After a toned-down January edition due to the outbreak of the Omicron variant, men’s fashion week looks set to return this June in full force. Here is our guide to what to expect from the upcoming S/S 2023 season – from a celebration of Ann Demeulemeester in Florence during a revitalised Pitti Uomo, to JW Anderson’s much-anticipated debut at Milan Fashion Week.
Men’s fashion week S/S 2023: all you need to know
London Fashion Week 11 – 13 June 2022
In December last year, the British Fashion Council (BFC) announced its intention to go co-ed across its schedule; this June, in the spot previously taken up by London Fashion Week Men’s, a summertime edition of London Fashion Week will run from 11–13 June 2022. Comprising a slimmed-down schedule across both physical events and digital happenings, the focus is placed squarely on a new generation of designers working in the city, the majority of whom specialise in menswear (most of the designers making appearances over the weekend are also part of the BFC’s Newgen funding programme). Those slated to take part include Labrum London, Robyn Lynch, Marie Lueder, Ahluwalia and Martine Rose, while Ravensbourne and Westminster universities will hold graduate shows as part of the event, the latter across both BA and MA courses.
Pitti Uomo, Florence 14 – 17 June 2022
After a scaled-down version of the Florentine fair this past January, the 102nd Pitti Uomo returns to its usual four-day schedule, seeing the vast Fortezza da Basso venue filled (almost) to capacity once again. Brunello Cucinelli, Herno, AlphaTauri and more have confirmed attendance at the fair, this time themed ‘Pitti_Island’ (‘a land for meeting and being together before everyone sets out on their own journey’, as Agostino Poletto, general manager of Pitti Immagine, explains).
Alongside the historic fair, a roster of guests will also show across the event, notably London-based designer Grace Wales Bonner, who is returning to the runway after a two-year hiatus. She promises to bring her ‘vision of cultural luxury’ to an as-yet unnamed location in the city; meanwhile, second guest designer Ann Demeulemeester curates a special project that will celebrate 40 years of her namesake maison, which she exited completely in 2013. The event – postponed from the January edition – also marks the transition of ownership of the label to Italian entrepreneur Claudio Antonioli, who has increasingly brought Demeulemeester back into the fold, alongside many of her early collaborators (on her part, she has called him a longtime ‘compagnon de route’).
Wales Bonner. Courtesy of Pitti Immagine
Milan Fashion Week 17 – 21 June 2022
A number of brands cancelled shows in the city in January; this season, Milan Fashion Week’s menswear edition looks set to return with a ‘pre-pandemic’-worthy schedule showcasing the best in Italian design (and beyond). Both Versace and Moschino will show menswear collections at the event for the first time in several years, while the usual gamut of big-name houses – Fendi, Prada, Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana among them – will no doubt continue to provide the week’s highlights. Elsewhere, Jonathan Anderson brings his eponymous London-based label JW Anderson to the city for one season only – delayed from January – promising to provide ‘a party’ for attendees, the first in a series of shows planned to take the brand around the world. Also new this season is a digital-only day that rounds out the week, featuring an unexpected appearance from British label Charles Jeffrey Loverboy.
Paris Fashion Week 21 – 26 June 2022
Despite restrictions – and pared-down guest lists – January’s edition of Paris Fashion Week Men’s retained a close-to-normal schedule featuring the city’s historic houses, including Dior, Hermès and Louis Vuitton (the last a heartfelt tribute to late designer Virgil Abloh, showcasing his final collection for the house). They will all return this season as part of a packed schedule which sees menswear week stalwarts (Rick Owens, Loewe, Givenchy, Paul Smith, et al) joined by a new generation of international design talent, from Paris-based Bluemarble and Georges Wendell to British designer Bianca Saunders, who showed in the city for the first time last season.
Elsewhere, a contingent of designers from Japan travel once again to Paris Fashion Week Men’s after a two-year pandemic hiatus – Comme des Garçons, Issey Miyake, Junya Watanabe and Kolor are among them, while Yohji Yamamoto will continue to show digitally. Marine Serre will make her menswear week debut with a dedicated collection; Craig Green switches back to Paris from London where he showed last February, alongside Kiko Kostadinov, who will also make the shift from London. Rounding out the schedule is a cryptic ‘Timing Reserved’ at 8pm on the final Sunday – as to who (or what) that might be, rumours abound.
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