Today's MSGM show was likely the first time in fashion history that a Jonathan Franzen book turned up on a backstage mood board. Massimo Giorgetti is a big fan of Franzen's 2010 novel, Freedom. If you've read it you'll remember that songbirds—warblers, specifically—are central figures in the plot. Winged creatures figured prominently in MSGM's new Spring collection, as well. A woodpecker print perched itself on the back of a tie-front cotton duchesse coat, beaded finches were embroidered on dresses, and bunches of hummingbirds colonized floor-length slips in the form of repeating prints. Quite a big flock.
Still, this collection represented another step away from the more-is-more aesthetic that prompted Giorgetti's swift rise in the first place. True, there were pieces here that will have street style photographers angling for a good shot—the black tulle hoodie that spelled out FREEDOM in neon green block letters, for starters. But in another first, there was basic black on the MSGM runway—not a lot, but enough to notice. A pair of pleat-front black trousers nicely set off a tie-back top in the finch print. At the end of a packed week in Milan, we're all living for a little surprise. Giorgetti's show this season qualified.
