In Milan, place for young designers with Simon Cracker, Magliano and Martine Rose

Alongside the big houses, the next generation of creative talent is making its voice heard in Milan, on the men’s catwalks, with attractive and original collections for spring-summer 2025. On Sunday in particular, three young labels, which are asserting themselves from season to season, were noticed. Like the entirely upcycled alternative label Simon Cracker, from Magliano, which is gaining maturity, and the British brand Martine Rose, present for the first time in Milan.

Simon Cracker opened the dances in the morning with a dapper and colorful collection with a sporty spirit. It is available in four main colors: black, mauve, pool blue and acid green. The clothes are first made, then airbrushed with dyes, the effects of which differ depending on the materials, sometimes resulting in faded or splashed.

Beneath this apparent lightness lies in reality a reflection on the deep divisions that are scarring the planet. “The collection is called ‘a question of principle, because it is this argument which generally puts an end to all discussions causing the escalation of violence. With what is happening in the world, it would be irresponsible not to be political at the moment,” say Filippo Biraghi, the brand coordinator, and Simone Botte, who founded the label in 2010, getting involved from the start in a 100% upcycling approach.

To transcribe this message, they used knots, as a metaphor for what connects and tightens, but also for what blocks and closes. In particular, the duo uses a stock of recovered laces to tie sections of fabric together or reconstruct an entirely unstitched jacket. The lace is tied around the neck as a cowboy tie, in earrings or around the waist as a belt. It can also be transformed into fringes edging a top, or into ribbon, inserted as embroidery into a crochet knit.

This season, Simon Cracker was able to access unsold and dormant stocks from Australian, one of the last 100% sports brands made in Italy. A real treasure, which allows designers to revisit sweatpants or use polo collars to make bandeau tops and skirts. They also have fun putting little children’s knitted items on the front of their shirts, as decoration.

The brand is announcing two collaborations for the occasion. One with Dr. Martens for shoes, the other with Australian. “We have created an eight-piece capsule with sweaters, t-shirts, tracksuits, caps and swimsuits. For the first time, we are going to market clothing that can be reproduced,” underlines the duo, a fan of unique pieces, which is distributed to around fifteen multi-brand customers, mainly vintage stores, but also some top boutiques like Penelope in Brescia.

We find the theme of the knot at Magliano, in a shawl tightened around the waist, adorning the pockets of a cardigan, formed in the fabric of the garment itself on the sides of certain denim or flannel jackets. In addition, everywhere a thin cord encloses the drawstring pants, from classic pleated models to jogging pants. This knot represents a sort of Ariadne’s thread for the designer Luca Magliano, who evokes in this collection his “intimate and elusive” memories linked to the transition to adulthood with the discovery of homosexuality and the Queer world. “The knot as a crossing or the tightening between two opposites”.

This wardrobe for next summer in any case marks a step forward for the house with a clear move upmarket through a better defined statement. The design is recognizable, but more clean and precise, far removed from the underground and imperfect looks of previous seasons. The collection is made up of essential monochrome pieces, impeccably cut in beautiful materials, from which Luca Magliano’s caustic humor seems to have disappeared.

We find the trace of it just in a few details, like this necklace of pastel-colored candies, this rat which chatters its teeth on a t-shirt, struck by a lightning strike, this circle of woven wicker detached from a basket, which serves as a belt, or these industrial workers’ gloves sometimes elongated and worn like opera gloves, as well as in this snake smoking a firecracker in the middle of a mohair sweater. Note that the knits are the result of a collaboration this season with young colleague Jezabelle Cormio of the Cormio label.

Magliano’s register is present in full in this collection. There are the pleated drawstring pants and the large, elongated, iconic double-breasted jackets, the long coats, the little light jackets, the silk shirts unbuttoned to the navel. But everything is more sophisticated. From the leather belt, which tightens a pair of jogging pants, to these Bermuda shorts cut in a banker’s striped fabric, via this very chic micro-patterned travel bag, or this gray fleece sweater transformed into a collarless zipped cardigan equipped with two large pockets.

The arrival of a partner in the house a year ago is felt. Magliano joined forces in January 2023 with Underscore District, a fashion business accelerator specializing in digital guided by Edoardo Di Luzio. A new company has been created, where the two partners share the shares, alongside the manufacturer Arcari e Co of Faenza, as a minority shareholder.

See the parade

Among Magliano’s creations, we note a mosaic shirt of small portraits of faces in black and white. A similar model is proposed by Martine Rose. The link is all created between London and Milan, where the English designer of Jamaican origin made her debut on Sunday with her first real show in another fashion capital – even if she has already shown in Italy, at the Florentine show of Pitti Uomo in January 2023, and presented a film in Paris last January.

The objective for the brand menswear owned by Tomorrow was to gain visibility among buyers, while it is starting to structure itself from a merchandising point of view with the emphasis on accessories and the idea of ​​developing a feminine line, like the illustrates this collection with a series of bags and numerous feminine pieces. Showing just after Prada, and in a more commercial and formal Italian context, Martine Rose, better known for her sporty style, street And workwear which draws on subcultures and ninetieshad the idea of ​​playing with contrasts to make an impression.

A dark hangar dotted with stage frights and stadium stands swept by the halo of blinding spotlights is reminiscent of an underground concert hall. Strange characters arrive with elongated false noses and imposing, long hair reaching down to their lower back. Styles collide between masculine and feminine, street and formal, leather and flannel. All spiced up by “porno chic” accessories, like these high fishnet socks or these leather thongs, which are layered over classic pants.

There are numerous leather pieces, from pants to jackets and Bermuda shorts, combined with a more traditional men’s wardrobe (shirt and tie and double-breasted jacket or tartan shorts and leggings). Satin is featured in caressing shirts, a long bathrobe coat or even a slip dress. Jackets, jackets and trench coats slip into pants, while for jeans, a zip has been added alongside the traditional button closure. So much more practical!