Olympic spirit and ski-season styling
Milan Fashion Week, which closed Monday, carried an Olympic theme through menswear previews for fall-winter 2026-27, from Dsquared2’s Games-inspired tribute to Ralph Lauren’s celebrity-packed runway built around ski-resort wear as it prepares to outfit Team USA.
The AP report described the Olympics as more than a background motif, saying the front-row chatter also turned to broader questions of diversity and sustainability, alongside the silhouettes that designers showed. The highlights came from four days of mostly men’s previews, covering a mix of headwear, modular outerwear and accessories designed for colder months.
Dsquared2, founded by Canadian twins Dean and Dan Caten, opened its show with Hudson Williams. The AP report said Williams—an actor who stars in the buzzy series “Heated Rivalry,” about a gay hockey love story—strutted down a fake-snow-covered staircase wearing a ripped double denim jacket and a sparkly racing number. The show framed the label as a fun fit for Team Canada, tying fashion to the Feb. 6-22 Games.
Prada’s headwear and modular shapes
Prada’s co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons focused on men’s headwear, exploring berets to fedoras made foldable “as if origami.” The AP report said flattened, the pieces could snap onto the back of outerwear.
Among the runway highlights, Prada showed a modular men’s cape that fit over coats and jackets. The report also described men’s dress shirts with T-shirt necklines and backs buttoned down, with exaggeratedly long cuffs protruding from jacket sleeves. It said Prada’s base-layer car coats were ultra-slim and that Prada defended the look with the line: “That’s fashion.”
In a separate comment captured by the AP report, Prada said, “Talking about intellectual honesty, we are working for a brand that sells expensive clothes to possibly rich people, and so you have to deal with beauty, elegance, to understand what is believable,” adding to the theme that design decisions were tied to what audiences will recognize as “believable.”
Zegna’s “collectible” approach to sustainability
Zegna creative director Alessandro Sartori presented a collection the AP report characterized as about wardrobe building over seasons, with pieces meant to endure generations. Sartori said he aimed to produce more than fashion—offering quality and aesthetics—and the report highlighted his framing of the customer as a collector, not just a fashionista.
The AP report quoted Sartori as saying, “I want people to collect pieces like watches.” It also said Zegna staged behind glass a nearly century-old jacket made with the company’s own fabrics, underscoring the brand identity it associated with longevity.
On sourcing and control, the AP report said Zegna controls about 60% of its supply chain. It contrasted that footprint with the report’s description that other Italian brands have been enveloped in a supply chain scandal. The AP report pointed to Simon Cracker—described as a 15-year-old brand featuring upcycled fashion—as one of a small number of houses on the Milan runway able to discuss sustainability with what it characterized as credibility.
Jewelry for men moves from “accent” to centerpiece
Beyond outerwear, the AP report described jewelry as becoming central to men’s wardrobes, shifting from red-carpet touches toward more prominent runway statements.
It said Dolce & Gabbana’s evening looks featured lapel jewels such as big floral pins and ornate gold brooches embedded with watches, including pieces with long, elegant chains. Giorgio Armani was described as offering a smaller “smattering” of subtle lapel pins for men.
Prada’s styling, according to the AP report, used exaggeratedly long sleeves secured with gemstone cufflinks, including lapis lazuli and tiger’s eye, and finished the look with mismatched sculptural earrings.
Diversity and inclusion stays in the conversation
The AP report said Ghanaian designer Victor Hart made his Milan runway debut, supported by the decade-old Afrofashion Association. It described Hart’s collection as featuring statuesque denim looks that incorporated street touches such as industrial belting.
In historical context, the report said Milan fashion saw a mini-Renaissance of diversity and inclusion after Black Lives Matter in 2020, when designers including Stella Jean and Edward Buchanan and Afrofashion Association’s Michelle Ngonmo demanded action. It said the spotlight had dimmed more recently.
The report also described criticism around what it characterized as performative diversity through casting. It said Dolce & Gabbana was called out on social media for all-white runway casting for Saturday’s menswear show, adding that the brand had previously faced a storm in 2018 over advertisements perceived as anti-Asian. In response to the casting, the AP report said French fashion TikToker Elias Medini described it as “fifty shades of white,” while influencer Hanan Besovic said “having a cast of all white models in 2026 is diabolical.”