Olympian Marcell Jacobs joins Dsquared2 for a fashion break

• Luxury fashion shows are caught between the pandemic and war in Europe.
• Milan catwalk events have reverted to a live format with pre-pandemic tight seating.
• Industry anticipates sales of 92 billion euros in 2019, a 2% increase over 2018 levels.

In a difficult economic scenario, Milan luxury fashion designers opened four days of mainly menswear previews for next spring and summer on Friday, caught between the pandemic and war in Europe.

The majority of runway events have reverted to a live format with pre-pandemic tight seating, but the long-awaited return to normal has been postponed once more.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has driven up energy and raw material prices, jeopardizing a growth trajectory that saw revenues surpass those of the pre-COVID period in the first half of this year. Despite the uncertain prognosis, the industry anticipates sales of 92 billion euros, a 2% increase over pre-pandemic levels in 2019 and a 10% increase over 2021.

“We are positive but realistic, and a lot will depend on what happens in the world,” said Carlo Capasa, president of the Italian National Fashion Chamber.

Here are some highlights from Friday’s launching of a slightly curtailed fashion week of some 25 runway shows:

DSQUARED2 RIDING THE WAVES

“Waves come in seven, and we’re on No. 3,’’ said Dean Caten backstage after he and twin brother Dan presented their latest collection for their Milan label, Dsquared2. “We have all kinds of waves. We can have some happy waves, I hope.”

In their Spring-Summer 2023 collection, the Canadians presented a cheerful vision inspired by a Bob Marley mash-up of 1970s hippies and surfers.

From floral sarongs to linen pants, studded leather jackets to neoprene shirts, open light beach trunks to flowing anoraks, the menswear collection left plenty of freedom for personal expression. Suit jackets worked well as a layering piece over loose-fitting parachute pants. As peaceful aqua azzurra was set off by brilliant salmon, fading to pastels, patterns and colours clashed joyously.