Angela Missoni compared the many layers of her new menswear collection to "layers of memories, of souvenirs." The look was built around a peasant shirt, elevated by Missoni s patchwork, stripes, or plaid into a rustic heritage piece, like an idealized memory of a more artisanal era.
But by the time that humble smock had been underlaid with a long-sleeved T-shirt in a contrasting stripe, and then layered up with a sweater in the label s signature zigzag, a jacket in a jacquard linen, and a nylon parka (the acid green one was a zinger), it was clear that something entirely different was going on. Add a voluminous pair of linen combat shorts and some tricolored deck shoes into the mix, and the result looked more like a kind of dressy, elongated grunge.
An attempt to revitalize Missoni s signature with new proportions? The designer didn t describe it that way, talking instead about bringing refinement to informal clothes and acknowledging the experimental nature of the collection. If this one literally stretched things out a little too far, you could still feel the designer testing ideas—like a new acidity in the color palette and a new lightness with patchworking—for next time. And that s what keeps Missoni vital.
