Men's FW24 Fashion Week Special

Part one: I watched all the runway shows for the Men's Milan and Paris Fall/Winter 2024 collections. From muted tones to bright colours, garbage boots to ballet flats, this is what I think.

Welcome to ONE-PIECE! A brand new substack created by yours truly in the hope of sharing thoughtful opinions on the Men’s fashion landscape, delivering unique styling tips, an à la carte menu of things I want to buy, books I’ve been reading and the return of my ONE-PIECE series in written and visual form. 

I’ve been wanting to find a way to go deeper than what you find on my Instagram in a place that requires you to look at something for longer than a few seconds. Thanks for clicking! I’m glad you’re here and I hope you’ll subscribe.

To kick things off, I’ve curated a fashion week special. This only contains personal opinions and hot takes. It’s a great way to start! Enjoy.

It’s always a slow start for me to get back into any routine after having a free-flowing schedule over the holidays. Starting the new year watching the legacy fashion houses present their Men’s Fall (slash Autumn lol) Winter 2024 collections is the perfect antidote to my back-to-work blues. The cold is where I’m happiest and I’ll trade any Summer vacation for one that requires a coat. 

It’s two weeks of non-stop inspiration at its highest form in the epicentre of fashion creativity. It’s where the industry leaders gather to either buy or sell what will inevitably be our must-have items in the next six months.

Things I’m hoping for: more feminine silhouettes or gender guidelines being ignored completely.

Things I’m expecting: new editions of all our favourite it bags. A new version of Gucci’s Jackie, Dior’s Saddle, Fendi’s Peekaboo and Loewe’s Fold.

Things I know I can’t plan for: whatever Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons are cooking up for Prada, and whatever Jonathan Anderson has in store for us at JWA and Loewe. 

Day one of Milan Men’s Fall Winter 2024 Fashion Week set the industry on fire with Sabato De Sarno’s menswear debut at Gucci.

De Sarno’s notes on the collection feel like what an astrology reading must be to a non-believer. It has direction but it could also mean anything. He is commenting on the notion of ancora, which translates to again. “It’s a story of everything, again, but this time expressed through joy,” says De Sarno.

The expression of euphoria is evident in the warm colours, the lush fabrics and embellished garments. My true love for this show is how separate it is from Gucci’s last Creative Director, Alessandro Michele. The set itself wipes Gucci’s slate clean with its emptiness. This collection brings the fashion house back into the fold of buying something that you can wear every day. My MO is finding key forever pieces that can live timelessly in my wardrobe to be worn any day of the week and I look forward to checking with Gucci when the time comes for something new.

This is not to say that everything created by Michele is now obsolete. It’s that a Michele garment is not as easily wearable as a De Sarno for the majority of people. And while some Gucci fans beg for Michele to return (those comment sections can get nasty), I plead for De Sarno to stay.

Highlights: The dreamy monochrome grey look (look 25), an actual-to-the-floor black coat (look 28), my new everyday outfit (look 35), and the giant Jackie bag (look 1-4).

If you’re like me, you might wake up dressing preppy one day and street the next. Dean and Dan Caten’s Dsquared2 collection encapsulates this by representing the multifaceted sides of ourselves through twins. One twin walks the runway in the brand’s usual grungy daywear. The other follows in a glammed, ready-for-the-night, look. 

Not going to lie, this is the first time I’ve been drawn into Dsquared2 orbit—and of all the twin shows over the past few years (Gucci, Sunnei), this one didn’t feel cringe.

Highlights: The outfit I would wear if I were a hitchhiking (look 3), the mob wives drama (look 6), what I wish I were wearing when walking the dog (look 9), and the effortless I-just-threw-this-on-as-I-left-the-house vibe (look 38).

Day two of Milan FW24 Men’s Fashion Week saw Emporio Armani, Philipp Plein and Neil Barrett, who I will continue to believe in while simultaneously knowing I might not ever be surprised by what he produces. His FW24 collection is an amalgamation of basic individual pieces styled together that look great but, other than his iconic quilting techniques, deliver nothing personal. Take this argyle sweater, it’s something I’ve seen in more than one department store. Maybe even Lowe’s.

