Buttero: Shoes with gills and other types of sneaker skin

Leather goods don't have to have rivets to to be rivetting. Though this first pair of sneakers from Buttero's Spring 2011 preview at Pitti Immagine Uomo seems more like sandals, at first glance they take my breath away.




The twisted slits are meant to look like gills, but since another material (leather) is used, the shoe looks industrial (no matter again that the collection is named “Naturally Collection”). And though I would have lengthened the slits and made more of them (to really make the sneaker more like a sandal), I don't think I can easily forget these. (The design has swum deep into my consciousness.)




Though this second pair only has small teeth, they still bite into my excitement. Though maybe not for long. Would you rather have the candy-colored sprinkles on the soles as bigger splotches?




This one is good as a mobile bulletin board, but of course, you know what I'm thinking: use the other holes for more laces!




Rhino skin? Elephantine? I like the staining.




This color may be better than ubiquitous blue.




Woven leather, but maybe not the design of the shoe.




Here are some details shots of pieces from Buttero's current collections, both men's and women's.




Handmade is heartfelt.








Some interesting ads that have gone on print.






Yes, hands really do it.




And boggly eyes.

Carin Wester's lace for men

It was only in 2008 that I seriously started collecting magazines, since it was also the year I started this blog. Part of that batch was Pop's iconoclastic covers depicting nuns in Prada lace. Then Yohji Yamamoto and Givenchy used lace for their Spring 2009 men's collections. Before you know it, Dolce & Gabbana re-issued its own take on the fabric for Spring 2010, but of course modernized and taking into account a different audience. That is as far as my fashion memory goes. Before that there was only my grandmother, frilly doilies, veils, and table tops.




Then comes Carin Wester with a simplified and rather innocent lace pattern for her men's Spring 2011 collection. Sorry to magnify the pictures, but this may be the only way for you to see the lace properly.

This blue robe/coat is worn with shorts and a tangle of found objects joined into jewelry, perhaps to suggest that lace can be worn when you have been shipwrecked, or who knows, when you have been captured by old-world pirates. But then again, I don't find it hard to imagine this piece buttoned-up, with nothing underneath, and worn with slim pants for a summer evening.




Even as a sash belt, the lace works. Like a bandana or a scarf with inviolable history, instead of mere frippery. How can it not make you think of breezes and the beach — even without the help of feathers.




Well, maybe not this, since it's too literal. Could be worn over an elongated shirt.




Lace thickly embroidered and not so flowery can look masculine.




The sash belt looks even better with modern fabrics.




It is as nonchalant as this floor-length scarf.




And looks just as soft.






With shirts without buttons, you can see that the sash belt is feasible. Just make sure you get the colors right.




But just in case you decide that lace, in no matter what form, will never suit you, there is this suit-shorts combo perfect for a summer romp.

Two seasons of Prada: Fall 2010 - Spring 2011

I have largely steered clear of the House of Miuccia (the label's designer) because honestly, I just don't know where to begin. Until I wrote about Prada's Spring 2010 collection (where no article of clothing was spared from holes and perforations), I just decided to step back and watch the spectacle.

I don't know where I heard or read it (Twitter? from a blog?), but it has been said that menswear follows just two cycles: shifting between a return to tradition and a push towards new technological frontiers. Looking through GQ's photo archives, I think the last time Prada (since 1993 for menswear) turned to tradition and presented sturdy and reliable fare (though of course no one can second guess Prada just by looking at the clothes, and without actually touching or wearing them, or even looking at the tag information!) was in the back-to-back collections of Fall 2005 and Spring 2006.

I think Spring 2010, which for me was the perfect mix of wearability and innovation, heralded the turning of the tide.




First thing of course to catch one's attention in Prada's Fall 2010 collection cropped ribbed sweaters with high hems, as if to purposely show the crumpling of shirts underneath. But what must also be sensually pleasing is the fabric of the jackets, coats, and trousers. They look like cream!




