Welcome to Milan Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2026
As Pitti Uomo culminates in Florence (catch up on our highlights from the menswear fair here), eyes turn towards Italy’s capital of style, Milan, where the A/W 2026 edition of Milan Fashion Week Men’s takes place this weekend (16-19 January 2026). There is something of a back-to-school feel to the event: the four-day happening marks – bar a handful of guest designers at Pitti Uomo, including Hed Mayner – the first runway shows of the A/W 2026 season, which will continue after Milan in Paris, later this month (after that, the A/W 2026 womenswear season will begin in February, in New York).
As ever, the Wallpaper* style editors are on the ground: despite a relatively sedate schedule, there are still a number of notable runway shows happening across the weekend, including Prada (expect a transporting OMA-designed set and a runway show that will no doubt set the tone for the season ahead), Dolce & Gabbana, Zegna and Giorgio Armani (the last marks the first menswear show since the eponymous designer’s passing last year). Elsewhere, British designer Paul Smith will also host his A/W 2026 show in Milan, following his move to the city last season, while Ralph Lauren will make its menswear runway return to Milan, having last shown here 20 years prior. Numerous presentations and events – including Ferragamo’s celebration of its ‘Tramezza’ shoes on Sunday evening – will take place alongside the main shows.
Here, follow our real-time look at Milan Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2026 – from behind-the-scenes glimpses to access to the shows, presentations and parties – as seen through the eyes (and iPhones) of the Wallpaper* editors. Stay tuned.
Jack Moss is Wallpaper’s Fashion & Beauty Features Director, reporting for the magazine’s digital and print editions – from international runway shows to profiling the style world’s leading figures.
Jason Hughes is Wallpaper’s Fashion & Creative Director, overseeing all style content – from fashion and beauty to watches and jewellery – as well as leading the visual direction of the magazine.
Ralph Lauren returns to the Milan runway after 20 years
Ralph Lauren opened the doors to his eponymous Milanese palazzo this evening, hosting an intimate presentation of his A/W 2026 menswear collections in the striking Mino Fiocchi-designed building that the brand acquired in the 1990s. Moving away from the usual static presentation format, Lauren instead chose to show his latest Polo Ralph Lauren and Ralph Lauren Purple collections for men in a back-to-back runway show that marked his first catwalk show in the city for two decades.
He said that the A/W 2026 collection itself was ‘inspired by the different ways men live’, eschewing tight thematics for a broad collection which married his distinct style tropes – from the preppy uniform for which he is best known (here: houndstooth jackets, yellow cable knits, Polo-branded caps and the like) to on-the-ranch Americana and old Hollywood eveningwear. As ever, it felt impossible not to be seduced by his optimistic vision. ‘[These collections] stand for the worlds I have believed in and lived,’ he said. JM
Zegna opens Milan Fashion Week Men’s by delving into the ‘family closet’
And so it begins – the first looks of Milan Fashion Week Men’s came from Zegna this afternoon, where Alessandro Sartori made his return to the Italian style capital after showing his S/S 2026 collection in Dubai last season (the house also moved from its traditional spot closing the week to opening it). The setting was Palazzo Del Ghiaccio, whereby the expansive main hall had been transformed with a series of towering ‘imaginary closets’ which were nonetheless filled with real clothing sourced by Sartori from Gildo and Paolo Zegna, both third-generation members of the Zegna family (Gildo is the house’s Group Executive Chairman).
Inherited through the family line, they inspired a collection of eclectic, nostalgic elegance – nonetheless cut to Sartori’s generous, contemporary silhouette. ‘I am after the sense of wonder that happens when one finds a piece that was owned by one's father, grandfather, uncle; the discovery that comes from studying other ways of dressing, which prompts a willingness to try something new,’ said Sartori. ‘The idea of creating something that can be kept energises us.’ The casting was equally cross-generational – an age-diverse casting that has become Sartori’s signature in recent seasons.
