For SS23 in Milan, DSQUARED2 is opting for a laid-back, oversized, Jamaican-inspired uniform. The runway featured lots of mix-matched patterns, accessories, overlays and coastal looks.
Milan men’s fashion week for SS23 is up and running from the 17th of June to the 26th, with a pre-pandemic worthy schedule of shows to keep an eye out for. Launching the season is DSQUARED2, the Italian luxury fashion house. Here’s what went down at their runway show.
DSQUARED2 opened up Milan Fashion Week with eclectic Jamaican beats and a warm lighting set-up that emulated a warm evening sun. It sets the mood accordingly – DSQUARED2 opting for their usual fun, vibrant and eclectic mismatch of clothing but with a inclination towards the coastal and beachy.
For SS23, DSQUARED2 is embracing all things Jamaican beach-bum in a style that is in equal parts laid-back and carefully curated. As is usual for the brand, colours and an eclectic variety of patterns are the stars of the show, this time with a particular focus on nature-inspired imagery. We see leaves, Hawaiian flowers and the occasional shell hanging on a lonesome earring of the many times long haired models.
This season is marked by the oversize – we’re talking about wide-legged trousers, shirts a size too big and jackets that are clearly too large. The models were dressed with a lot of layering, from the classic post-surf look of a long-sleeve top with an oversize shirt to the leggings under the swimming trunks – all put together in a seemingly disjointed manner.
To compliment the casualness of DSQUARED2, models were almost exclusively wearing flip-flops or open sandals, even to the point of wearing socks and sandals for some of the runway looks. One of the models was carrying a surfboard. The other had his nose covered in colourful sunblock. If you have always wanted to learn how to drop down into the line-up, DSQUARED2 is hinting that now is the right time to do it.
Another stand-out of the show were the hats. Some flat-brimmed headwater in beige complemented the crocheted beanies most models were sporting. Accessory wise, DSQUARED2 bet on overlaid beaded necklaces, a nudge towards the ones one can buy at the beachfront during their childhood holidays.
As the show comes to an end, it is almost impossible to not reference the TikTok trend, the coconut girl aesthetic, that launched sometime in the summer of 2021. Taking cues from Y2K fashion and beach-bum style, the fashion trend ruled the social media app for a few summer months, and now, it seems, DSQUARED2’s Milan menswear show. A hint towards the trend-setting powers of TikTok, perhaps?
The runway closed with the twin designers, Dean and Dan Caten, sporting graphic tucked-in Bob Marley t-shirts with a patterned long-sleeve underlay as the only distinctive element between the two. They walked the runway barefoot, with their ankles adorned with beaded anklets as if ready to hop on a surfboard in the Atlantic.
We sure know who’s craving a beach holiday now.