Fall/winter 2008/09 menswear previews

By Ed Biado

There?s a major trend in fashion right now and that?s dressing for the economic times. That is well exhibited in the just-concluded Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks (menswear fall/winter 2008/09). Major labels and houses presented their men?s collections with caution, but there were some excesses and exuberant surprises along the way. Here?s a recap:

1. Emanuel Ungaro?Designer Franck Boclet?s gift to men amid the financial crisis is something money can?t buy?the ability to dress like James Dean. Of course, one would look stupid if he really tried to pull off an authentic 1950s? rebel look, but the good folks at Ungaro have updated the style so today?s man can finally have a crack at it.

2. Giorgio Armani?The Armani suit returns to almost its original form to respect the circumstances brought about by recession. Just a little softer and fresher than the ?traditional? Armani, the new ?classic? Armani is kept updated and smart.

3. Yves Saint Laurent?Perhaps to save money on fabric, designer Stefano Pilati had his male models walk the runway in garments cropped, abbreviated and shortened. As with many other fall/winter ?08/09 forecasts, grays and blacks are the dominant shadows.

4. Dsquared2?Mix-and-match separates are the lesson that designing twins Dean and Dan Caten are teaching us in these economic times. Jeans with stiff suit-jackets, leather vests, trims and a whole lot of distressing are ways to update a wardrobe, if the Dsquared2 runway is your basis.

5. Hugo by Hugo Boss?Many agree that the Hugo show was the Matrix in mod. With just the right amount of 1960s inspiration and post-2000s volume and silhouette, Hugo managed a sober collection that?s extremely edgy but surprisingly pretty.

6. D&G?Muted colors on brocade and velvet were the center of the second Dolce & Gabbana line. It?s a something old, something almost new collection with little innovation and mostly an F-slash-U on past seasons? trends.

7. Dries van Noten?Clean, no fuss and wearable: these are the selling points of the van Noten previews. They?re safely confined within familiar looks, cuts and colors. But they?re in the now and awfully chic. It?s van Noten without being too van Noten.

8. Prada?Long, comfort-zone types of coats and studded shirts are the most adventurous that Miuccia Prada went this year. And there?s the black leather T-shirt, if you really had to count. It was all too safe, perhaps bordering gloomy, and very practical.

9. Yohji Yamamoto?Who knew that pajama-looking suits would actually work? And to take the bedroom look even further, Yamamoto precision-tooled his trench coats to look like bathrobes.

10. Hermes?Stable and always dependable to produce wearer-friendly looks, Hermes laid out the timelessness with double-breasted suits, somber shades of gray and old-rich luxury of cashmere. Designer Veronique Nichanian also sprinkled some bright yellows and reds on skinnies and other non-suit pieces.