Refresh
Stone Island presents its latest ‘Prototype Research_Series’
It is well-known that Stone Island has an avid, cult-like following, a group of technical-wear obsessives who devote their time to establishing comprehensive collections of rare and limited-edition garments. The ‘Prototype Research_Series’ is one such project – an annual initiative which showcases the spoils of the brand’s latest Wonka-like experiments in textile manufacturing, for which they remain best known (we took a trip to their extraordinary research lab in Ravarino, Italy last year, to find out more). For its ninth edition – presented in an immersive installation in Stone Island’s Milan headquarters last night – the technology in question was an ’air-blown lamination knit’, a 3D process which uses hot air to bond a membrane onto the chenille knit using an inflatable mannequin (doing it onto the ‘body’ in this way ensures perfect adhesion, according to the brand). 100 colourful pieces have been made in total – the race is no doubt on as to who can add it to their collection first. JM
Paul Smith looks back into the archive for his latest Milan show
For the second season running, Paul Smith chose to show in his Milan headquarters – an ‘intimate, salon-style’ presentation narrated by the designer via voiceover. ‘[It’s about] putting classics together in a way that’s a bit irreverent and odd, sometimes playful,’ he said, noting that several of the designs were rooted in pieces his design team had discovered in his expansive Nottingham archive (it numbers over 5000 pieces of clothing and ephemera, collected over the course of Smith’s career). The 1980s and 1990s were particular touch points: some memorable inside-out tailoring was revisited, while other blazers recalled the wide-shouldered, double-breasted silhouette of the 1980s (albeit in louche, contemporary style). Meanwhile, playful flourishes – from hanging glass bag charms and botanic motifs to a jaunty riff on the tricorne hat – captured an artistic sensibility, which Smith said was inspired by Jean Cocteau. Consensus in the room was that this was the designer’s best collection in some time. JM
Dolce & Gabbana was about the multiplicity of man
This season, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce moved away from the singular themes of past collections (for S/S 2026, it was ‘pyjama dressing’) towards a more wide-ranging ‘portrait’ of style that sought to capture the multiplicity of man. ‘The runway becomes a contemporary gallery of living portraits, where every look functions as a psychological and sartorial self-portrait,’ said a booming voiceover at the start of the show. ‘[It] unfolds through a sequence of micro universes, each representing a distinct portrait of man – the introspective thinker, the creative visionary, the Mediterranean sensualist and the restless romantic’. As such, an eclectic mode of dressing was the order of the day, shifting between the bold (an enormous striped shaggy ‘fur’ coat which opened the show; colourful jumpers in fuzzy mohair), the bookish (thick-rimmed glasses, jackets in heritage fabrications), and the sporty (a handful of models in walked the runway in a Dolce & Gabbana-branded football kit). And – in a nod to last season – a pair of pyjamas and a leopard print robe. ‘There are infinite possibilities. Each one deserves its portrait,’ the voiceover concluded. JM
A fishing trip to Greenland inspired Satoshi Kuwata’s latest Setchu collection
For his sophomore Milan show, Kyoto-born designer Satoshi Kuwata – winner of the 2023 LVMH Prize for his 2020-founded brand Setchu – welcomed guests into his new brand’s ‘home’, a light-filled studio on Via Privata Rezia (for the occasion, the space had been lined with tatami mats, traditionally used for sleeping in his native Japan). Ever hospitable, Kuwata appeared at the start of the show to welcome guests, going on to talk through the collection’s inspirations, which included a memorable fishing trip to Greenland (fishing is one of Kuwata’s favourite pastimes; Greenland’s waters offered plentiful supplies). It led to a series of intriguing garments which married outdoorsy function (bags that transformed into garments through clever zip placement, warm layers of quilting, enveloping bombers and the like) with his signature unconventional pattern-cutting, honed by the designer during his time on Savile Row. Playful flourishes – like booties and slides made woven from straw, or shaggy, yeti-like ‘furs’ – added to the uplifting mood. ‘It just makes you happy,’ said my seatmate. JM.
