Milan menswear may have lost a fair few major runway shows, but the Italian fashion capital was still crammed with dynamic presentations this weekend: Ralph Lauren, Brioni, Corneliani and Church’s.
Ralph Lauren: Classy cocktails, nattily nautical
First prize for the smoothest presentation, and cocktails, in Milan goes to Ralph Lauren, from the entrance to the courtyard to the drinks to the collection.
Ralph’s famed steel Bugatti 35 greeted guests to his elegant Milan show space, a Rationalist-style mansion from the 1930s. One then could waft around on suitable refreshments — from a Sundowner to a spicy Margarita — before checking out the latest clothes.
Primarily displayed in the colonnaded courtyard were a score of lothario models posing in the center. The space was revamped with 40-foot-high ecru curtains and palm trees to add a tropical touch.
For fall, Ralph showed textured blazers, soft knits and rich blends of silk and linen. Understated luxury with smart functional details and modern, relaxed tailoring. Lauren wants his gents in a creamy color palette — ecru, beige, caramel or lightest khaki — this fall, ideally in looks anchored by leather woven sandals.
“For Spring 2026, our expedition to the world’s most beautiful textiles nods to today’s traveler…This collection is the quintessence of timeless style, where craftsmanship meets a passion for adventure,” explained Ralph in his program.
While inside his baronial-style lounge, Lauren played on maritime elegance with linen and cotton double-breasted admiral’s blazers and cool crew cable sweaters accessorized with blue and white striped knits. Classic espadrilles and chrome details reflected a happy meeting of maritime heritage and luxury craftsmanship.
Brioni: This is as light as it gets
A moment of grace — and extreme levity — at Brioni, which was presented inside a recently restored palazzo that once belonged to the famed clan of Casati, whose Maria Luisa Casati — artist muse and style icon — inspired one of John Galliano’s greatest shows for Dior in 1998.
In an era where men’s clothes grow lighter and lighter, no brand creates such seemingly weightless clothes as Brioni. As models strolled around the charming, cloistered courtyard in whisper-thin silk suits in shades of Prussian gray, sienna red or rust — this season’s surprisingly most in hue.
Though the biggest news hung on stockmen placed in a gallery of marble Renaissance busts — like a remarkable black tuxedo composed of inch-wide horizontal black silk ribbons hand-sewn together to create a unique new iridescence.
“I think it is important to remind people just how skillful our craftspeople are. This jacket took 14 days to create,” underlined Brioni designer Norbert Stumpfl.
Beside that stood a perfectly cut pale shawl collar silk-linen tuxedo, which came with a faintly fuzzy finish. Again, a pathbreaking effect was created by adding enzymes to reduce the shine. Both jackets looked very proper on either side of a statue of a distinguished cardinal.
Even more distinctive: a final beige tuxedo embroidered in real gold thread with tiny designs of Brioni’s famed plant in the Abruzzi region — the Cape Canaveral of men’s couture.
Corneliani: Casual tailoring rules
One well-thought-out menswear brand that is always a good guide to what men will be wearing in six months is Corneliani, which staged a swish display of Spring 2026 clothes on models in mini shows inside a cobblestone courtyard of a palazzo — backed up by various musicians, from a classy pianist to a bluesman on guitar.
The big message here was lightening up, and eschewing layering — a series of smart lessons on how to wear a suit and never look uptight.
“We all need a new contemporary way of wearing tailoring,” explained designer Stefano Gaudioso Tramonte, pointing to a very fine super-light wool suit in a caramel hue, paired with a slate gray linen shirt underneath. Both are devoid of lapels and collars.
Stefano’s main weapons this season are wool, cotton and mohair. There was also plenty of smart fabric innovation — like great knitted linen shirts, or banded collar surgeon’s smocks worn with softly cut safari jackets.
The message being: lighten up for modern luxury.
Church’s: The Shanghai Gesture
Easily the most elegant accessory display in Milan this weekend was at Church’s, which welcomed people into the Piccolo Teatro Studio Melato, an avant-garde brick theater with soaring tubular galleries.
Pride of place went to a 1929 Shanghai model, first acquired in Cincinnati and donated to the brand by the son of a grateful customer. Designed as a halfway house between a tasseled golf shoe and a brogue, the original Shanghai No. 1 — carefully protected in a Perspex box — even had Church’s logo cut-out soles. A look that helped inspire a great new selection of devilishly aged versions of the Shanghai for today.
The key to any great pair of Church’s is the brand’s famed factory in Northampton, the shoemaking capital of the UK. Recently renovated, the plant is also the source of new shoes made in singular pieces of leather — where the pattern of wingtips is etched by lasers.
Few shoe marques anywhere can provide the patina of a pair of Church’s — a fact underlined by two gents hand-finishing some classic wingtips on the stage of the theatre. One trimmed the side with small sharp knives and sandpaper; the other applied French polish and mirror gloss from Saphir.
Asked how best to shine a great pair of shoes, one gently explained:
“Actually, it’s best to use old white T-shirts that have been washed plenty of times. The roughness and impurity are gone, and you get a great finish.”
The perfect patina in the perfect Piccolo Teatro Studio Melato. Good to learn something useful every day.
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