking him out in tweedy styles underlined by the heavy use of Tartan plaids.

Highlights of Tuesday’s show: plaid tuxedo jackets matched with gray flannel trousers with the traditional black band up the sides, and accessorized by a white shirt and black bow tie — a must for next New Year’s Eve.

Silvia Venturini — creative director of Fendi, founded by her mother and her four sisters — also embraced the new streamlined style. Using the family’s knack for working leather and fur, she created a fancy aviator jacket out of crocodile skins smoothed into suede. Luxurious fur adorned the lapel of an elegant top coat or trimmed heavy knit sweaters. Bags were exquisitely stitched briefcases.

Her bow tie — in general THE accessory of the season — boasts a nifty metal border.

“Thirty-four outfits to get my message across. ‘Basta’ (enough) with overkill,” said Venturini after a show that drew much applause. Her remark referred to recent criticism by designers and buyers alike that the market is saturated with what Armani labeled as “sloppy fashion.”

Not quite in sync with the current stylish message were the Canadian twins Dean and Dan Caton, who staged their show Tuesday in a London tenement, where their tough guys hang out in ultra-baggy jeans, bullish ski jackets and mean-looking lace-up boots. But their fun show served to relax the fashion scene, lest it become too stuck up.

Perhaps the single most significant item of this round of collections is the top coat — a must in a gentleman’s wardrobe — which makes a comeback after many a season of bomber jackets and car coats.

At times, the new fashion dabbles with the dandy with ruffled shirts, fur-trimmed lapels and the omnipresent bow tie. Regular ties are also fashionable — usually black and narrow and worn with a white shirt.

In the sports department, the designers looked to the slopes with baggy snowboarding trousers and parka jackets with fur-trimmed hoods. The sheepskin coat also enjoyed a revival. There’s a lot of apres-ski going on especially in the bulky knit sweaters, lace-up boots and dinner jackets.

Footwear in general is either sturdy and round-toed or exaggeratedly pointed. Trousers are always tucked into the boots. Colors stick to blues and grays, with bursts of red and multicolored plaids.

Next winter’s gentleman is a youngster, and likes to wear his hair romantically tussled, British 19th-century portrait style.

Every so often during the showings, a cold Siberian wind would sweep down the runway, offering embroidered shirts, Cossack boots, and Dr. Zhivago outerwear.

The tip of the hat to Russian folklore could have more than just a fashion motive. For the second year in a row, Russians are packing Milan hotels in search of bargains during the current sales season, while formerly loyal customers such as Japanese and Americans are increasingly rare. Many high-end boutiques now have personnel who can greet their customers with a fluent “dobriy dyen” — “good day” in Russian.

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