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Don’t let the menswear shows slip under your radar: the spring/summer 2023 shows set the tone for the women’s season ahead – and boast more than a few co-ed looks to bookmark. From Prada’s reimagining of the classics to Dolce’s surprising ode to David Beckham, here are the Vogue editors’ favorite collections.
Prada
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Jeff Goldblum was clearly pumped to be at the Prada show. Last season’s breakout model found much to like from his front row vantage point – including the bleached-out workaday double denim look he selected to wear himself. The collection, entitled “Choice”, was a mix of classics with a twist: black suits worn with cowboy boots, four-button spring coats realised in pastel ginghams, short shorts in leather. “So much that is the base is really a conceptual choice – a coat, jeans, a suit,” said Mrs Prada. “They appear simple but are the result of a process, of choice – there are hundreds of coats, why is this the right one?” The answer, of course, is because it’s Prada. AN
Dolce & Gabbana
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Images of the Kardashian clan posing in a variety of archive Dolce & Gabbana pieces for Kourtney Kardashian’s Portofino wedding to Travis Barker are no doubt catnip for the Italian label’s Y2K shoppers – a TikTok-obsessed touchpoint the label tapped into for the brand’s spring/summer 2023 collection, which featured a series of Re-Edition pieces drawn from the ’90s and ’00s. Cue tattered denim, optic-white tailoring and evening jackets in rich embellishments and brocade. The label also took cues from the style of David Beckham across those decades (remember the 1998 sarong?), with shirts emblazoned with his name and England team number. When in doubt, spend it like Beckham. LH
Fendi
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Accessories were everything on Fendi’s spring/summer 2023 runway, where dozens of looks were topped off with bucket hats in raw-edge denim, or emblazoned with the house monogram. Coupled with the baseball caps, visors and some faintly Mad Max-esque sunglasses, it added up to a laid-back, Cali-inspired mood that’s sure to appeal to Fendi fans like model and skateboarder Evan Mock. KM
JW Anderson
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Trust Jonathan Anderson to create a pop culture-charged collection of surefire viral hits. The BMX handlebars that rested on models’ shoulders, split skate decks-splayed sweaters and CD-emblazoned hoodies had editors craning their necks. It was mind-bending, conversational and fun. What more could you want? AC
Emporio Armani
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Emporio Armani’s spring/summer 2023 collection was testament to the wide spectrum of Armani customers. There wasn’t just one look, one trend. No, Mr Armani did what he does best; he wove together a tapestry of influences while remaining quintessentially, well, Armani. There was tailoring, of course, sailor-inspired linen looks (a personal favourite), slashed knits, suits and technical sportswear. Oh, and not to forget the short shorts, which have already made my wish list. HL
Etro
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Pedicures at the ready, because the toe ring is back! The bejewelled orthopaedic accoutrement was a shining symbol of Kean Etro’s bohemian collection: a suitcase-ready, eclectic offering of breezy floral kaftans, tropical tailoring, sunset-tone shirting and striped palazzo pants, ready for balmy barefoot nights in the Balearics. The collection was Etro’s last for the Italian house, sublimely tapping into the soft, artisanal and richly decorated details that fans of the Italian label lust after, before its newly appointed creative director Marco de Vicenzo takes the creative helm next season. Before the show, each guest was read a piece of verse over the phone, a captivating alternative to a physical invitation. Etro’s final exuberant, well-applauded (and toe ring-clad) outing for the house was poetry in motion. LH
Charles Jeffrey Loverboy
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Community has always been central to Charles Jeffrey’s Loverboy work – and this season was no different. Showing via not one but two short films (the latter of which was remixed by musical duo Nimmo and gives us a behind-the-scenes look on set), the designer enlisted friends and collaborators to model his spring/summer 2023 collection, which explores queer identities and wellness via sports-infused designs. Ancient Greek influences can be seen via the prints, while sustainability was again a focus this season – with all the knitwear made using Responsible Wool Standard-certified yarns. EC
Wales Bonner
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Academic designer Grace Wales Bonner is known for mining history and culture to further her mission to bring “an Afro-Atlantic spirit to European luxury”, but her spring/summer 2023 show, staged in Florence’s Palazzo Medici Riccardi was one for the books. She referenced the Sankofa bird symbol of Ghana’s Akan people, which means going back to go forward, to make clear that this was not about being nostalgic. Rather, she told Vogue, “It’s about taking something from the past in order to pass it forward and make it useful for the future.” Read the full review to dive into all the stories occupying Grace’s imagination this season. AN
Versace
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Color ruled at Versace’s spring/summer 2023 menswear show, where lime-green blazers were layered over silky trousers in sherbet pink, and skin-tight vests that exposed the sides of the torso (Donatella knows cut-outs are not just for girls), came in bright blue and neon yellow. A maximalist archive print, inspired by the death masks of Pompeii, was hardly macabre when presented in clashing pink and orange, or blue and yellow. The other big takeaway? The casting. The runway was littered with legacy models, including Mingus Reedus and Aurélien Enthoven, the sons of house muses Helena Christensen and Carla Bruni, respectively. KM
Moschino
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JW Anderson and Rembrandt; Grace Wales Bonner and Kerry James Marshall; Versace and Roman-Greco pictorial figures: fashion and art have strolled hand in hand onto spring/summer 2023 menswear catwalks. Ditto at Moschino, where for the Italian house’s first dedicated menswear show, creative director Jeremy Scott celebrated the abstract figurative output of the late NYC illustrator and photographer Tony Viramontes. Here, colourful suiting was traced with bold squiggles, resembling abstract pen and ink portraits. Biker leathers, bomber jackets and bowler hats became blank canvases for Moschino’s surrealist scribbles, embellishments which appeared straight from the stationery cupboard. Only a couple of weeks since Milan hosted the Salone del Mobile furniture fair, art and design remains high on the agenda in the city. LH
Missoni
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Filippo Grazioli explored louche menswear silhouettes for spring/summer 2023. Trousers were baggy and bunched at the bottom, with pockets made for putting your hands in – as demonstrated by the models captured in the lookbook. As for classic house codes? Die-hard Missoni fans will be wearing the signature zig-zag and stripe patterns with relaxed-but-formal flair next season. AC
DSquared2
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Surf’s up, according to Dean and Dan Caten who looked to the shores of ’70s Jamaica, and collaborated with the Bob Marley Foundation, for DSquared2’s latest collection. This was wavy fashion and then some: all psychedelic color pairings and feel-good vibes. Another partnership with Honda toughened up the peace and love with biker jackets. Would Marley approve of the marijuana leaf jeans? Who knows, but the fun time pair got everyone’s attention. AN
Originally published in Vogue.co.uk
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