Corneliani is a long-running Mantuan tailoring concern with an eye to letting the stuffing out of its proverbial shirt. Its latest collection aimed to dispel any lingering hints of stodginess. Creative director Sergio Corneliani's "contemporary minimal dandies" are never without a shirt and tie—each and every model had one—but as for anything more formal than that, the Corneliani bet is that easy elegance can carry them as well as any evening suit. So while there were cashmere suits with soft shoulders and flat-front pants worn without breaks, the Corneliani man proved just as likely to wear his white shirt and black tie (on this he is unbending, apparently) with a shaved-mink cardigan, a velvet hoodie, or a croc-skin biker jacket. The abundance of a tartan just shy of Black Watch plaid suggested to more than a few showgoers an over-familiarity with recent collections from Valentino, another seasoned Italian label that has lately become interested in the dandy sector of the men's market. But a classic like tartan is likely durable enough to be shared.
