Scene setting: It’s been a busy week for Phillipp Plein. During Milan Fashion Week, the German designer, famed for his elaborate runway sets, has staged a Grease themed runway show for his eponymous line, boasting with a procession of two-wheeling cars, and couple of of motorbikes speeding through flames thrown in for good measure. Not forgetting his second Plein Sport show, complete with cage fighters, and women performing aerobic routines on disco ball-topped poles. The Philipp Plein Group acquired Billionaire last year, and topping the gold helicopter that sat on its runway last season, for S/S 2018, the soundtrack for the brand’s show was provided by a live female performer crooning James Bond theme tunes.
Mood board: As is clear from the name of the brand, the Billionaire aesthetic is not for your average Joe. The brand’s James Bond theme filtered into its ostentatious S/S 2018 wardrobe, designed to take its customer from the beach club to the casino (surely his most suited habitat). Colours inspired by jettsetting tropical plains came in azure ostrich or orange snakeskin bomber jackets, trench coats in fuchsia crocodile, complemented with tuxedo jackets in shimmering black sequins. Suits were double breasted or in louche silk jacquard, and beach shorts were paired with polo necks, the outfit of a businessman whose private jet has travelled from chillier climes straight to a white sanded beach.
Best in show: A more paired back take on pizzazz, a double breasted grey pinstripe suit was paired with a mint green polo-neck, the outfit of one of Billionaire’s more bashful self-made men.
-
Daisy Margarita Bar reimagines the Mexican tavern with vaquero flair in Los AngelesFrom frozen guacamole margaritas to lamb shank with frijoles puercos, this new Sherman Oaks destination mixes playful gastronomy with tradition
-
The best of California desert architecture, from midcentury gems to mirrored dwellingsWhile architecture has long employed strategies to cool buildings in arid environments, California desert architecture developed its own distinct identity –giving rise, notably, to a wave of iconic midcentury designs
-
Meet Rural Futurisms, 'agents for catalytic change' in South Africa's landscape design fieldLed by Lesego Bantsheng, the collective is challenging conventional ideas of landscape by reimagining how rural communities connect with heritage, ecology and design
-
Milan exhibition celebrates 20 years of Armani Privé: ‘Haute couture is fashion when it becomes art’Hosted at the Tadao Ando-designed Armani/Silos, ‘Giorgio Armani Privé 2005-2025, Twenty Years of Haute Couture’ displays an expansive collection of the Italian designer’s showstopping haute couture creations
-
Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2023: Fendi to PradaFrom Prada’s exploration of archetypal menswear garments to JW Anderson’s much-anticipated debut in the city, the best of Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2023, as it happens
-
Milan Fashion Week A/W 2022: Prada to Bottega VenetaIn this extended report, Scarlett Conlon reports live from the Milan Fashion Week A/W 2022 shows, with rolling coverage as they take place on the runway
-
Giorgio Armani A/W 2020 Milan Fashion Week Women's -
Bottega Veneta A/W 2020 Milan Fashion Week Women's -
Ports 1961 A/W 2020 Milan Fashion Week Women's -
BOSS A/W 2020 Milan Fashion Week Women's -
Dolce & Gabbana A/W 2020 Milan Fashion Week Women's