Simon Holloway looks to Lord Snowdon’s personal wardrobe to inspire his A/W 2026 collection for Dunhill
This season, Simon Holloway chose to show his A/W 2026 collection for British heritage house Dunhill at Villa Mozart, one of Milan’s discreet architectural gems (the Piero Portaluppi-designed villa is recognisable for its ivy-covered exterior). A shift away from the runway presentations of recent seasons, Holloway instead hosted a series of intimate talk-throughs for press, introducing a collection which was inspired by the insouciant style of Antony Armstrong-Jones, Lord Snowdon. For Holloway, the British photographer – who married Princess Margaret in 1960 to become the Earl of Snowdon – encapsulated the mood of the heady decade which followed, where high society mingled with rockstars, and the stuffy dress codes of the 1950s were abandoned (American photographer Ethan James Green sought to capture the era in an accompanying photo series, starring artist and model Henry Kitcher).
‘[It’s about] the tension between aristocratic formality and unguarded artistic expression,’ said Holloway of the collection, which came largely in shades of grey (it is an ‘always favourite’ he told Wallpaper* of the hue at the preview this morning). Bolder flourishes came in ‘haberdashery’, like colourful silk pocket squares and cashmere scarves, while motifs drawn from Arts & Crafts textiles adorned jacquard tailoring and slippers. Indeed superlative fabrications were the order of the day: from fluffy alpaca and hand-finished double-faced wool to soft-to-the-touch suede, which was used to construct a (very desirable) pair of ‘jeans’.
Jacob Cohën opens a one-night-only hotel
The dramatic Luigi Perrone-designed Circolo Filologico Milanese was momentarily transformed last night into a for-one-night-only Jacob Cohën hotel to present the brand’s A/W 2026 collection (an undertaking only a little less ambitious than last season, where owner and creative director Jennifer Tommasi Bardelle created a whole Jacob Cohën village). Cue Jacob Cohën bell boys who led guests through to the ‘lobby’, where models lounged on Chesterfield sofas while a jazz band provided a live soundtrack (champagne, naturally, was on tap). Upstairs, there was a chance to see the highlights up close: highlights included the super-lightweight suedes in Jacob Cohën’s signature denim blue, some lined with fluffy shearling for warmth. JM
Ralph Lauren returns to the Milan runway after 20 years
Ralph Lauren opened the doors to his eponymous Milanese palazzo this evening, hosting an intimate presentation of his A/W 2026 menswear collections in the striking Mino Fiocchi-designed building that the brand acquired in the 1990s. Moving away from the usual static presentation format, Lauren instead chose to show his latest Polo Ralph Lauren and Ralph Lauren Purple collections for men in a back-to-back runway show that marked his first catwalk show in the city for two decades.
He said that the A/W 2026 collection itself was ‘inspired by the different ways men live’, eschewing tight thematics for a broad collection which married his distinct style tropes – from the preppy uniform for which he is best known (here: houndstooth jackets, yellow cable knits, Polo-branded caps and the like) to on-the-ranch Americana and old Hollywood eveningwear. As ever, it felt impossible not to be seduced by his optimistic vision. ‘[These collections] stand for the worlds I have believed in and lived,’ he said. JM
Zegna opens Milan Fashion Week Men’s by delving into the ‘family closet’
And so it begins – the first looks of Milan Fashion Week Men’s came from Zegna this afternoon, where Alessandro Sartori made his return to the Italian style capital after showing his S/S 2026 collection in Dubai last season (the house also moved from its traditional spot closing the week to opening it). The setting was Palazzo Del Ghiaccio, whereby the expansive main hall had been transformed with a series of towering ‘imaginary closets’ which were nonetheless filled with real clothing sourced by Sartori from Gildo and Paolo Zegna, both third-generation members of the Zegna family (Gildo is the house’s Group Executive Chairman).
Inherited through the family line, they inspired a collection of eclectic, nostalgic elegance – nonetheless cut to Sartori’s generous, contemporary silhouette. ‘I am after the sense of wonder that happens when one finds a piece that was owned by one’s father, grandfather, uncle; the discovery that comes from studying other ways of dressing, which prompts a willingness to try something new,’ said Sartori. ‘The idea of creating something that can be kept energises us.’ The casting was equally cross-generational – an age-diverse casting that has become Sartori’s signature in recent seasons.
link