Milan Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2026: live updates from the Wallpaper* team

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.

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

Jacob Cohën opens a one-night-only hotel

The dramatic Luigi Perrone-designed Circolo Filologico Milanese was momentarily transformed last night into a for-one-night-only Jacob Cohën hotel to present the brand’s A/W 2026 collection (an undertaking only a little less ambitious than last season, where owner and creative director Jennifer Tommasi Bardelle created a whole Jacob Cohën village). Cue Jacob Cohën bell boys who led guests through to the ‘lobby’, where models lounged on Chesterfield sofas while a jazz band provided a live soundtrack (champagne, naturally, was on tap). Upstairs, there was a chance to see the highlights up close: highlights included the super-lightweight suedes in Jacob Cohën’s signature denim blue, some lined with fluffy shearling for warmth. JM

Simon Holloway looks to Lord Snowdon’s personal wardrobe to inspire his A/W 2026 collection for Dunhill

This season, Simon Holloway chose to show his A/W 2026 collection for British heritage house Dunhill at Villa Mozart, one of Milan’s discreet architectural gems (the Piero Portaluppi​-designed villa is recognisable for its ivy-covered exterior). A shift away from the runway presentations of recent seasons, Holloway instead hosted a series of intimate talk-throughs for press, introducing a collection which was inspired by the insouciant style of Antony Armstrong-Jones, Lord Snowdon. For Holloway, the British photographer – who married Princess Margaret in 1960 to become the Earl of Snowdon – encapsulated the mood of the heady decade which followed, where high society mingled with rockstars, and the stuffy dress codes of the 1950s were abandoned (American photographer Ethan James Green sought to capture the era in an accompanying photo series, starring artist and model Henry Kitcher).

‘[It’s about] the tension between aristocratic formality and unguarded artistic expression,’ said Holloway of the collection, which came largely in shades of grey (it is an ‘always favourite’ he told Wallpaper* of the hue at the preview this morning). Bolder flourishes came in ‘haberdashery’, like colourful silk pocket squares and cashmere scarves, while motifs drawn from Arts & Crafts textiles adorned jacquard tailoring and slippers. Indeed superlative fabrications were the order of the day: from fluffy alpaca and hand-finished double-faced wool to soft-to-the-touch suede, which was used to construct a (very desirable) pair of ‘jeans’.

A fishing trip to Greenland inspired Satoshi Kuwata’s latest Setchu collection

For his sophomore Milan show, Kyoto-born designer Satoshi Kuwata – winner of the 2023 LVMH Prize for his 2020-founded brand Setchu – welcomed guests into his new brand’s ‘home’, a light-filled studio on Via Privata Rezia (for the occasion, the space had been lined with tatami mats, traditionally used for sleeping in his native Japan). Ever hospitable, Kuwata appeared at the start of the show to welcome guests, going on to talk through the collection’s inspirations, which included a memorable fishing trip to Greenland (fishing is one of Kuwata’s favourite pastimes; Greenland’s waters offered plentiful supplies). It led to a series of intriguing garments which married outdoorsy function (bags that transformed into garments through clever zip placement, warm layers of quilting, enveloping bombers and the like) with his signature unconventional pattern-cutting, honed by the designer during his time on Savile Row. Playful flourishes – like booties and slides made woven from straw, or shaggy, yeti-like ‘furs’ – added to the uplifting mood. ‘It just makes you happy,’ said my seatmate. JM.

Dolce & Gabbana was about the multiplicity of man

This season, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce moved away from the singular themes of past collections (for S/S 2026, it was ‘pyjama dressing’) towards a more wide-ranging ‘portrait’ of style that sought to capture the multiplicity of man. ‘The runway becomes a contemporary gallery of living portraits, where every look functions as a psychological and sartorial self-portrait,’ said a booming voiceover at the start of the show. ‘[It] unfolds through a sequence of micro universes, each representing a distinct portrait of man – the introspective thinker, the creative visionary, the Mediterranean sensualist and the restless romantic’. As such, an eclectic mode of dressing was the order of the day, shifting between the bold (an enormous striped shaggy ‘fur’ coat which opened the show; colourful jumpers in fuzzy mohair), the bookish (thick-rimmed glasses, jackets in heritage fabrications), and the sporty (a handful of models in walked the runway in a Dolce & Gabbana-branded football kit). And – in a nod to last season – a pair of pyjamas and a leopard print robe. ‘There are infinite possibilities. Each one deserves its portrait,’ the voiceover concluded. JM

Paul Smith looks back into the archive for his latest Milan show

For the second season running, Paul Smith chose to show in his Milan headquarters – an ‘intimate, salon-style’ presentation narrated by the designer via voiceover. ‘[It’s about] putting classics together in a way that’s a bit irreverent and odd, sometimes playful,’ he said, noting that several of the designs were rooted in pieces his design team had discovered in his expansive Nottingham archive (it numbers over 5000 pieces of clothing and ephemera, collected over the course of Smith’s career). The 1980s and 1990s were particular touch points: some memorable inside-out tailoring was revisited, while other blazers recalled the wide-shouldered, double-breasted silhouette of the 1980s (albeit in louche, contemporary style). Meanwhile, playful flourishes – from hanging glass bag charms and botanic motifs to a jaunty riff on the tricorne hat – captured an artistic sensibility, which Smith said was inspired by Jean Cocteau. Consensus in the room was that this was the designer’s best collection in some time. JM