Silvia Venturini Fendi of Fendi took the second day’s crown for me. Somewhere between the mix of muted colours and rich tones, and the tartan prints and waxed jackets was a gorgeous and green weekend away in the UK countryside. Fendi jokingly told Tiziana Cardini of Vogue Runway that it’s “a bit of a Balmoral look.”

Testing the true wearability of a collection is taking the styled looks we see on the runway apart and assessing each garment. For example, Look 7: a gorgeous leather coat (perfect length), chocolate trousers, an olive turtle neck, beanie, bag and loafer. All of which look great together, but on their own are just as delicious. Good luck finding these cuts, in these fabrics, in a department store.

Highlights: My first Scotland trip outfit (look 8), the fuzzy-wuzzy bag (look 9), the cropped fisherman’s jacket and a suede trouser (look 16), a delicious mix of textures in the perfect everyday outfit (look 39), and the thick woollen sock over a wellington (genius, look 53).

Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons always have me on the edge of my seat. I never know what they will do next. Each season and runway feels so different and unique. One season we’re amongst oozing slime, another we’re on a runway set filled with Hollywood actors and now we’re closed in a floating glass office surrounded by nature. 

For FW24, Prada and Simons have given Officecore a new meaning and a new look as they explore the juxtaposing relationship of working life with the natural world. Unlike Prada FW22, a personal favourite, bringing boxy coats with cinched waists and splice-green leather boiler suits, this collection feels a lot more wearable; expertly cut suits in tweed chore, that teeter on the edge of oversized, and two-tone shirts with ties.

What always gets me are the small Pradaisms you can find in each new collection. The textured swim caps with goggles, the triangle motif used as a belt, and the continuation of Prada’s accidental chic. Most of all, it’s the colours they use together that surprise me; bright red with a light purple, olive green with navy blue, and a mellow yellow on rich brown.

Highlights: back to work part one (look 4), tweed chore back to work part two (look 6), these pants could hint at the return of the FW21 prada onesie (look 16), epitome of accidental-chic (look 18).

JW Anderson closed the third day of Milan FW24 fashion week with a collection inspired by Christmas films–specifically Eyes Wide Shut. He told Luke Leitch of Vogue Runway, “I’ve never made anything about a film before. This is also the sexiest we’ve ever gone—as far as I can go.”

I always feel tested when I’m watching a JW runway. At first glance, I can never pinpoint things that I love about his designs and at times it feels disjointed, obscure even. Yet his clothes don’t leave my mind. Then I read about his inspiration behind the collection where I’m gifted with a true appreciation for the creativity behind his work and a desire to own every piece. Our industry does not have another man like Jonathan Anderson, who interprets the world through fashion, and it is a joy to have your first impressions and ideas thrown back at you.

While originally being perplexed about the holiday motifs and artworks used this season, I grew to love it after learning Anderson had contacted the late Eyes Wide Shut director Stanely Kubrick’s wife Christiane, who gave up acting when they married. Kubrick still used Christiane throughout his films through her art.

Although the poinsettia brooch/heart stitch still tests me, Anderson’s brilliance shines through everything else.

Highlights: stocking pants (look 13), this coffee coloured loungey silhouette (look 15), Christiane’s work (look 42 & 43) and the oversized joy (look 50). 

Walter Chiapponi’s final Tod’s collection feels bittersweet. He has crafted a reliability into the brand that will be missed and this collection is a perfect representation of that. At the same time, I’m looking forward to seeing if Matteo Tamburini (ex-Bottega) shake things up next season. The FW24 collection introduced Pashmy, an exclusive material that is a waterproof suede–taking the suede boat shoe to new levels. Someone let Double Bay know.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Zegna has some of the best trousers in the game. The material quality is peak luxury and the fit speaks volumes, but how it moves on a person while walking the runway is a testament to why Zegna is renowned for its suiting.

