Milan, Italy — Italian menswear designers are planning a sensible winter season.
After several rounds of fussy fashion, they are opting for styles aimed at making a guy feel comfortable.
Gone are the frills and spangles, the ultra-tight fit and the flimsy fabrics. The new season instead features a relaxed sporty style, cut away from the body and fashioned in coarse "face the elements" materials.
"We tried to imagine we were outside our shop watching the people who came in to buy," said Stefano Gabbana of the designing Dolce and Gabbana duo before their Sunday afternoon show, which kicked off the five-day preview showings for the fall-winter 2002-2003.
What they came up with was a melting pot of different types, from the boyish rascal to the refined gentleman. There is the jock in the parka with the fox fur- trimmed hood, the country farmer in his best Sunday suit, the university intellectual with handknit pullover and extra long scarf, and the dandy with his elegant blouse and velvet trousers.
To underline their theme, the duo used 54 models ranging in age from 19 to 57, accompanied by such runway queens as Naomi Campbell and Eva Herzigova.
"It's all about finding your personality type," Gabbana said.
Donatella Versace, who also showed on Sunday, confirmed the "real guy" look of the season, featuring a casual West Coast style of jeans vests and motorcycle jackets.
But at the same time, Versace couldn't let go of the "rock n' roll" glam that has become the trademark of her menswear, with elaborate Gothic designs adorning luxurious silk shirts and lavish brocade coats. For the first time she used a personalized logo "DV" that appeared on ties and almost everywhere else.
The Fendis, always quick to find new ways to carry money witness the success of the female "baguette" brought back the "borsello," the male handbag popular in the 1960s, for their winter collection presented Monday.
The new Fendi man wants to look as British as possible and therefore spends a lot of time in stripes and flannels.
Valentino, who also showed Monday, envisions a romantic macho with a gypsy spirit. The fringed scarf is the leitmotif of the new collection, wrapped abound the neck or worn poncho-style in dashing red or dramatic black.
In general, the return to a more conventional and subdued style reflects the big economic hurt the fashion industry felt after the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.
The Valentino group announced Monday that despite a huge drop after the attacks, the company still came out 10 percent ahead since the previous year.
Giorgio Armani, also acknowledging that his retail activities suffered "significantly" after the terrorist attacks, could still boast an overall 23 percent increase in sales since the previous year.
But Armani is not happy with the status quo of fashion. In a recent interview with the Daily Telegraph newspaper in Britain, the designer complained that contemporary consumerism was "antidemocratic," saying "fashion should be for all, not only the rich who can afford it."
The designer, who will close the current round of preview showings Thursday with his signature collection presented in the theater of his new Milan headquarters, said he is thinking of turning his talents to film.
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