Massimo Giorgetti’s collections often start with musical inspiration; it can be a hit that’s evocative of his past or a new piece which one of his musician friends has just released. That was the case for his spring men’s outing, for which Italian DJ Lorenzo Senni provided the soundtrack. Called Canone Infinito, the track’s hypnotic, spiraling-up-to-infinity melody enthralled Giorgetti, making him think of the looping, circular rhythm of our reality and its repetitive beat—something that lockdown has made us experience in abundance.
Giorgetti being a very social animal, the isolation triggered the urge to network with peers and to work on communal projects involving a new wave of Italian creative talents with whom he has connected during the pandemic. Photographer Francesco Nazardo and the Milan-based image makers of No Text Azienda were involved in the production of the men’s collection’s video. Somehow replicating the circular melody on Senni’s musical piece, the two-day shoot took place on a secluded beach in Maremma, a largely untouched, wild strip of land in Tuscany. “Anyone who says that the pandemic has changed the pace of the industry isn’t telling the truth,” half-joked Giorgetti.
Layering references is very much the MSGM way. “A part of me is more rave and trippy; the other is more romantic and dreamy,” said Giorgetti. “I always have to accommodate both in my projects.” His go-to seasonal visual inspo was the book A Spiritual Good Time by American artist and surfer Stephen Milner, whose sensitive take on queer-surf culture has flipped the heteronormative narrative. Giorgetti liked the intimate, nuanced sensuality of Milner’s approach and the analog imagery; it sent him down memory lane to his youth, when surfing was fashionable and about a strong sense of camaraderie and community.
While not directly referencing stereotypical surf tropes, the collection takes cues from the pleasures of life at the beach and a love for sun-kissed days at sea; the theme is twisted the MSGM way—fun, colorful, obliquely naive. Prints reprise the complete catalogue of sea creatures: a submarine fantasy of mermaids, crabs, pierced shells, and sharks, silk-screened, stenciled and embroidered in faded brights. “I wanted to experiment with the artisanal and handcrafted techniques which aren’t really part of MSGM’s more industrial approach,” Giorgetti explained.
The offering is rich in tactile textures and finishes. Oversized boxy jumpers in organic hemp have undone edges or raw-cut hems; pants and sweats are knitted with thin cotton ribbons to furry effect; dyes have no chemical impact and are solarized on square-cut cabans in organic raw fleece and on XXXL shirts in recycled cotton with cut-out lasered motifs. Adding some surf cool, second-skin allover printed lycra leggings are worn under beach shorts or roomy skater Bermudas. “It’s a clash between the Italian tradition of the well-made and a street vibe,” said Giorgetti. “This is actually what MSGM is all about.”
