mix and match | milan fashion week men’s aw2020

Spyder aw2020. Photo by Quentin de Ladelune.

Milan Fashion Week Men’s may be done and dusted, but the fun isn’t over yet. While you may have been following the shows on Instagram, Schön! was on the ground with several photographers, ducking behind the scenes of our favourite shows to give you exclusive backstage coverage and runway shots. Here’s what we’ve got to share for this Autumn/Winter season.

The latest from MGSM was a collaboration, though not in the way that one might think. This collaboration was not with a designer but with Dario Argento, an Italian film director known for his work on horror films like Suspiria. What results from this collaboration is impressive: colours ripped directly from films like The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and The Cat o’ Nine Tails, all complemented by MGSM’s welcome embrace of the moody, dark aesthetic. Our backstage photos here were taken by Bhagya Gaikwad.

On our next backstage excursion, we were joined by photographer Quentin de Ladelune. De Ladelune took us to the Marcelo Burlon: County of Milan show, where we were immediately dazzled by Burlon’s deft blending of Argentinian and Italian design. Incorporating his history in both Europe and South America, Burlon crafted a collection seemingly designed for the global underground. Laidback pieces were immediately refuted by explosive, Swarovski crystal-etched workwear, an attempt to represent the diversity of style one encounters in a typical night out.

Up next on our coverage of Milan Fashion Week Men’s, also with photographer Quentin de Ladelune, is Han Kjobenhavn. The turn from the ’80s to the ’90s is a difficult thing to capture. Economic booms were paired with a growing resentment of the working class toward their managers, the birth of the Internet and the true genesis of contemporary rave culture. With so much to pull from, trying to make a collection based on this period is a daunting task. Kjobenhavn accomplishes this by localising it, focusing on the influence all these elements had on designer Jannik Wikkelso Davidsen’s hometown. This means boxy jackets, trench coats, acid tones and so much more.

Continuing our coverage with photographer Quentin de Ladelune is N°21, which surprised us with an elegant and soft collection. While the main source of inspiration was clearly menswear of old — we couldn’t ignore the car coats and technical wear — a clear attempt was made to lessen the impact of traditionally “masculine” pieces. To give some examples, blazers and outerwear had their edges rounded and lace was a prominent feature throughout the collection.

Our second to last feature from the week (and our last with photographer Quentin de Ladelune) is Spyder. You might be thinking, that Spyder? The answer is yes. After returning to Milan last year, Spyder is back with a collection inspired by graffiti culture. For this collection, Spyder did not shy away from their activewear roots; multicolour patterns were broadcast across all sorts of football gear, exercise fits, outerwear and more.

We might not have headed backstage for the Alexander McQueen show, but seeing as it was one of our standouts from the week, we thought it deserved at least a passing mention. Rarely do we see an Autumn/Winter collection so directly inspired by the season for which it’s designed, and in the case of McQueen, the incorporation of winter tree motifs was nothing short of expert. Additionally, the matching accessories were simply divine.