Outdoor looks dominate Milan runways

Yes, tailored suits and overcoats, the staples of any wardrobe, have their place on the runways on the second day of Milan Fashion Week on Sunday.

But designers also are recognising men’s need to escape their urban work-a-day worlds and get in touch with nature. They don’t go so far as to offer outdoor clothing, per se. But there is more than a smattering of short, hooded parkas worn over suits and with backpacks that suggest some other destination after the office. And many collections incorporate active wear, including athletic trousers, often knit, with elastic or drawstring waistlines and gathered cuffs.

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD

British designer Vivienne Westwood’s menswear collection for fall was full of baggy trousers referencing hip hop music, mixed up with environmentalist messages.

There were three versions of the tracksuit, a hip hop favorite: a tight, high tech zip-up in gray, a loose and baggy one accented in black trim, and a full-on gold version with a hood.

Westwood’s clothes have strong ties to music, so the nod to hip hop seemed only natural for the women who invented the safety-pin looks that defined punk rock in the 1970s.

Fond of splashing political messages across T-shirts, she sent several models out wearing shirts emblazoned with the words “+ 5 degrees,” in reference to global warming.

Her casual looks often featured low-waisted baggy trousers cut off at the knee, paired with a big sweater and oxfords, or a leather jacket, or just a T-shirt and sneakers. A raincoat as thin as tissue paper looked like just the thing to pop into a suitcase before a trip.

PRADA

Miuccia Prada is closing the book on her study of pop culture, choosing a more intimate look at fashion.

Prada set the stage by conjuring European avant-garde theater of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Her materials: sheer and light-weight fabric. Her colour scheme was mostly deep tones with purple, rust, teal and browns offset by cream, red and magenta.

The looks themselves had a theatrical appeal — men’s leisure suits in deep tones with contrasting piping along the outer seams were accented with silky scarves tied around their neck, instead of ties. Suits were paired with silky collared shirts, or super-sheer knit tops that put in clear evidence the wearer’s state of fitness.

Prada couldn’t say all she wanted with just men, so included women also in the show.

They wore paper-light leather dresses gathered at the waist and neckline or long sheer skirts with floor-skimming boas.

CALVIN KLEIN

Calvin Klein’s looks for next winter suggest something of a futuristic global adventurer/man of mystery.

His outfits are monochromatic in tones of camel, olive and blue-grey that give the impression the wearer can mimetically conceal himself in any environment: desert, forest or sea.

Loose trousers shimmering in copper and silver are worn with bulky graphic or quilted satin sweatshirts that relay a sense of utility and strength. For outerwear, there’s a shiny hooded parka or woollen bomber.

Suits were closely tailored, with tapered cuffs worn over laced boots. Jackets had mildly contrasting lapels, and are worn over button-up shirts, tieless. The mystery comes in with the ample backpacks that require a cross body strap, and the oversized overcoat.