Zegna’s FW24 show is much more futuristic than what I’ve seen creative director Alessandro Sartori present before. I’m imagining a distant, but very aesthetic, planet in the galaxy, also called Zegna, where all its inhabitants wear tonal clothing like in this collection. I’m not sure if it’s the giant pile of orange wool on the set giving me this idea or not but Timothe Chalamet’s team should get in touch for the Dune press tour.

I look towards Zegna for their picks of colours and their styling each season. The double layering of two muted colour shirts over long sleeve tees tucked into trousers this collection is *chef’s kiss*. I’ve also been one to steer away from adding extra size around my neck but Zegna’s zipped sweaters are changing my mind. I can’t wait to see these textures and materials in person.

Highlights: layering masterclass (look 10), double shirt heaven (look 16), the glove and oval picnic bag (look 20), back to work (look 22), and the epitome of textured chic (look 26).

I’ve loved what Auralee has put out since I first discovered it on a wishlist scroll on MR PORTER some years back. The Japanese label’s FW24 collection is inspired by the in-between moments where our clothes feel most lived-in—from running errands to dinner activities after a full day’s work. The collection wins my test for versatility. Every look takes you from day to night, and whatever it might encompass, without a stop off at home to change. The colour palette reminds me of a display of flavoured sorbet, light and sweet, but the surgery-scrub-blue could have been left off.

Louis Vuitton’s FW24 show was an homage to the original cowboys who were Black and Native American. Native peoples were represented in participation as models and artists who contributed paintings and embroideries to the new season accessories.

There is so much to ogle over with this gigantic 80-look show. The flare cut pants, gorgeous three-piece suits (with kilts instead of vests), crocodile-finished suede and literal book bags (!!). 

While a rodeo collection sounds tacky, Pharrell Williams’ direction made it anything but. Western-style motifs like horseshoes, lassos, chaps, studs and fringing feel fresh and new under Williams’ masterful storytelling. It’s through his proper acknowledgement of history and his representation of that throughout the design, art and music in this collection that he’s made it feel this way. That is something I want to put my money on—or specifically into this LV bag. 

Highlights: the LV literal book bags (look 9 and 10), this effortless three-piece (look 8), and my next black tie suit (look 72).

Egonlab has a definitive chokehold on me. I’m a recent appreciator of Florentin Glémarec’s and Kévin Nompeix’s designs and their take on the modern man’s silhouette. I love seeing the shape their clothes can make on our bodies—particularly in menswear where there are traditional rules to be broken and reinvented—and they didn’t disappoint me this season. 

Inspired by our digital realm and the constant use of filters on social media that change how we look (bigger this, smaller that), Egonlab’s FW24 collection stretches, cinches and elongates the masculine form. When I’m styling an outfit for myself there are certain things I’ll do to draw attention towards things I love about my body and there are key garments in this collection that will do the work in one singular piece rather than the multiple pieces I’ll use at home to get the same result (the pants in look 7, 13 and 35 for example). That alone has me calling this collection innovative and necessary. I needn’t say more. 

Speaking of playing with body proportions, Rick Owens once again delivers an out-of-the-world show. This year, I bought my first RO garment, a pair of jeans that gives me Bratz doll leg proportions. When I tried them on I finally understood why Rick Owens has such a cult following. It’s that his clothes give you something you never thought you’d have; height, length or size, singularly or simultaneously depending on what piece you’ve got.

The structure of his tailoring is on the level of a couturier. However, the balloon shoes (inflatable rubber boots) were too much for me. They look like they would smell. As if something inside has turned and its gases are trying to escape a sealed plastic bag. The show is inspired by his hometown, Portersville, where, Owens says, nothing much happens. Maybe it’s meant to be symbolic of that? Something slow and festering. Either way, not for me.

