Isaac Hindin Miller reports from Europe's style capital on the latest in summer menswear fashions
Ermenegildo Zegna
Ermenegildo Zegna showed a collection of refined summer suits in washed out shades of earthy pumice, robin's egg blue and teal on day one of the spring/summer menswear shows in Milan.
Crinkly cotton blazers mixed with white linen pants; tone-on-tone seersucker tee shirts with lightest-weigh trench coats. Italians take
elegance to a whole other level, so believe me when I tell you: There is no better look for a casual jaunt down the Riviera than a cotton double breasted jacket with a primrose pink shirt.
You would be forgiven for leaving the tie at home - temperatures can run quite high in these parts.
Jil Sander
The crowd at Jil Sander this afternoon overflowed off the catwalk, out over the bleachers, past the cheap seats and beyond the photographers' pit, meaning that those of us who erred on the side of lateness were forced to view the show from behind a veritable sea of heads (not to mention enormous zoom lenses).
Tommy Ton stood nearby and shot the models through two mens' occasionally crooked elbows, though he didn't seem to miss a beat.
The offering was complex - ultra high-waisted trousers with sharply edged blazers, structured tee shirts printed in bright blue snakeskin and the occasional clear plastic trench.
If that wasn't high-enough-tech, the boys wore skinny harnesses with iPad cases slung off the front.
Raf Simons' message was clear: the modern man should peacock - so long as he keeps his work close to his heart (the iPad is a tool not a toy don'tchaknow).
And in a hilariously meta moment of self-referentialism, a lone tee shirt came out emblazoned with the following words: 'JIL SANDER SPRING/SUMMER 2012 MENSWEAR SHOW'. Lest ye forget.
Burberry review
Last season, Burberry made it rain on the runway - and not in that cash money, hip hop video kind of way. Real-life water showered down on the models as they did their finale walk, creating one of the greatest spectacles ever seen on a catwalk.
This time around, the presentation was served straight-up without theatrics, but moments before the show began the venue's curtains were dropped allowing warm Milanese light to flood the room.
There was a real handmade element to the collection, seen in crocheted collars on jackets and hemp bobble hats similar to those that New Zealand children are taught to make at primary school (or at least this New Zealand child was).
It was also full of volume - anorak sleeves were disproportionately roomy, trench coats were worn way oversized and fishermen knits had big scoop necks.
Completing the eclectic trifecta was the colour - everything from yellow to bottle green, purple and inky blue could be found throughout.
Christopher Bailey called it "Handcrafted heritage", but they also looked like the clothes of a modern day magpie - a quirky knit sweater mixed with a leather coat, pom pom hat, two-tone plaited leather shoes and a few busy patterns thrown in for good measure.
Sometimes the collection should be allowed to speak for itself and with the extreme variety on offer today, it would've taken a big bang to trump what was already on the catwalk.
Well played, Mr Bailey, well played.
* For more from Isaac, see isaaclikes.com.
