Milan Fashion Week: Brioni

For Fall/Winter 2015 it was a case of back to the future for Brioni. The brand was the first ever to stage a men’s runway show, which took place all the way back in 1952. Without any male model agencies, they had to dress up their own store assistants in the clothes.

Now come January 2015, and celebrating their 70th anniversary, the stripe down an early pair of trousers was a reminder that there were two key influences to the collection, both rooted in early 20th century Vienna: one the city’s famous riding school, the other the Wiener Werkstätte design school. 

There was a military rigor to the belted overcoats, collar pins on shirts, leather gloves, and the ticket pockets on two and three button tailoring, which came with tapered trousers (an equestrian nod to jodphurs). The bags and other accessories also channeled the expertise of saddlemakers, including contrast stitching in leather and other hard-working threads, while the shoes included cavalry boots and double monk strap brogues.