Sunnei S/S 2020 Milan Fashion Week Men’s

Scene setting: The mood in Milan is one of revival. Ememegildo Zegna hosted its show in an area outside of Milan that is about to undergo intense renovation; Marni proffered creative conservation as a global initiative. On the eve of their fifth anniversary, Simone Rizzo and Loris Messina unveiled plans for a large scale regeneration project in partnership with The City of Milan. Their S/S 20 show was staged underneath a giant bridge in the middle of a park in the Rubattino neighbourhood. They found the space a year ago and immediately knew they wanted to work on a substantial cultural project as the backbone to their ideas. ‘Finally we can do something strong in Milan! It’s pretty hard to do something different here,’ Rizzo said. They have christened the space ‘Bianco Sunnei' – 4000 square metres, freshly painted white, which will host multidisciplinary events, performances and happenings. ‘We wanted to do something that changes the city, something that we see happening in London and Paris but is often so hard to do Milan.’
Mood board: Since the label’s inception the pair have cultivated a creative cool with their generous proportions and spongy, sculptural elegance. For S/S 20 they honed their signature look. Wide cargo pants came with giant 3D zip pockets cropped to the ankle and operatic volumes on tabards worn over shirts. Layering was a key theme and attitude too; stripes in green and yellow dashed across the body. Colours ran from whites into camel, yellow, ending on a prism of greens and blues. ‘When we arrived into this space a year ago, we started thinking about the collection. That’s why it goes from white to dark – it’s really a state of mind,’ Messina said. They’ve finessed their unique brand of skewed simplicity.
Best in show: S/S 20 included a 7 piece all-white capsule with fabrics from historic textile mill Albiate 1830, which also developed a special pinstripe cotton poplin. New to the range was rubberised jewellery for men and women. Knitwear used 3D woven nylon yarns to create a loofah texture and sci-fi sheerness. Sunnei is one of Milan’s brightest, buzziest labels. ‘A lot of people don’t really understand what we are doing, but we are now doing something for the city. We have had such a difficult six months, so many people telling us to do different things, but we are not just clothes or seasonal things,’ Rizzo said. ‘We are more than this. This is just the first of a series of bigger things. We hope this will be something of a rebirth of Milan.’
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
London based writer Dal Chodha is editor-in-chief of Archivist Addendum — a publishing project that explores the gap between fashion editorial and academe. He writes for various international titles and journals on fashion, art and culture and is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. Chodha has been working in academic institutions for more than a decade and is Stage 1 Leader of the BA Fashion Communication and Promotion course at Central Saint Martins. In 2020 he published his first book SHOW NOTES, an original hybrid of journalism, poetry and provocation.
-
A new Athens gallery is a celebration of old and new, a stone's throw from the Acropolis
New Athens gallery Melas Martinos by Local Local is a contemporary art space, a stone's throw from the Acropolis, in the Greek capital's Monastiraki neighbourhood
-
Haute Couture Week A/W 2025: live updates from the Wallpaper* team
From 7-9 July, Haute Couture Week A/W 2025 arrives in Paris. Follow along for a first look at the shows, presentations and other fashion happenings, as seen by the Wallpaper* editors
-
Boundaries between art and life dissolve in Katherine Hubbard's intimate documentation of her mother's illness
In 'The Great Room', Katherine Hubbard merges caregiving for her mother with an unflinching documentary of the process
-
The collections you might have missed this S/S 2026 menswear season
Between the headliners in Paris, Milan and Florence, a few off-schedule displays are deserving of honourable mention – from Martine Rose’s sexually-charged portrait of Kensington Market to Sander Lak’s appointment-only namesake debut
-
Let there be light: a closer look at Prada’s stripped-back S/S 2026 show set
‘This is the first time the Fondazione is completely bare, with the light coming in,’ said Raf Simons backstage at Prada’s ‘light, fresh, colourful’ and ‘human’ S/S 2026 men’s show in Milan
-
The standout shows of Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2026: Prada to Dunhill
Wallpaper* picks the very best of Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2026, from Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’ ‘light, fresh’ and ‘human’ display to Dunhill’s exploration of English dress codes
-
Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2026: live updates from the Wallpaper* team
From 20-23 June, Milan Fashion Week Men’s arrives in the Italian fashion capital. Follow along for a first look at the shows, presentations and other fashion happenings, as seen by the Wallpaper* editors
-
With an ode to Italy, Homme Plissé Issey Miyake brings its brand of fashion magic to Florence’s Pitti Uomo
Marking the start of a new nomadic way of showing for the Japanese label, Homme Plissé Issey Miyake held its S/S 2026 show at Florence’s Villa Medicea della Petraia as part of Pitti Uomo last night (18 June) with a collection inspired by the colours and textures of Italy
-
What the Wallpaper* editors are looking forward to at Men’s Fashion Week S/S 2026
As Men’s Fashion Week S/S 2026 begins in Florence, the Wallpaper* style team select the moments they will be looking out for – from Jonathan Anderson’s anticipated Dior debut to outings from Wales Bonner, Kiko Kostadinov and Prada
-
50 years of Santoni, the footwear brand steeped in Italian craft, celebrated in a new book
Inside ‘Santoni Meraviglia’, a richly illustrated new tome published by Assouline that tells the story behind the Italian brand’s meticulously crafted footwear
-
‘The White Lotus’ meets La Dolce Vita: inside Mytheresa and Dolce & Gabbana’s Taormina takeover
Wallpaper* travels to Taormina, Sicily, where a two-day celebration of the latest Dolce & Gabbana x Mytheresa collaboration centred around San Domenico Palace, A Four Seasons Hotel – the filming location of ‘The White Lotus’ season two