Thinking FW12: Ermenegildo Zegna's masterpiece of a trench

store.zegna.com

This week I've realised I am completely over the summer, or whatever annoying hybrid we might have had in London. Fall/Winter shopping is always not only easier but also a lot more pleasant. Winter clothes also give more room for style as men can vary between more than 3 or 4 types of garment.
So these days I've been looking around online for my key pieces for the winter, regardless of whether I can actually afford it. So far, one of the very few pieces that has stood out the most is this incredible Ermegildo Zegna trench coat. It actually feels weird referring to it as a trench coat because it's a lot more – it's a masterpiece. Living in London a trench coat is something ordinary, which is probably why I have never bought one and worn it often. Zegna's option, on the contrary, is anything but ordinary. The leather inserts and trimming, the micro-checked lining and the removable shearling collar give it a super distinctive touch. The reason why it's so great is because it's also a classic. It could be your dad's old coat (if he's very stylish) but you can rock it even better.
I doubt that at €2,720 a pop I will be able to afford one this winter but believe this, if I had a house to get a second mortgage on I would happily get into debt for years only to own this coat. If you're luckier than me you can buy it here.

If you missed it, click here to see my post of the Ermenegildo Zegna FW12 collection. One of my top 5 of the season and full of beautiful pieces and textures.

Milan Fashion Week: Burberry Prorsum SS12

The Burberry collections are mostly every time at the top of my list of fashion week highlights. This time even more so as Giulia and I attended our first Burberry show in Milan, which was the main reason why my trip to the city actually took place. And what a collection we saw!
Christopher Bailey got a little whimsical for SS12 with a lot of colours, prints, appliques although, in fact, I would say that the play on materials and textures made the collection. The were, of course, the expected trench coats and macs but they came out in jacquard and suede and finished with wooden beads on the collars. I loved this combination of Burberry's heritage with the innovation in materials and the almost ethnic graphics.

Courtesy of Burberry, Fashion, Frankly

If I had to choose the peaks of the show I would have to mention the raffia and leather shoes (I want!), the geometric-appliqued jumpers and t-shirts and the exquisitely chic prints on shirts and trousers (which will be in my wardrobe as soon as the collection is out).

I also paid a lot of attention to the knits and trousers as they're always two of my favourite items from burberry collections. Bailey has kept the lines of trousers slim and the hemlines almost unnoticeably cropped —so that they're fresh in the summer but still smart— and has made of knitwear more of statement. I remember especially well a blazer-shaped cardigan that would be so handy for chilly summer parties by the sea.

It was, in my opinion, one of the best collections for men Bailey has delivered in seasons and I can't possibly tell you how happy I was to have seen it with my own eyes.

A big thank you to the Burberry team!

Burberry gets Pre-Fall

I often spend a lot of time on blog posts complaining about how pointless I find "pre" collections. However, this is not one of those moments. For the first time I feel like someone has got it. Burberry's Pre-Fall11 collection hits all the right notes. And it does because it includes heavy winter-looking clothes made in lightweight materials, which is the perfect combination to satisfy our needs at the beginning of the autumn season while keeping us happy. We're, then, anticipating the winter season but we can't wear full-on winter wear yet. Burberry proposes an autumnal colour palette that mirrors the colours of the leaves while mixing it up with their staple pieces such as the mac and the trench in bold hues like tangerine or made with new materials.

[Pictures: Coute que Coute]