The Milan Fashion Week Men's spring/summer 2025 gathering has finished for another season and – like the Florence trade fair Pitti Uomo, which immediately preceded the event – tailoring in all its guises has emerged as a key element for menswear next year.
Given a decidedly relaxed bent for spring/summer 2025, no doubt an attempt to antidote worrying news around the world, tailoring now means well-cut but loose, rather than sharply contoured to the body, in a move towards a more laid back, relaxed aesthetic.
This season Milan was thrown upside down by a show that wasn't even expected on Monday, when Valentino dropped images of the first collection by its new creative director Alessandro Michele, blowing up the internet as a result.
Valentino
Despite not slated to deliver anything until his first runway show at September's Paris Fashion Week, Michele caught everyone off guard (in a good way) with his unexpected resort 2025 collection, which ran to a whopping 171 looks.
In a case of history repeating itself, this is the second time Michele has turned around a complete collection and new direction in record time. When he took over at Gucci in 2015 he famously had just two weeks to bring his ideas to the runway. This time around his tenure at Valentino began barely two months ago.
Filled with Michele’s signature decadence and complex layering – with turbans, clashing patterns, embroidered details, and even fur cuffs – this new collection, titled Avant les Debuts, picked up where he left off at Gucci. While many of the codes will be instantly recognisable to many, here it felt lighter, more refined and with greater polish.
However, the arrival of his first collection for Valentino, released hours before the Gucci menswear show, cannot be seen as anything but highly orchestrated. It has set the industry abuzz, with many labelling it the fashion equivalent of a diss track.
Gucci
Over at Gucci meanwhile, Michele’s successor Sabato De Sarno delivered his second men’s collection, this time themed around surfing.
Comprising of short shorts, boxy shirts in bright dolphin and hibiscus prints, and round-toe slippers that look set to be the male version of the mesh ballet pumps dominating women's fashion this summer, it was energetic and upbeat.
Mac coats arrived in glossy leather, accessorised with sunglasses on foam straps, and in colours that were bold and skilfully mixed, such as green or lilac with bitter chocolate brown.
Given that de Sarno is still finding his feet at Gucci, the use of colour was a little too reminiscent of Pierpaolo Piccioli’s time at Valentino, while the cuts veered a little too close to Prada's signature aesthetic for comfort, yet felt wearable and optimistic.
Prada
At Prada, co-designers Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada focused on youth, declaring that “youth is the future … it is hope.”
Delivering looks that purposely looked lived in, as if borrowed from someone else, this appeared as shrunken jumpers and cardigans with sleeves notably too short, shirts that were twisted around the body, and neatly tailored trousers worn low on the hips and either dragging on the floor, or cropped to the ankle.
There were hoodies, tiny bomber jackets and the Prada version of concert merch T-shirts, with prints by the artist Bernard Buffet. Shocks of Barbie pink, hot orange, daffodil yellow, acid green, turquoise and even floral prints peppered the otherwise sombre palette of grey, fawn, white and black.
Fendi
With Fendi about to turn 100 years old, menswear and accessories designer Silvia Venturini Fendi turned to the company archive for inspiration. The result was the unveiling of a new crest made from four of the house’s motifs, including the famous double-F and emblazoned across all manner of shirts, tops and jackets, plus a focus on the impeccable craftsmanship of the Italian house.
This appeared as a saddlery stitch adorning bags, the edges of trench coats, and as quilting on jackets. The clothes. in contrast, were relaxed and carefree, such as sleeveless rugby tops, boxy shirts and shorts, long tabards worn under blouson jackets, and semi-sheer shirts.
Dolce & Gabbana
At Dolce & Gabbana artisanship was on the agenda, with a collection called Italian Beauty, which opened with a jacket woven from wicker more typically seen on chairs.
This appeared again in more wearable guise, as jackets woven from fine strips of white or black leather, a show of skill that certainly hit the mark. These square jackets marked a shift away from the designers' tight tailoring, towards something more relaxed, more summery, shown here as sheer polo shirts, lightweight jackets, pleat front trousers that tapered to the ankle, and breezy shirts worn open almost to the waist that carried a liberal helping of 1950s dolce vita.
Emporio Armani
Emporio Armani delved into a languid mood, with the designer’s signature fluid suiting tied at the waist with woven leather belts and tucked into heavy boots, conjuring a silhouette which we can expect to be copied the world over.
An ode to abandoning “tough city living” in favour of “fresh and enchanting softness”, this collection centred on simplicity, with tuxedo jackets in soft velvet worn open, roomy trousers that swayed with each step and cropped jackets with safari-like pockets. Colours meanwhile were also soft, in tones of lilac, Armani’s signature greige, faded peach, off-white and shades of sand.
About to celebrate his 90th birthday in July, Giorgio Armani took his bow alongside the head of the men's and women's divisions, Leo Dell’Orco and Silvana Armani, respectively, signalling a possible nod to who will take over the house when time comes.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Secret Pigeon Service: Operation Colomba, Resistance and the Struggle to Liberate Europe
Gordon Corera, Harper Collins
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Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Venom
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed
Rating: 1.5/5
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Naga
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Hot%20Seat
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Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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The specs: Hyundai Ionic Hybrid
Price, base: Dh117,000 (estimate)
Engine: 1.6L four-cylinder, with 1.56kWh battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 105hp (engine), plus 43.5hp (battery)
Torque: 147Nm (engine), plus 170Nm (battery)
Fuel economy, combined: 3.4L / 100km
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness'
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
Rating: 3/5
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Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Company%C2%A0profile
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The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 720hp
Torque: 770Nm
Price: Dh1,100,000
On sale: now
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Thor%3A%20Love%20and%20Thunder%20
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Schedule for show courts
Centre Court - from 4pm UAE time
Johanna Konta (6) v Donna Vekic
Andy Murray (1) v Dustin Brown
Rafael Nadal (4) v Donald Young
Court 1 - from 4pm UAE time
Kei Nishikori (9) v Sergiy Stakhovsky
Qiang Wang v Venus Williams (10)
Beatriz Haddad Maia v Simona Halep (2)
Court 2 - from 2.30pm
Heather Watson v Anastasija Sevastova (18)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12) v Simone Bolelli
Florian Mayer v Marin Cilic (7)
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory