Scene setting: Though creative director Brendan Mullane name-checked architect Carlo Scarpa and referenced Venetian glass paintings as a source of inspiration, it was really the enormous horizontal box (the size of a giant truck) sitting in the center of the Brioni show space that most closely tied in with his spring collection. The same rectangles that were sliced out of the box's body to create negative space were recreated using brush strokes in the clothing. The wonderful graphic accents transformed silk suiting from the ordinary to the exceptional.
Best in show: Mullane proves that sophisticated sartorial clothing need not be snooze worthy. He treated us to formal wool jackets in grey green tones with brown suede pockets, fluttering silk shirts and high tech Japanese nylon anoraks that billowed like sails.
Finishing touches: No matter how formal things got – and formal they were; tuxedos, after all, remain Brioni’s bread and butter – everything looked cool thanks to the simple two strap sandals (without socks, finally!) that were worn with every look.
Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