Givenchy, whilst in search of their new creative director, brought forward a studio collection for FW24 that would be of the standard of Hubert Givenchy himself. The brimless cloche hats brought something personal to the table and looks 9, 11, 25, 26, 28, 30, 31 and 32 serve a sometimes-genderless mix of the 1950s, 60s and 2024. Yum!

Wales Bonner’s category was collegiate realness. Ollie Cox in culted.com wrote about the influence of Black American academics at Howard University and its 1990s yearbooks for this collection. On top of her signature varsity style, Bonner gave us loose cuts (my fave), silk-trimmed tuxedos and double-breasted cashmere coats.

Rains set my heart alight with their new puffers. I hope that this is the season that’ll plant a seed amongst the millions in the North Face army to stray. I’d plant look 8, 11, 14, 15 (my highlight) and 21 amongst their ranks. Who’d have thought that shape and puffer jackets could mix?

Mike Amiri continues to etch his way into my heart with his FW24 collection. This season feels like the perfect sequel to Kim Jones’ Dior collaboration with ERL. I see an impeccably, but effortlessly, dressed skating society—the new meaning of something old and something new, the merging of hand-me-downs with high fashion. Amiri has taken something touristy like a landmark tee (I heart NYC) and made it cool with LA-inspired logos and prints.

Highlights: I really want to note every single look here. Me in my ultimate form (look 1 and 21), a merge of old and new (look 4, 13, 15 and 16), I’d wear this every day (look 9 and 22) and the texture clash (look 37).

Ever since Dries Van Noten’s SS23 Men’s show, because of this look, I’ve been heavily invested in everything he has been doing. While there aren’t as many of the feminine influences in the FW24 collection as I had hoped, the mix of slim pants and oversized jackets is the epitome of elegance and still gives me something new that I look for in his work. And to my fellow cargo pant lovers, there are ones made with suiting fabrics that have our name on them. Could we get away with it at a formal function? I’ll give it a go.

Highlights: The slim pant/oversized jacket (look 9), this whole wooly glove, cardigan and cargo pant scenario (look 18), gorgeous silhouette (look 20), perfect cuts and styling (look 21), the draping and folds (look 26) and the suiting cargo (look 47).

Alexandre Mattiussi’s Ami is the perfect brand to explore if you are wanting to move into buying clothes from legacy fashion houses. With design and versatility and price points not as steep as others, Ami was my first taste of what quality and longevity look like. You could outfit repeat look 2, 11, 18, 25, 39 and 61 forever and it would never get old. That’s insurance! 

Some new things that Mattiussi’s given us that I love: the monochrome pinstripe (look 4), the shorts suit (look 20), cobalt denim (look 35) and starry nights (look 37). Whichever way you’re feeling, something dependable or something showy, Ami always has something for you.

Kim Jones and Dior constantly test me and my bank account. His collections are always so considered. From SS21 in collaboration with Amoaka Boafo, Fall ‘22 inspired by Jack Kerouac and the Beat generation, and now FW24: a celebration of an onstage/offstage ballet performance dedicated to Soviet-born ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev.

The collection weaved its way from ballet studio, with slim fit tailoring, wide-legged shorts and ballet sneakers (I’m obsessed), to an evening show at the Opera house, embellished shirts and tanks, Jones’ signature one-button suits and tailored pants with a wrapped fabric train.

I want to write about the set of the Dior show, especially after the epic trap doors of SS24. Instead, I recommend you watch it, for the homage to the spinning ballerina jewellery box that our inner child recalls.

Highlights: walking to the ballet studio (look 8), principal dancer (look 11), from studio to dinner (look 15), ultimate chic (look 16), Kim Jones’ signature tailoring (look 27 and 40), embellishments and drapery (look 50) and the opening night at the grand Opera (look 51).

Loewe has me thinking about what it is I love about fashion all over again–something Jonathan Anderson has a knack for. I think it’s the way he forces you to look at specific garments by styling leather jackets with no pants or jeans with no shirt (both items a Loewe signature) and how he infuses art and fashion in a way that comments on our way of life. This season it’s the internet and how we interpret masculinity through it.

