What can we expect from Milano Men's Fashion Week FW20?

Todays begins officially the Milan Fashion Week dedicated to the menswear collections, an edition that even before its start is expected to turn out very differently from the past ones.

The most significant innovation is the collaboration between the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana and its British equivalent, the British Fashion Council. For the first time ever, in fact, the BFC will take its London Fashion Rooms to Milan, as it had already done in Paris in 2008 and which plans to do this year as well. The idea is to bring English designers and Italian creatives based in London or with a special bond with the city to Milan. Their collection will be displayed in the spaces of Spazio Savona 56, for once returning to an area - Tortona - that during the last FW was widely neglected by the crowd of insiders and buyers, as nss magazine had reported here. The most interesting and well-known brand part of this project is definitely A-COLD-WALL*, the label founded in 2015 by Samuel Ross that in a very short period of time has turned into one of the most beloved brands by Italian hypebeasts and sneakerheads, and that after the first really successful years is trying to reinvent itself, especially looking at the New Luxury trend.

The alliance born between London and Milan reflects a number of different intentions. The news of this collaboration broke out before the English vote and before the final decision on the Brexit, now clear after Boris Johnson's win. The union between the Camera della Moda Italiana and BFC offers British brands and designers a political platform from which to express their opinion, as already done by Balenciaga in the show dedicated to the Power of European Union and by Gucci in the controversial show of last season. Milan Fashion Week is, therefore, an opportunity to expand the influence power well beyond the fashion industry, to enter a global debate.

Besides simple speculations on its future, what is certain is that the MFW does not start with a bang, but rather with a schedule focused mainly on Sunday and with just a few events along with shows and presentations. Besides Prada, Giorgio Armani, Fendi, Gucci, once again closing the FW, all eyes are set on United Standard, Sunnei, Neil Barrett and Danilo Paura, especially after the quality and the reception of last season, in addition to A-COLD-WALL* of course. nss magazine, right after the end of the last MFW, highlighted fashion's inability to leave its "safe space" and to get away from its usual locations. It seems that this time things won't change much, with the exception of United Standard, that has decided to show its collection at Spazio Maiocchi, an emblematic and smart choice.

Over the last few seasons, the debated has focused mainly on the relationship between the Fashion Week and the city of Milan, and to what extent such an important event should give back and help to enhance the locations where it takes place. The projects carried out by Moncler and Sunnei which restored and gave new life respectively to the Magazzini Raccordati and Parco dell'Acqua, in the Rubattino area, are to this day exceptional cases, able to build a direct and fruitful relationship with the city.

Regarding the collections, it will be interesting to find out how brands will have reworked and translated the hottest topics of the moment, first and foremost, sustainability, managing to balance ethics and aesthetics, or if, mindful of Versace's example during the last FW, they'd rather focus on super Instagram-worthy moments, more important than the collection itself.