Camel gives way to shades of tan for Prada in Spring 2011. This time the sweaters and jackets look like paper bags, and rightly so: they are sharp, well-fitted, and retro. (Notice a running color theme cross from last season?)




Sure it's shearling, but only when necessary and not as over-the-top as Gianfranco Ferré's. I wonder what material the sweaters are made of. At closer inspection, the white "tee" on the right is also a sweater, but at normal length.




And here comes Spring's scrubs team, in denim shirts (first two) that appear like a cross between medical uniforms and straitjackets. Are they aprons? I particularly like the playfulness of the denim shirt- on-denim shirt combo on the right. With short sleeves!

The shorts, ah the shorts! Almost like barrels or skirts. I think what's crucial is the softness or rawness of the denim. Do they billow with the wind? Are the as lounge-able as they look?




Still the material, the buttons, and the color of the season.




Scrubs meets Ivy League.




As if to presage the next season's denim on denim: two collars, one on top of the other. The sweater looks so small on the left that won't you feel naked? Maybe wear something with a hood underneath?




All the wonderful elements of retro: baggy pants and jackets fit and lengthened.




I change my mind. The mini-sweater in black looks rad. Also in brown.




Here are Wednesday's other siblings.




Ninja robes and pea coats.




Instead of the jackets just touching a little beyond the waist, they reach as far as trouser pockets. Makes you look taller — well if you happen to be tall in the first place. Who could not love sky blue sweaters?




As I first mentioned, Prada exists in its own world, down to its own take on the trench.




Denim blazers! Why not with denim trousers? I'd wear them with the drawstring pair.




Well…I guess in this combination of fabric, color, and texture, these mini-sweaters are good to go. I'd love to see detail shots. Notice the three-buttoned item: is it semi-sheer or meshy? If so, then all the more…




From complexity to simple Crayola colors. The v-necks would be great worn alone for summer.






The bold-colored jackets are also right not just for the season, but also for the yearning of the moment.




Not a fan of modified fatigue. I want the other pattern on (cropped) jackets.




Even the sweaters for Spring are lengthened. No better way to draw attention to the face than using yellow, and concentric stripes. Birds of paradise.




Finally we see the color-placketed shirts without jackets. Not a fan. But nothing ever looks as clean as a white v-neck inspired by scrub outfits.

At ease: Milan Spring 2011

Article by Miguel Paolo Celestial
Written for West East magazine

Dolce & Gabbana

Spring 2011 marks the 20th year anniversary of Dolce & Gabbana in menswear. Quite suitably (no pun intended), the boys from the south of Italy have presented a collection that draws from their sartorial roots: on the one hand, sharply cut, classic black suits—reminiscent of what made them famous in boardrooms—and on the other, ripped and tattered jeans. Between these constant motifs, the highly successful label has explored different styles from past eras and appropriated new silhouettes, always in the pursuit of expressing the uniquely suave yet laid-back ethic of the modern Italian male.


Dolce & Gabbana

For their Spring 2011 show, Dolce & Gabbana also touches on the emerging trends of the season. It has white and cream linen suits, which, together with similarly hued tank tops and drawstring pants, envision leisurely evening strolls on cobblestone and holiday romps on the Mediterranean coast.


Ermenegildo Zegna

Ermenegildo Zegna, which just celebrated 100 years in the industry, also comes out with khaki suits that with closer inspection reveal a brown-and-white micro-check pattern. While Dolce & Gabbana uses rope as belts, Zegna ties pants with leather cords.


Gianfranco Ferré

Gianfranco Ferré

A house known for bigger, looser shapes, Gianfranco Ferré releases its own interpretation of the spring staple, reinterpreting its famous lounge-y DBs from the 1980s in linen and silk.


Calvin Klein

Etro

Prada

Canali

Salvatore Ferragamo

Corneliani

Khaki is all over, in suits and in complete outfits, and with separates in beige, camel, and other colors from Calvin Klein, Etro, Prada, Canali, Salvatore Ferragamo, and Corneliani, among others.