His use of leather, half-fastened belts and no pants give masculinity an in-your-face nature–something we are forced to consume. Yet pairing a chic silk shirt with track pants and a patterned tee with chunky cargo pants brings a softer edge. While I miss the unapologetic glamour Anderson brought with Loewe’s SS24, I’d argue that this is the perfect offset to keep us all on our toes.

Hermes continues with the fashion industry’s sudden inspiration of UK, namely English, fashion. Muted colours make up the slim-fitting collection. There is quite literally nothing wide-legged or oversized. Bold! This is coming from the house that invented quiet luxury, the brand whose label and orange-coloured boxes and bags perform the ultimate flex so we best catch up!

Olivier Rousteing’s Balmain is giving maximalism a run for its money. The new season is decadent, luxurious and heavy with print, beading and embellishes. While I personally invest in clothes that are wearable for many occasions, I can’t help but be swept up by the spectacle of these pieces. The kissed lips cummerbund is just the right amount of kitsch, the eye turtleneck is mesmerising and the falling snow shirt is one of the chicest moments of the season. However, the lip print, polka dot moments and layered fabric assembled into an eye are too much.

Pierpaolo Piccioli is hacking down the walls and guidelines of masculinity at Valentino. Piccioli told Sarah Mower on Vogue Runway “There has to be a reflection on the idea of masculinity. In the last year, in Italy, there has been a lot of violence against women. I think it’s time now to join the fight with women, for real respect and equality. I think it’s time to rethink even the symbols of masculinity—because if you don't do that right from inside, men will never change.” 

While this collection appears to be normal menswear from the outside, it has been melded with the world of haute couture and constructed with techniques and fabrics from its practices. It forms the ultimate reminder from its touch on one’s skin that one human is no better than another.

It’s reasons like this that brands like Valentino, Dior, Prada and Loewe, with designers who, albeit having great resources to do so, tell stories that run deeper than a runway show and make fashion week and the industry as a whole such an inspiring place.

Highlights: the new black suit styled with a turtle neck (look 3), the over sized shirt and moon bag (look 11), my new working uniforms (look 16 and 42), show stopping coat (look 18), an everyday go-to (look 22) and my new fits-everything bag (look 2 and 33).

The clear trends for the FW24 season: the focus is muted colours, if there’s a colour at all, paired back with neutrals. A clear favourite is the pops of pale pinks and soft purples (auralee, Amiri, Valentino, Hermes, Prada and JWA). Backpacks are a key bag accessory and fringing has made itself known in jackets, overcoats, scarves and leather accessories (Dries Van Noten, Louis Vuitton, Loewe). Cummerbunds or waist wraps are also becoming more popular (Dior, Balmain, Egonlab and Dsquared2).

Our next, and very first, ONE-PIECE issue is just around the corner. Some key things I think you’ll love reading:

• The signature ONE-PIECE interview where I sit down with a special guest to talk about the most valued piece of clothing in their wardrobe. It’s completely subjective. In some issues, our guest might pick something of monetary value and the next it might be something sentimental. Either way, I want to hear about the stories and memories attached to whatever that ONE-PIECE is. Catch up with my original IGTV series starting with episode one.

• I’ll take one of your questions or bust a dressing myth (like black and navy) and turn it into a practical styling section. If you aren’t sure how to style something properly or want to put a piece of clothing through my versatility test then let me know in the comments!

• A shoppable menu of things I have my eye on. From fashion to homewares, designer furniture and new artist exhibitions.

• Finally, a place where I can share the books I’ve been reading. You might be reading about your next favourite book in this section.

Amidst our monthly ONE-PIECE issues, you will find special editions, like this one you’ve just read. We have the Grammy’s and Oscar’s Red Carpets around the corner, and the first Monday in May—the fashion event of the year. Both are full of dreams and disappointments. Subscribe and let’s talk about it!