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The
Golden Boy
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Indulgence
and luxury. The collections shown at Men's Fashion
Week in Milan were a heady blend of fur and gold.
The question is, who gets to wear the trousers?
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 Wrapped
up in an abundance of mink, beaver skin and softest
suede, or swathed in voile, embroidery and gold,
next season's man is wearing his girlfriend's favourite
clothes with dash and panache. And, judging by the
peroxide flicks and white blond extensions of last
week's shows in Milan, he'll be stealing her hairdresser,
too. Even male classics such as ties, double-breasted
jackets and tuxedos - making a welcome reappearance
- were soaked in seduction as the models slithered
and sashayed their way down the catwalk. Stefano
Gabbana, of the design duo Dolce and Gabbana, spoke
of a 'turning point': "in time men will have the
confidence to break from type without losing any
of their masculinity - he says - Daring - picking
and mixing." Time will tell.
Right now next season's male seems to have lost
all of his traditional manliness in a flurry of
fur and gold while female fashion appears to be
verging on the androgynous as pinstripes, ties,
braces and laced-up shoes are must-haves for this
spring and summer. Military style is back in fashion
for both sexes.
Albeit chic and tailored at Jil Sander or glammed
up at John Richmond where T-shirts are adorned with
rhinestone hammer and sickles. Gone is the era of
the 'macho'. This year's “über-model” is more like
a romantic public school boy or dandy. Donatella
Versace describes her male muse as a Wildean “golden
lord”, who's hyper-rich, young and sexy, a mover
in the new economy.
 Our
'lord' chooses warm chocolate tones in the evening,
champagne by day, beige overcoats with a fresh flower
in the buttonhole. And when he wants to run wild
and free, like Fendi's "easy rider" or Roberto Cavalli's
magnificent centaur, he does so with class (and
a healthy bank balance) in cashmere, silk and leather,
riding a spectacular jewel-encrusted, fur-covered
Ducati motorbike.
Fur is everywhere. Better
still if it comes from a protected species. Sheepskin
can be seen alongside mink, beaver and suede while
from the far north come full-length sealskin coats
(Dolce and Gabbana say that a furriers association
asked them to use seal skin to help combat overpopulation
. . . ), and feet are shod in lizard skin.
Two words sum up the spirit of the season:
luxury and indulgence.
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Before we go a word on the locations chosen for
the season's shows. The ItaliaPlease Oscar for the
Most Imaginative Location is shared by Etro (who
showed in a supermarket at closing time) and New
York Industrie (who chose a huge warehouse decked
out with sixty washing machines - all in operation).
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ELENA
GUARNERI |
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February
2001
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THE SURVIVOR'S 
