By the time Miuccia Prada trotted out over a dozen plush, shiny looks at yesterday’s highly anticipated Prada show, it was already clear that one fabric was going to define the season: velvet’s ribbed cousin, corduroy. That’s right, the kitschy-vintage trend that started as a fashion moment has become a full-scale menswear takeover. But the corduroy that’s popped up on runways across Milan feels distinctly modern, blowing up the notion that this old-school texture is the territory of dusty professors and L.L. Bean woodsmen. This is corduroy appropriated for high fashion, where it looks flyer (and more versatile) than ever. Might the Prada effect already be taking hold? It sure seems like it—looking at the tailoring showrooms of Florence and Milan, corduroy defined the standout pieces of several Fall-Winter 2017 collections. MP Massimo Piombo, for one, showed a a chocolate-colored wide wale shawl collar jacket so perfect every fashion editor might as well just fly home now.
Here’s what our very own fashion director, Mobolaji Dawodu, had to say from his front-row perspective: “This season made corduroy a little fancier. Think about who’s doing it: Brunello Cucinelli. Caruso has corduroy in camel hair. Boglioli has a green corduroy that's really nice. But there’s a range: The wide-wale pants that the small Italian brand The Gigi is doing are fly. And then the Prada corduroy looks more vintage 1970’s. Get in where you fit in.”
Below is everything we saw in Milan and Florence that proves you should start wearing corduroy as soon as possible—since you can bet that next year the fashion crowd (ourselves very much included) will be wearing it from head to toe.
The word “corduroy” is thought to come from the French phrase corde du roi, and Brunello Cucinelli’s Sea Island cotton version is indeed fit for a king. His dusty grey overcoat proves that the oldest-school kind of corduroy—the deep-ridged, wide wale variety—can look as sharp as it is plush. (You’d be forgiven for thinking it was cashmere.) It’s no wonder why Mr. Cucinelli rolled up to his epic Tuscan dinner party at Pitti Uomo sporting a beautiful double-breasted corduroy blazer.
The award for best corduroy color in the Fall-Winter 2017 collections goes to Davide Marello’s Boglioli, which showed a teal green cord suit in Milan. Marello, who took the helm last year after cutting his teeth at Gucci alongside Alessandro Michele, has made Boglioli’s famously casual (and luxurious) tailoring even more chilled out. Marello opted for a presentation rather than runway show this season, but his unparalleled styling was on full display nonetheless—how do you make a soft, unstructured corduroy suit still look razor sharp? By wearing it with a badass pair of black boots, obviously.
How do you make the high fashion pant silhouette du jour even cooler? If you’re Marni’s new designer Francesco Risso, you make your excessively full and long, gathered-waist trousers in various shades of wide wale corduroy. And if these pants can stand out in a kaleidoscopic show featuring maximalist textures and eye-popping color combinations, they’ll certainly play a starring role in any outfit—bonus points when paired with the matching jacket.
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The success of Boglioli (above) is due in large part to family brand scions Perluigi (Gigi) and Mario Boglioli. Gigi is credited with devising many of Boglioli’s tailoring innovations, like garment-dyed jackets, and though The Gigi’s motto is “Don’t Look Back,” the brothers have brought their considered, soulful design to the new brand. That’s why it’s no surprise they showed two of the most interesting corduroy pieces we saw all week: A perfect pair of uneven wale corduroy red pleated trousers, and a crazy herringbone-meets-corduroy DB suit that begs to be checked out up close. Fingers crossed these pieces—and more—will be available stateside soon.
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Caruso might not be a household name, but if the good-humored Milanese brand continues its trend of developing insane, next-level fabrics, that will soon change. Take, for example, its “Gobigold” range of fabrics, made from extra-fine camel hair, that this season they’ve spun into superb corduroy suits and trousers. Trust us—baby camel hair corduroy feels as luxe and rare as it sounds. The only downside? It might ruin lesser cord for you forever.
After last season’s outstanding techno-hiker collection, which featured futuristic fabrics and sporty silhouettes, nobody knew what to expect from Miuccia Prada. And, as always, she showed a collection that first confounded, and then dazzled, the guests, many of whom were seated on beds adjacent to the runway. Along with conch shell necklaces and thrift store sweaters, the extensive use of corduroy—which appeared in dusky brown overcoats, burnt red trousers, and straight-from-the-’70s suits—takes menswear all the way to the vintage horizon it’s been heading toward. But rather than find mere inspiration in bygone fashions, the collection makes what’s old actually look chic again, as if Miuccia took it upon herself to convert the last few unbelievers among us. If you’re still not on board with cord everything, just wait—your favorite designers definitely are.
When we talk about relaxed, un-fussy tailoring, we’re really talking about a revolution Giorgio Armani started in the ’80s. And while the Armani silhouette has fluctuated here and there in the ensuing decades, Mr. Armani’s commitment to clothes that embody ease and comfort is stronger than ever. This morning’s show, which closed out Milan Fashion Week, was no less striking. Nearly every fabric seemed designed to maximize plushness, a carnival of velour, fur, brushed cashmere, and, of course, lots of corduroy. A grey suit stood out for its play on the three piece—the vest replaced with a corduroy zip-up hoodie—and the coolest corduroy pants of the week were the mélange-woven ones worn throughout the show, elevated by their extra dimension of texture. It was a fitting (and very cozy) bookend to the week.
Brendon Babenzien’s growing fashion cult thrives on retro sportswear with a DGAF punk attitude.
