Prada’s spring/sumer 2011 collection is ’simplicity regained;’ Gucci focuses on craftmanship

Prada seeks ’simplicity regained’ in menswear

MILAN — Two of the Milan fashion world’s designing women — Miuccia Prada and Gucci’s Frida Giannini — like their men to be, well, masculine — but approached the job for next spring and summer very differently.

Gucci, which showed Monday on the third day of men’s Fashion Week, in Milan, was about fine detailing and craftmanship. Prada was nothing if not spare. What they shared was clarity.

Both designers also played with blue denim, which is making a cameo in many collections for next spring and summer.

PRADA

Miuccia Prada described her menswear collection in bold colors and clear lines as “simplicity regained.”

There was a distinct industrial feel to the show, held Sunday evening on a catwalk bathed in low-hanging light and constructed of silver medal grids that would certainly have tripped up stiletto-heeled female models but resonated well for the thick-soled men.

Simply cut pullover V-neck shirts in cotton, and sometimes denim, resemble hospital garb and are worn over ample Bermuda shorts that have an A-cut more suggestive of a skirt. Tailored jackets have three buttons, but only two are fastened, allowing the brightly colored stripe along the button line — say, royal blue, or yellow — to peek through and are paired with skinny pants, a favorite of the season. Sweaters had boatnecks and featured bold stripes around the top.

The accessories were nothing if not postmodern. Sunglasses were wrapped around the neck. Soft leather bags were belted around the waist or carried with a handle that slipped over the wrist, bracelet-like.

GUCCI

Gucci’s summer collection evoked memories of the 1970s: leisure suits, braided leather and elaborate Native American designs.

Frida Giannini started off the collection on an elegant note, a double-breasted suit in deep blue over silk T-shirts with slim pants and set off with silver necklaces. Other versions had more casual jackets, accented by crumpled silk scarves.

But she left plenty of room for causal fun: a denim shirt with an intricate design that evoked Native American art, and sportswear recalling 1970s leisure suit sahara jackets with four front pockets. There were belted-suede shorts in bold printed shirts and a thick silver wristband.

As always, Gucci played prominently with its trademark bags, with a series inspired by travel with hand-braided handles and straps.

Destination: According to the designer’s note, Marrakech, in the footsteps and image of international jet-setter Paul Getty III.

ROBERTO CAVALLI

Youth is fashion’s fixation, but 59-year-old Roberto Cavalli is trying to define a look that both he and his son could equally wear. The show Monday night held in an elaborate outdoor courtyard was opened by three female figures clad in Moorish robes who lit a large flame with their torches.

The Cavalli look is full of bold prints based on photographs the designer took on a recent trip to Indonesia, mixed with solids and dark colors. Printed silk sarouel pants — Oriental-style wide as a skirt until the knees and then tighten toward the ankle — are worn with jackets lined with matching print evidenced by the rolled-up sleeves.

“A man has to be a man … with a pinch of fantasy to emphasize his individual personality. I’m a man, no longer super-young, and today I’m proposing to you what I would wear … and what my son would wear too,” Cavalli said in design notes.