Valentino Garavani presented his first men’s collection in Milan in 1985; today, Pierpaolo Piccioli returned to the city, opening Milan Men’s Fashion Week with his “The Narratives” men’s show, staged on a regular school day in the garden of La Statale, Milan’s public university housed in a beautiful Renaissance building. Students watching the show from the courtyard’s loggia were also treated to a live performance by rap and indie musician d4vd.
Piccioli’s choice of location was part of his quest for a creative practice whose message is meaningful and accessible to younger audiences, breaking the elitism of fashion circuits and sparking discussions to ignite change. Reflecting on how masculine identity is represented and defined through the codes of fashion was what today’s collection was about.
“The signifiers of power and success have so far defined the idea of masculinity,” he said at a post-show press conference. “But I believe that true power and strength are about the freedom to show your own fragility and sensitivity.”
It was for this reason, he said, that he was drawn to Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life, so much so that pink-hued copies of the book were sent out as invitations to the show. “The intimacy and humanity of the four male characters, their open vulnerability and resilience was touching and inspiring for me,” he offered. Quotes from Yanagihara’s pages were printed across a black tailored suit and at the front of a pair of denim trousers.
The show pivoted on Piccioli’s easing of classic masculine tropes, subtly subverted through a gentle approach. He worked on sartorial codes, softening the proportions of boxy blazers, replacing trousers with short shorts and skirts, embroidering flowers on lapels or printing blown-up blooms on breezy light jackets and straight-cut shirts. Piccioli’s artistic flair for a pictorial palette—mint green, raspberry, turquoise and hot pink alternating with black and white—emphasized a sense of individual vitality and an attitude of romantic freedom. “I am against any aesthetic diktat,” he said.
Piccioli believes that his duty as a designer is to not only give life to beautiful creations, but “to say something meaningful on a deeper level.” That’s why staging the show at La Statale University, which is a powerful activator of education and knowledge, was important to his ethos. To that end, Valentino will sponsor student scholarships through a substantial donation to the university; on the sustainable front, runway materials will also be repurposed and recycled in partnership with Milan’s Spazio META, a company offering recovery services of used materials. An oak tree will also be planted in Milan’s public gardens of Porta Venezia, going full circle on the good practices Piccioli and Valentino are committed to pursuing.
