new fashion for men, from Italy
from AntBlog701

new fashion for men, from Italy

There's an interesting report on News.com.au about the new fashion. Handbags, brooches and make-up ... the latest trends for men hit the catwalk.

Milan turns men into handbags (News.com.au, 18th January 2005)

BURLY blokes are pinning brooches to their tuxedos and toting knitted satchels as menswear designers flirt with femininity on the catwalks of Milan.

Crystal flower and butterfly brooches glittered from the lapels of muscle-bound models parading velvet Dolce & Gabbana dinner jackets on the first day of Milan fashion week yesterday.

The 2005-06 autumn-winter show opened with a classy collection of tracksuit pants, tank tops, boxer shorts and tennis outfits for image-conscious gym junkies.

Clark Kent clones paraded classically cut business suits, and bare-chested models wore studded jeans slung low enough to warrant a bikini wax. Cult British label Burberry Prorsum pinned colourful fake flowers made of tartan mohair to shaggy sheepskin coats, vivid velvet jackets and plasticised cloaks.

The models toted knitted satchels, embroidered leather bags and cane-handled umbrellas.

"I think it's a very good moment for developing accessories," creative director Christopher Bailey said backstage yesterday.

"They make the look more bohemian, more relaxed."

Mr Bailey said the brooches were not inspired by the ladylike look that was dominating women's fashion.

"Over Christmas I was watching a lot of television and saw an old horse-racing film, set in the '50s, where the men wore beautiful corsages," he said.

"It's very British."

Eccentric English designer Vivienne Westwood dressed her models in kilts, floral chiffon skirts, wafting metallic shirts, frilly blouses and silly hats - all thrown together as if for a kindergarten play.

In an ode to 18th-century composer Mozart, she designed shirts with big bows tied at the neck, matching them with high-waisted velvet pants, white and gold brocade jackets and Jacquard prints.

One model, cooing to his chihuahua, wore a corsage of chillies on his frilly white shirt. But the flamboyant Donatella Versace delivered an uncharacteristically sober collection of impeccably tailored men's suiting, proclaiming a "new era of sophistication" for fashion.

In shades of grey and black, broad-shouldered models strutted in classic pinstriped shirts worn with turtleneck knits, or elegant silk shirts and bold geometric ties.