Bottega Veneta

For its own part, Bottega Veneta, while showing all-white and ivory ensembles, expounds on the trend by turning camouflage into ingenious monochromatic patchwork in khaki. The suits, which still bear the brand’s characteristic shoulder peaks, turn out into what can be called “paper bag military”. The label further exploits the army theme with all-fatigue get-ups and notable lightweight green leather jackets and vests.


Burberry Prorsum

Thus we come to Spring 2011’s second major trend, as best exemplified by Burberry Prorsum, which is dominated by army green in cable knit sweaters, puffers, coats, pants, trenches, and even canvas totes. Also prominent are military shirts in the color of fatigues, which are done in khaki by Pringle of Scotland.


Burberry Prorsum

Burberry, or the house that Christopher Bailey made hip, manages to a lead a minor biker trend. Its take on motorcycle vests and jackets— lightweight and washed, cropped or lengthened as coats—is fresh and youthful. Taking a nod from the first collection of Balmain Men, Bailey pairs the motorcycle tops, and even the mainstay trenches (with leather epaulets), with biker pants. The pairs in leather have full-on kneecaps, while those in softer fabrics have suggestive detailing.


Bottega Veneta, Costume National, Burberry Prorsum

Z Zegna, Versace, Neil Barrett, John Varvatos

Being spring, it is unavoidable that designers resort to seasonal basics such as sheer and knit clothing. Bottega Veneta, Costume National, and Burberry Prorsum pair translucent round-necks with blazers, with Burberry also utilizing mesh in matching polo shirts and tees with jackets and coats. For sheer and mesh pullovers and cardigans there are Iceberg, John Varvatos, Neil Barrett, Versace, and Z Zegna. Etro, known for its brave and brilliant colors and patterns, keeps it subtle and muted for Spring 2011 as it renders paisley in lace and see-through fabric.


D&G, Ermenegildo Zegna, Giorgio Armani, Moncler Gamme Bleu

As the cold dissipates, D&G, Ermenegildo Zegna, Giorgio Armani, and Moncler Gamme Bleu welcome summer with checks, gingham, and seersucker. D&G literally spreads out picnic blankets for its sunny motif that finds espadrilles, shorts, and blazers in Hawaiian print.


Jil Sander

Moschino and Prada

Colors, of course, blaze bright in Milan. What, after Jil Sander broke the sunset with its show in Pitti Uomo that set psychedelic colors blocks against dusk. Raf Simons marshals pinks, blues, oranges, and greens that bleed into shirts as enormous flowers, make dizzying striped patterns, and dazzle with abstract tees that invoke Gauguin, Cezanne, and Matisse. Soon after, Prada unveils cotton-knit boat-neck sweaters that remind one of Lifesavers. In the form of comic strips, Moschino brings back the fun in prints.


Calvin Klein, Gianfranco Ferré, Roberto Cavalli

Taken separately, there are three colors that have burned the runways: blue, orange, and surprisingly, fluorescent yellow. Calvin Klein turns from its usual bionic uniforms and molds clothes to The Hulk proportions, with many pieces in sky blue. Prada uses the same hue for its retro suits with jackets cut lower and trousers more loose, while Ferré and Cavalli go more electric. On the softer side of the palette is Iceberg’s shirts and jackets.


Ermenegildo Zegna, Z Zegna, Dsquared2

Ermenegildo Zegna deftly moves from blazers in baby blue to windbreakers, scarves, and suits in burnt sienna. While Z Zegna takes on a redder orange tint, with its laceups, sweaters, and cardigans, Dsquared2 blushes vermillion with its pants, jackets, and shorts. Almost on its own, solitary impulse, Giorgio Armani shocks with highlighter-yellow footwear, belts, and leather jackets. Its only companion is Salvatore Ferragamo, which has produced electric yellow sandals.


While the main themes of this season—relaxed and stiff—seem at odds with each other, they just serve to show both sides of the firm yet vulnerable nature of the modern Italian man.


Photos from gq.com