Save the Date! Men’s Fashion Week FW23 is Here
Men’s Fashion Week fw23 is here and even though we are only about halfway through, there is already much to discuss. This fashion week is always exciting because while women’s fashion weeks are always a great time and debut many significant collections, it can be refreshing to see what the designers do with their menswear.
Photo: Gucci via Vogue Runway
Let’s start with what is going on with Gucci’s Menswear collection. Sabato De Sarno, Gucci's creative director, mixed the past and present with his designs for this season. He used inspiration from the archives of Gucci and tailored the garments to enhance the proportions of the model to create a more unique silhouette. In Look 9 of the collection the jacket and the undershirt are elongated to create a lengthening visual effect on the model and the trousers are minimally flared and given extra fabric at the bottom to enhance those proportions.
Additionally, this is Gucci’s 70th anniversary of their Horsebit Loafer, which was definitely celebrated with this year’s menswear. 10 newer artists were picked to create either AI or digital art that represents their own interpretation of the horse bit which symbolizes the fashion house’s history and is one of their most well-known indicators. To continue with this theme the exhibition was held at an art venue in Milan and was given the name “The Gucci Horsebeat Society” for the debut of the collection.
Photo: Carlo Scarpato via Vogue Runway
As a newer London-based designer, Saul Nash has brought the city of London to the beautiful beach with his new menswear collection. Within the Institute of Contemporary Arts' walls there was a beautiful scene set with a backdrop of the sea, the sun, the sound of crashing waves, and even sand on the ground. He uses London fashion with long sleeves, coats, and pants, but constructs them with lighter materials that you would find at the beach.
Photo: Valentino via Vogue Runway
Valentino is doing something different than their past years. They are known for having more co-ed runway shows and not just one gendered collection, but this year they had a menswear-specific show. This is also allowing the brand to go back in history as Valentino Garavani staged his first menswear show in Milan in 1985. Creative director, Pierpaolo Piccioli, decided to soften the masculinity with these garments by replacing harsher silhouettes and lines with more gentle ones.
His decision to replace the tight harsh lines of typical menswear clothing with looser more delicate clothing is quite striking. He flipped from using bright white to dark black, and muted tones to vibrant pinks and blues all throughout the show. There was so much to see and it is all very mixed as the colors were quite different but the silhouettes and shapes remained consistent.
