Vivienne Westwood showed her menswear line MAN at Milan Men’s Fashion Week yesterday. Citing inspiration from her travels in India, she boldly utilized the catwalk as a canvas for her statements on India caste systems, the contentious politics of the truth, and the underappreciated beauty of Eastern culture.
The collection was heavy with prints, patterns, and emblems characteristic of Eastern culture, emblazoned with political and social commentary. The main example was a printed tee bearing a bolded “TRUTH” printed underneath an image of Bradley Manning.
The models donned berets in the vain of last century’s revolutionaries, and there was a fair mix of casual wear meeting suit-and-tie looks, perhaps a tongue in cheek recollection of the stringency of the business worlds that operate in such antithetical environments as impoverished India.
Our favourite look from the MAN collection featured soft, milky whites that bring to mind luxurious sultans and the leisure of contemporary travel wear. Westwood charged the virginal look with heavy jewelry around the neck.
Dropped-crotch trousers with loose ties were as ubiquitous as the rich colours and intricate prints of the majority of the designs.
by Emily Rae Pellerin