Jan 15, 2013

Burberry Prorsum menswear AW13 review


We kicked off our Milan Men’s Fashion Week with Burberry Prorsum runway show last Saturday. Hafidz was granted the elusive Front-Of-House pass which means he is allowed to enter an hour prior to the show. He managed to secure a spot amongst seasoned global runway photographers (albeit having to squeeze through the comparatively large-built Europeans)! The show started rather timely (15 minutes late in fashion means 5 minutes early, you see).

As we all know, Burberry Prorsum is the conceptual high-end fashion line of the house. Nevertheless the importance of skillful craftsmanship and luxurious fabrication in producing each and every piece, akin to its classic range, is very clearly stressed. This is evident during our re-see session where we had a close-up look at each item, thanks to the PR representative who was there to bring us around and explain the whole collection.

Seeing a subtly progressive collection like this is an astounding reminder of why Burberry is one of the key players in men’s wear industry. This time around Christopher Bailey experiments with animal prints in the forms of zebra, tiger & leopard, which appeared in the earlier looks as detailing on the leather accessories and shoes, while models are clad in tailored outer wear with similar idea. The degree of animal print on display varies from a subtle lapel detail to a full-blown coat with contrasting print on the sleeves. A few looks after, I jumped a bit inside upon seeing models walking down in animal print pony skin overcoats.

 
   

It's good to know that zoology is not ALL the rage on Prorsum runway as we were then reminded of the brand’s heritage: the trench. In addition, boxy trench, duffle and pea coats in military and neutral hues entered the runway in diverse material – luxuriously textured patent leather, bonded double wool and even pony skin.

 

One of the more refreshing items, like translucent rubber long coats in various colours are constructed in a manner that it allows just the right amount of cheekiness in dressing up - it lets what you wear inside to be seen partially through the coat. We do expect these pieces to be in many editorials in a few months’ time. The cheekiness subsequently trickles into casual wear as heart prints take over sweaters and linen shirts. Re-sees like this one is important to reveal minute details invisible on the runway. Case in pont: a coat with graphic red-and-black stripes, on further inspection, has an alternative motif on its lining. One of the outstanding pieces for me is the 'pin-head' coat, which clearly shimmers from afar.


The collection, just like the previous ones is not complete without tempting leather goods and footwear. Animal prints, like I mentioned above are also abundant on the shoes and bags. The Burberry House check/leopard print holdall is particularly unique. In addition the young and gadget-lovers alike will rejoice to see iPad Mini and iPhone 5 cases (already!) that go in-sync with the whole collection. The playfulness also reverberates in the animal print sunglasses. Anyhow I am not too sure if these will make it into the store (due to wearability) but then again, why not?


Words by Arman Shahril
Edited by Hafidzudin Zainal
Photos by Hafidzudin Zainal

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