MILAN, Italy - It might not have produced fashion fireworks, but this round of menswear preview collections for Spring-Summer 2009 offered up a very wearable wardrobe.
The easy to understand clothes presented in the four days of showings which ended Tuesday night with a garden party hosted by Giorgio Armani, are a sign that designers know this is no time to go out on a fashion limb.
"I wanted to bring to the city a relaxed and elegant savoir faire," Armani said of his collection presented earlier in the day, summing up the mood of this round of "moda Milanese."
Jackets, always a safe investment, make a huge comeback. A symbol of the revival is the white dinner jacket, a yesteryear high school prom favourite, immortalized by the late actor Humphrey Bogart in such favourites as "Sabrina" and "Casablanca."
There were plenty of summer suits on the runway, usually with a jacket cut close to the body, and a comfortable trouser. The conservative look is softened by unconventional lapels, embroidery detailing, graphic prints, and a pastel palette, even if city grey and blue prevail.
Underneath, the Milan dresser can wear a floral patterned shirt, a silk T-shirt or just a plain classic shirt and tie. In the retro department, bow ties are the favourite.
The over-all impression is relaxed, rather than recreational, with little sportswear, usually an Italian fashion favourite. The summer overcoat, a cross between a shirt and a trenchcoat, comes in ultra-light fabric and is tied at the waist with a thin leather belt. The silk printed pyjama is the latest home entertainment luxury item.
Footwear is urban, mostly lace-ups, often worn without socks, loafers and an occasional leather sandal or low boot.
Models with horn-rimmed glasses and short haircut underlined the no-nonsense mood.
So how does Giorgio Armani's colourful ode to India collection fit into all of this?
First of all, no one does a jacket or suit like the maestro. This round along with classic styles, he combines a formal jacket in Prince of Wales or chalk stripes with soft trousers in shantung silk, worn with a loose untucked shirt, and a knotted scarf replacing the belt at the waist.
For more casual wear he offers cardigan jackets in ethnic fabrics such as hopsack, matched with brightly coloured silk pyjama bottoms, a scarf lightly tossed over one shoulder.
"I'm not much for colour," said actor Adrien Brody, front row guest at the show, as he picked on fusion nibbles at the garden party, wearing a dark suit, with a matching vest and no shirt. "But that collection has got me thinking I could change."
Earlier Tuesday, Marni, by Consuelo Castiglione, went ethereal, reflecting another take on contemporary classic seen in Milan this week at Prada and Jil Sander. Little more than wisps of fellows walked lightly down the runway in oversized shirts reminiscent of a painter's smock, worn over Bermuda shorts or loose trousers. These smocks also made up the jacket of a more formal suit.
The Dolce and Gabbana duo who introduced the current urban look at their Sunday signature collection, celebrated its success with a grande finale of models in white dinner jackets complete with bow tie at their upbeat D&G second line collection Tuesday.
Leave it to Sylvia Venturini Fendi to come up with the hottest item in the accessory department: a formal leather lace-up with wedged heel, part of the Fendi summer collection presented Tuesday.
