Milan Fashion Week is one of the most prestigious trade shows on the fashion calendar — and as men’s styles for autumn/winter 2024 were recently shown off in quite possibly Italy’s most glamorous city, there were nods to designers’ signature styles but also wider trends.

To the backdrop of the climate crisis, it shouldn’t surprise many a fashion, luxury, or lifestyle marketing agency (or their clients) that nature and recycling were common themes. 

But what other sources of inspiration did designers mine for the upcoming men’s A/W season? Here is a closer look at how various high-end brands were represented on the catwalk.

Prada

Is man really living comfortably with nature? As the changing climate plays havoc with what used to be distinct, recognisable seasons, how much relevance do they now have? These were questions at the heart of Prada’s show, which even referenced Stravinsky’s musical work, The Rite of Spring.

Miuccia Prada, the fashion house’s head designer, noted that The Rite of Spring “has inspired generations of musicians to reinvent themselves… the seasons have been the most consistent theme in all schools of painting. Fashion aspires to the same effect of renewal.”

Fendi

Princess Anne served as a valuable spark of inspiration for the latest menswear collection by Silvia Venturini Fendi, with the designer having gushed: “I fell in love when I saw her at the Coronation in her uniform.”

In this spirit, Fendi even evoked Balmoral vibes by cutting dropped-crotch Bermuda shorts to render them reminiscent of a skirt or kilt, while wellies and traditional fishermen’s coats were imbued with luxury touches.

JW Anderson

Erotic psychodrama Eyes Wide Shut, the last film directed by Stanley Kubrick, was a crucial point of reference for designer Jonathan Anderson’s latest menswear collection.

For this project, Anderson even collaborated with Christiane Kubrick, the late director’s wife, who was responsible for paintings that feature in the film. Images from a number of those canvas-based works have made their way onto new JW Anderson pieces, including knit dresses and handbags.

Dolce & Gabbana

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos might have been spotted on the front row with his fiancé Lauren Sánchez, but it was ironically her model son Nikko Gonzalez — rather than her beau — who ‘delivered the goods’ on this occasion, walking in the show while sporting D&G attire.

The brand itself preserved its A/W23 focus on stripped-back tailoring with its ‘Sleek’ collection, hailing it as “a story of elegance and handmade… a sartorial essay”. 

MSGM

Milan locals would have quickly recognised one particular motif that featured on many of the Massimo Giorgetti-designed menswear pieces paraded on the Porta Venezia metro station’s subterranean platform: the curve of the handrails on the M1 line of the Milanese subway.

Lapel pins along with an inset on a coat were all created in this shape, with Giorgetti also partnering with Google to take awe-inspiring shots of subway scenes using the Pixel 8 phone’s artificial intelligence (AI)-based camera.

Feel free to reach out to our strategic luxury, fashion, and lifestyle marketing agency for advice on the marketing lessons your own brand could beneficially take from Milan Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2024 displays.