Stella McCartney ends Milan Fashion Week Men with garden party

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jun 20, 2018

On Monday night, Stella McCartney closed the programme of the Milan Fashion Week Men with a countryside romp in the very heart of the city, in the garden adjoining the Palazzo delle Stelline, a former monastery just opposite the Santa Maria delle Grazie church, home to Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’. It was the best way to end the Milanese fashion marathon in a fun, relaxed atmosphere.

Stella McCartney has recently opened a new store on London’s Bond Street, and will open another in Los Angeles next October. She was back in Milan after a four-year absence, and pulled out all the stops with an event at a magical venue, featuring a picnic party, DJ set and all sorts of fun activities.

She was indeed keen to exploit the occasion to make a big impression, as her fashion label recently reached a new milestone, with her as sole proprietor. On March 28 in fact, the designer took over the 50% stake that French group Kering owned in Stella McCartney Ltd.

Above all, the purpose was shining a spotlight on the label’s new collections: the menswear for Spring/Summer 2019 and the women’s pre-collection for Spring 2019. Not to mention the accessories in recycled polyester and solvent-free polyurethane, scattered around at the foot of trees or ‘worn’ by the garden’s statues.

The mood was that of a family gathering, the guests sitting down at tables decked out with the typical white and red check tablecloths of Italian trattorias, eating pizza or pasta while the models ambled nonchalantly around them. Strolling from one verdant grove to another, under coloured lights, the models too joined in the fun, playing skittles or table tennis and cheerfully posing for photographs.

The looks on show were informal, jazzed up with a touch of British elegance, the clothes made with traditional menswear fabrics like Prince of Wales checks, embellished with sport and couture details such as the openwork tracksuit top. Other models wore comfortable knitwear with broad stripes in vivid colours.

The young McCartney girls instead switched from a judiciously romantic style, with long pink or white embroidered dresses, to a punchier mood, with ultra-short outfits and tops and trouser suits in glittering prints, in sky blue or pale pink.