"I am complete," Kean Etro said, banging his chest for emphasis. "Mi corazón, my heart." His emotion made perfect sense after an Etro show that celebrated Zorro, the man Kean called "my guiding spirit" for his heroism, his humanism, and his humility. The invitation was accompanied by a picture story of a Milanese urbanite who is magically transported to a Mexican mesa, where he learns to trust his instincts anew. That is kind of what's been happening to Kean lately—he's been spending a lot of time in Mexico with his wife Constanza's family—and that was also how the show played out: Etro's sharp tailoring steadily infected by bandolero-isms like chaps detailing on trousers, Western pockets on polo shirts, bandanna and horse prints, and tooled leather detailing all over the place. The label's trademark paisley was a more subtle presence than usual, if indeed "subtle" is the word to describe the pattern branded into leather shirts and jackets.
The collection was a textbook illustration of how to refresh one set of traditions (Etro's) with another (Zorro's). Kean added a Western yoke and a silver frog closing to a navy suit, trailed chains of metal coins down trouser legs, and co-opted the techniques of saddlery to add a new level of detail to Etro basics. He borrowed the shade of orange from saddle-makers, too. The sombreros, serapes, and bandoliers literalized the theme, but strip away those stylist's flourishes and you were left with a new take on a three-piece suit, or a dinner jacket, or a blouson. Yes, the show was another chapter in Kean's romance with the heroic male, but commercially, the collection was as sharp as Zorro's blade.