Stone Island presents its latest ‘Prototype Research_Series’

It is well-known that Stone Island has an avid, cult-like following, a group of technical-wear obsessives who devote their time to establishing comprehensive collections of rare and limited-edition garments. The ‘Prototype Research_Series’ is one such project – an annual initiative which showcases the spoils of the brand’s latest Wonka-like experiments in textile manufacturing, for which they remain best known (we took a trip to their extraordinary research lab in Ravarino, Italy last year, to find out more). For its ninth edition – presented in an immersive installation in Stone Island’s Milan headquarters last night – the technology in question was an ’air-blown lamination knit’, a 3D process which uses hot air to bond a membrane onto the chenille knit using an inflatable mannequin (doing it onto the ‘body’ in this way ensures perfect adhesion, according to the brand). 100 colourful pieces have been made in total – the race is no doubt on as to who can add it to their collection first. JM

A first look at the show set for Prada’s A/W 2026 menswear show

A first look at the OMA-conceived set for Prada’s A/W 2026 menswear show, taking place in Fondazione Prada this afternoon in Milan. Transforming the hangar-like Deposito space – where Prada traditionally holds its shows – the pastel-coloured set is a cross-section of a traditional Italian villa or palazzo, as if sliced through its floors. It comes complete with wood-panelled doors and fireplaces in differing marble hues.

Prada’s A/W 2026 menswear collection was about ‘evolution not erasure’

‘What can we build, from what we have learned?’ asked Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons at their A/W 2026 Prada menswear show this afternoon, which took menswear hallmarks – from cuffed shirts to double-breasted tailoring – and reimagined them in renewed proportions.

Presented in Fondazione Prada’s Deposito space – which appeared as if an Italian palazzo had been sliced away through its floors in a show set by OMA – the designers elaborated that this was a collection about ‘evolution not erasure’. ‘There is a sense of the before, which interests us, even as we search for the new,’ said Miuccia Prada. ‘That is a sign of respect – you want to move on but not erase what came before. Holding an idea of beauty and changing it into something new.’

‘We wanted to focus on important things, beautiful things that feel familiar but can be reconsidered,’ Simons added. ‘I have always liked that from the very start Miuccia’s work has been about challenging, questioning and investigating. [Here], we questioned what should remain, from the past – and what can you build, from what you learn?’

Read our full report on Prada’s A/W 2026 menswear show: ‘It’s a kind of archaeology’

Raf Simons likened his and Miuccia Prada’s latest menswear collection to a kind of ‘archaeology’. ‘There is a lot here from the past,’ he said backstage. ‘If you take the layers away, you always find a kind of beauty. There’s the knowledge that you still want to celebrate and use, but you also want to innovate.’

The show took place in Fondazione Prada’s hangar-like Deposito space, which this season had been transformed by OMA into the ruins of an Italian palazzo. Though there was no dust or rubble; instead, it was as if the various floors had been neatly cut away to reveal a cross-section of the rooms inside (in typical Prada style, they were painted in pastel shades and were installed with wood-panelling and marble fireplaces, suspended at height around the room). Only the jagged remains of ceiling beams and floorboards were evidence of any destruction having happened before.

Perhaps, then, this was a collection not of archaeology but of renovation: to make something that exists new, what do you keep, and what do you strip away? Or, as Simons elaborated: ‘We questioned what should remain, from the past – and what can you build, from what you learn?’

Continue reading our A/W 2026 Prada menswear show report.

Tod’s takes over Villa Necchi to present its latest menswear collection

For its latest menswear presentation, Tod’s once again took over Villa Necchi, the Piero Portaluppi-designed home on Via Mozart that is perhaps best known as the setting for Luca Guadagnino’s I Am Love. The house’s latest menswear collection was scattered across the villa’s ground floor, with the Gommino – its signature driving shoe – continuing to take centre stage. This season, it was the ‘Winter Gommino’, a heftier version of the style which also comes in a lace-up boot iteration (for A/W 2026, they had fluffy shearling or cashmere linings). For ready-to-wear, leather was central: a new ’Pashmy’ leather – named after the pashmina as a nod to its softness and lightness – was used to coach jackets and patch-pocket blazers. JM

Giorgio Armani holds first menswear show since the death of the eponymous designer

This morning, guests gathered at the Palazzo Orsini headquarters of Giorgio Armani on Milan‘s Via Borgonuovo for what would be the first menswear show since the death of the eponymous designer last September. What followed was a respectful continuation of the Armani’s singular aesthetic: namely, louche, unrestricted silhouettes and a rich melange of fabrics. This season, the nexus was ‘cangiante’, an irridescent silk, that here became a ‘metaphor’ for the collection – ‘something in constant transformation... catching the light in ever new ways’. The show would mark the debut of Leo Dell'Orco, head of the men's style office of the Armani Group and Mr Armani’s right-hand man, who took an emotional bow at the show’s close. JM