Italy’s British Invasion: What to Look Forward to at Pitti Uomo and Milan Fashion Week Men’s

Founding father Paul Revere said it best in 1775 when he declared ‘the British are coming!’. Keep calm Yankees, this isn’t a history lesson in the American Revolutionary War, it’s your guide to the upcoming Italian fashion weeks. Kicking off the A/W 23 season is Pitti Immagine Uomo 103 in Florence, quickly followed by Milan Moda Uomo – that's Milan menswear for anyone whose Italiano skills end at Franco Manca. So what do the Brits have to do with Italy’s menswear meccas? A quick peruse of the schedule shows an influx of London’s biggest and brightest talents including Martine Rose (the star of Pitti’s annual Special Guest slot) and JW Anderson hopping on the cheapest Ryanair flights to the boot-shaped nation to show their latest collections. And can we blame them? The home of #menswear, the annual trade shows have long been the epicentre of men’s fashion as editors around the globe flock to Florence and Milan’s cobblestone streets in their finest three-piece suits and wingtips as they look to the future of menswear.

While the schedule is rife with London's hometown heroes, there's no shortage of Italian brands big and small to keep on your radar. This season marks Gucci's first show since creative director Alessandro Michele got the boot in December, and its first menswear-dedicated show since the megabrand went genderless in 2017. A big month for industry shakeups, mother Miuccia Prada also announced that she would be stepping down as the Prada brand’s CEO, leading us to speculate whether the designer really is soft-launching her retirement plan. Die-hard Prada fans can rest easy - as it officially stands, Sunday's show will be a continuation of Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’ dialogue as co-creative directors.

Along with the nation’s heavy hitters, emerging talents are proving Italian menswear is in good hands. Taking inspiration from queer subcultures and the bold tailoring of Giorgio Armani that defined 1980s power dressing, Magliano is quietly becoming a big player on the schedule while Simon Cracker's art-school-inspired upcycling and genderless ethos is making him one to watch. Still, it's how Italy's long tradition of menswear excellence will inspire the Brits that has us extra excited for the season ahead.

MARTINE ROSE

Following in the footsteps of Grace Wales Bonner, Craig Green and Jonathan Anderson, the next British talent to score the coveted guest spot at Pitti Uomo is menswear maven Martine Rose. Known for her subversive tailoring and ability to transform mundane office attire into covetable creations with references ranging from sportswear to 90s subcultures, Rose's rise to becoming one of menswear's most influential talents has been exciting to watch. From being a consultant for Demna’s first menswear collection for Balenciaga’s S/S 17 collection to collaborations with Nike and Tommy Hilfiger, recent years have seen Rose become a tour de force in the menswear scene. So much so that Rose has been a frontrunner for succeeding Virgil Abloh as artistic director at Louis Vuitton menswear after the maison’s CEO Michael Burke was spotted in Vauxhall for her S/S 23 show.

JORDANLUCA

Since making its runway show debut as part of London Collection’s: Men's 2018, British-Italian brand JORDANLUCA has been shaking up menswear with its experimental, exaggerated silhouettes and penchant for punk references. Co-creative directors Jordan Bowen and Luca Marchetto have been showing in Milan for a few seasons now, with each collection showing the powerhouse duo's expertise in balancing Italian heritage craft with the exuberant energy of London's youth culture. Case in point: their S/S 23 collection saw oversized tailoring and boxy leather jackets imbued with feminine flourish in the form of distressed bell bottoms, skirts, spaghetti straps, and lace details that wouldn’t look out of place during the heyday of Seattle grunge. Keeping with tradition, the brand has scrubbed its Instagram grid of all posts leading up to the upcoming show leaving us eagerly anticipating what they have in store.

CHARLES JEFFREY LOVERBOY

Alright, Charles Jeffrey is technically Scottish, but since graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2015, the designer has been a fixture on the London Fashion Week schedule. His eponymous label, Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY, has become a favourite in the London fashion scene thanks to its distinct club kid-inspired designs introducing the eclectic DIY styles of London’s New Romantics to an entirely new generation of creatives. Last year, following an injection of cash from Tomorrow Ltd., the brand made its Milanese debut with a digital lookbook that only whet the appetites of fans yearning for the energy and drama of the brand’s runway shows. Well, we won’t have to wait much longer with a physical piece de la résistance set for Sunday that’s sure to give us all the energy (and tartan) we expect from the designer.

JW ANDERSON

Jonathan Anderson’s Milanese love affair continues with his A/W 23 menswear and pre-fall 23 womenswear show on Sunday. After a surreal exploration of everyday objects last season (who could forget those BMX handlebars and compact disc jumpers?), our imaginations are running wild for how the designer is going to up the ante this time around. We only have to look at the official JW Anderson Instagram account for some clues. Leading up to the highly anticipated show, the designer posted a cheeky teaser of a jar of vaseline. With phallic keychains, an it-bag adorned Prince Albert-esque piercing, and numerous Tom of Finland collaborations under his belt (jockstraps included), Anderson has never shied away from queer references in his work. We can only guess what salacious acts Anderson could be alluding to here.