The freer calendar this Milan Fashion Week may have seen a lesser attendance of editors, but the collections that were presented over the four days were on the contrary, more dynamic in energy than any of the most recent seasons. With heavyweights like Gucci and Fendi opting to sit out of menswear week for co-ed shows while other stalwarts like Moschino and JW Anderson back out, the remaining showing names were able to highlight their latest interpretations of historic codes and conventions in new and impactful ways. Read on to see what Milan Fashion Week brought to menswear for Fall Winter 2025.
Fawning over fur
Fur has made a bold return to the contemporary lexicon of menswear. It seems like houses and brands are finally comfortable manipulating their more environmentally responsible alternatives as they would with real fur, and it just so happens that everyone thought to do it at the same time. Several full-length coats found it’s way onto the laid-back, off-duty ensembles at Dolce&Gabbana, while Prada took liberties with the idea of primitive instincts to fashion fur pelts onto the trimmings of everything from car coats, bomber and puffer jackets, to full-on patchwork fur tops (worn alone or below a heavy cotton jacket).
Even though more conservative, ZEGNA, who has always championed its relationship with natural threads, also saw its luscious cashfur neatly lined on outerwear collars (see actor John Turturro’s modelling debut) and inside leather coats. But factor in the fur lapels, long-haired stoles and a rather dramatic fur ski jacket at Giorgio Armani and it still won’t be the end of this list — it seems the group consensus is that a little bit savagery is what fashion needs at this moment, and if resisting the Big Brother of innovation and fully coming into oneself were a primal process, there’s no better time than now to dig deep, and get raw with it.
Embrace of extremities
Lesser shows may appear like less competition at first glance, but really it’s just a different challenge. With the spotlight on for that much longer, what are houses going to use the extra time to say or do? For names like Dolce&Gabbana, Emporio Armani and Our Legacy, it was an opportunity to show breadth of expertise. The celebrated Italian designer duo made slouchy denim and a distinct thrift aesthetic (not too different from their collections of the early naughts) contrast cummerbunds, silk-trimmed blazers and a dazzling array of crystal brooches. Almost as if to say that Dolce&Gabbana is both contemporary street style’s go-to, as well as The Answer to the latest Met Gala theme — well besides the fact that they are already a household name for the red carpet.
Similarly, Emporio Armani’s 111-look show jumped from vampiric velvet, brocades and tapestries on fluid tailoring, to richly coloured extreme weather apropos. Think padded layers, beanies and wearable compartments in mauve, mustard and magenta; seductive energy vastly different from the soft lure of tobacco, cognac, briarwood and chocolate. Add Our Legacy’s day-to-night transformation of its characters — an ode to the real life alter egos that thrive beneath professional facades — and you have Milan acing a balancing game of extremities. It is what is pushing the envelop designed in the spirit of wearability, with designers looking to diversify what they offer to the market in a single viewing.
Bags made for travel
An overwhelming sight of big bags — bowler bags, suitcases, duffles, hold-alls and trunks — this season suggests a desire for travel. Or rather, a less uptight attitude towards movement that doesn’t mind a bit of baggage; a little bit of a mess inside is more than fine, so long as you feel content with all you have on you. Dolce&Gabbana’s assortment of dark carry-alls in finishes of suede, calfskin and leather with a glazed croc-skin effect, were either styled half-zipped or fully closed to spotlight the many external pockets. It is almost encouraging of long distance travel. Prada also introduced many colourful, pre-aged and buttery bowler bags that had on graphic lines similar to those on a basketball or its court, while ZEGNA, Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani also made big duffles that synchronised perfectly with the stature of their elegant ensembles, unfussy and clean in construction.
That basketball earring…
…is going to be the representative item of MFW FW25.
New-age sartoria
Thanks to part of the regular programming taking a backseat this season, younger or smaller brands have been able to take a bigger share of the week-long global spotlight on Milan — giving the city a much needed boost of fresh, experimental energy. Saul Nash, previously based in London, made its Milan debut this season with a more serious or sartorial approach to its silhouettes; trousers and blazers suggested a new-found smartness to the brand’s sporty roots, even while ushering in a Lululemon collaboration — digging deeper into the eponymous designer’s belief of finding freedom in movement.
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Elsewhere, the Milan and Shanghai-based Pronounce pulled together a show titled “Romantic Sharpness”, in which numerous layers of artist collaboration further cement this brand’s unique mish-mash of influences — at once distinctly Asian in design vocabulary as it is boldly European in its future-forward approach to tailoring. Couple this with Magliano’s cheeky and statement-making expressions of classic silhouettes and you have what is considered the new-age formalities of dress — any and everything else but what your parents taught you about suiting up.
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