Men's Fashion for Spring 2009
East Meets West with Ready-to-Wear Collections from Etro & Armani
Jun 25, 2008
Direct from the runways of Milan, the designers show their new menswear ready-to-wear collections for Spring/Summer 2009.
In June 2008, as Milan’s Fashion Week runways are filled with the 2009 Spring Summer collections for menswear, we get an idea of the trends that will be hitting the stores next year.
From Etro’s silks and prints with an Asian twist to Giorgio Armani’s take on everything Eastern, in sleek silks and unstructured tailoring, with scarves as sashes instead of belts. Shirts are softer, pants are sloppier and distinctly Asian in style, and colors reflect the rich flavors of the Orient.
Etro Ready-to-Wear Collection for Spring 2009
Erto’s chic yet casual relaxed style embodied all the opulence of Southern Asia, with shiny silks, flowing robes and longyi wraps — a cloth tube-like garment that is draped around the waist, and folded over, similar to that of a sarong.
Mensstyle.com hails the collection as “the loosest, sexiest, most potent presentation that Etro has offered in a dog’s age.” Full of casual jackets, sloppy shirts and scarves and ties belted as a sash, this offers a sharp contrast in stying to this year's current trends.
Etro’s perfect paisley prints are reflected in shirts, shorts and jackets. Suits take on a relaxed appearance with crumpled linen and sleek silk.
Sloppy shirts are unbuttoned to the waist, worn with belted sash, buccaneer-style and baggy shorts or silk pants.
Hues of burnished amber, ochre and copper give a warmth to the collection along with honeyed hues of yellow, beige and olive.
Giorgio Armani RTW Collection Spring 2009
Giorgio Armani’s oriental-inspired offerings for Spring 2009 proves that silk reigns supreme. With the label’s latest look, "Armani could almost have been channeling Yul Brynner in The King and I," says Men’s Style.com.
According to Yahoo.news of 24 June 2008, “East will meet West next summer for Giorgio Armani male fans with Asian inspired long shirts, shantung trousers and fitted jackets, the Italian designer suggested in his menswear show, which won him loud applause.”
Armani's Spring 2009 colors include oriental shades of orange, royal purples and violet, to smoky grays, grayish greens and blues.
From sharp-suited silks, to pants following a Balinese, Malaysian and Inidian style, the Armani collection is filled with unstructured jackets, loose drawstring and cropped dhoti-style pants. Scarves are draped around the waist as belts, or slung casually over the shoulders. Shoes also followed a distinctly Asian style with lace-ups, woven hopsack, snakeskin, and crocodile.
Whilst Armani is feeling casual and relaxed for next season, there is still the air of opulence associated with the label. Jackets in ivory crocodile and chenille cardigans for the torso, sleek silk trousers, and jackets set off with silk handkerchiefs, all are distinctly deluxe in look.
