MILAN, June 24 — The second full day of the menswear shows in Milan was eventful and immensely satisfying, if not exhausting. Three shows made a full program for me including Salvatore Ferragamo, Calvin Klein Collection, and finally Moncler Gamme Bleu. The first of the trio, Ferragamo, began brightly at Piazza Affari, 6. I arrived by taxi and found James Smith sitting on the steps outside the venue, two hours before showtime — it was a bit early to be mucking about in hair and makeup for the Englishman. Fair enough. I went inside and found Eli Hall — it was his 22nd birthday (right) — Mathias Bergh, Rutger Schoone, and Luka Badnjar.
Three of the four walls of the runway’s space were covered with video screens, whose looping projection undulated with clouds and prisms (above). Flanking the outer edge of the main runway were a series of white plinths on which the models were to take position following their runway circuit. A gentleman with a pail of whitewash spirited around the runway 90 minutes before showtime, touching up scuff marks to keep the Ferragamo runway spotless.
Next up was Calvin Klein Collection at via Umbria, 37. My taxi driver knowingly responded, “Calvin Klein,” when I told him the address — ah, Milan! I knew in advance one of Wilhelmina’s models had an exclusive for the show, Clark Bockelman, a native of Indiana who signed to the agency in the spring. He was profiled by Guy Trebay in the New York Times last week to highlight the transformative quality of castings for the storied American house. What I did not know, however, was that Clark did not have just any exclusive, but was in fact opening and closing the show. Clark has spent hundreds of hours skydiving, mountain climbing, skiing and more, which served him in good stead when he took to the runway for the first time. Sure, he was nervous and understandably so, but took the occasion in stride matching the high-energy soundtrack of Motörhead’s “Ace of Spades” with his every step. Clark had five looks total including a quick change between his closing look and finale. Clark’s hair was bleached blonde for the show to create a bold, quintessential Calvin Klein look.
My final show of the day was Moncler Gamme Bleu at via Tortona, 58, and was not to be missed. Andrea Preti hipped me to the show’s cricket theme the previous day and having covered the show last season, I knew it would be a spectacle — designer Thom Browne excels at presentation and his latest collection was no exception. The runway was modeled after a cricket oval replete with artificial turf and lined with cricket balls. The air inside the hangar of a show space was balmy, which together with the Bollywood-style soundtrack were meant to evoke cricket on the Indian subcontinent. Thom Browne’s collection then was an all-white knitted affair. The models were said to be a victorious team whose portrait was to be taken by its captain and show opener, Andrea. I was introduced to Browne himself by Andrea, of whom the designer said he was a big fan (below). Andrea opened the Fall 2013 show.
Also featuring in the show were Tomek Szczukiecki, Mathias Bergh, and Rutger Schoone.
In between shows and a late night of video editing, I met Isaac Ekblad for sushi. It was the second time in as many nights that he and I ate Japanese food in Milan, which as far as I am concerned is no mean feat for a culinary landscape dominated by, wait for it, pasta!
Calvin Klein Collection
