Top of the Netflix charts, the America Primeval series depicts the brutal and bloody Utah War in 1857 in the American West. The 'primeval' theme could easily have been an umbrella title for men’s autumn winter 2025 shows that have just taken place at Milan Fashion Week.
It's often tempting to ask what fashion weeks are even for in 2025. There are new ways of showcasing collections to the industry, the press and the public. But sometimes, a fashion week captures something about the ambient mood of the world. It shows that so many creatives around the world are thinking about the same thing at the same time.
In Milan there was a palpable sense that something menacing was being addressed, 'toxic masculinity' perhaps. But the brands still managed to infuse poetry into their collections.
Qasimi
The Sharjah-London brand Qasimi displayed a collaboration with Maori artist Emily Karaka, whose work tackles ancestral history, language, land loss and political oppression. In colours of burnt orange, ochre, russet red and shades of blues, the looks were like an ode to the landscape of Aotearoa. The show opened and closed with shaggy clothes covered in delicate fibres that echoed the Kahu kuri dog hair war capes of Maori chiefs.
Dolce & Gabbana
While exploring the paparazzi flashbulbs of La Dolce Vita throughout their autumn/winter 2025 collection, Dolce & Gabbana also caught something darker and more threatening. With its fabled tailoring turned into elegant evening wear, it also arrived as oversized long coats, trimmed with fur and conjured up the villainous allure of the Sicilian mafia look that the label has flirted with for years.
Prada
At Prada, things were treated differently but were no less disturbing. Americana appeared as painted cowboy boots, while mohair was made into a top uncomfortably like human hair. As creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons explored base instincts and human nature as an apparatus for creativity, raw-edged pelts of faux fur were slung under and over jackets, to be worn like hunting trophies.
MSGM
MSGM designer Massimo Giorgetti was inspired by starring roles in films from the late 1990s and early 2000s, like Jake Gyllenhaal's breakout turn in Donnie Darko and Harmony Korine in Gummo. The collection arrives as a fever dream landscape of hallucinogenic, giant Fly agaric mushrooms. Looking to blur the line between fantasy and reality, this trip down the rabbit hole spoke of parallel worlds, rebellion and even society's final days via thrift store coats, shrunken shorts and heavy, zip sided boots.
