1. Utilitarian aesthetic

Virgil Abloh’s first collection for Louis Vuitton was the most popular of the season, and one item – the harness – caused a frenzy. The popular accessory in the gay leather bondage community was turned into a colourful harness with pockets. The utilitarian accessory got lots of attention on the red carpet when Hollywood’s golden boy Timothée Chalamet wore an embroidered harness, followed by Chinese rapper Kris Wu. At Dries Van Noten, the Belgian designer styled his model with a transparent bumbag over a double-breasted suit. At Ermenegildo Zegna, it was a chest rig worn under the jacket. Accessories became a little fancier, whether it was a long key-chain holder or bumbag. That will ensure hands-free style and empty pockets this summer.

2. Briefly speaking

Italian designer Miuccia Prada stole the show at Milan fashion week with short shorts for Prada’s spring-summer 2019 collection. Tiny shorts were the signature sportswear garments of the ’70s. Prada, a master of the counter-intuitive, pushed the return of this ’70s classic as “miniskirts for men”. Prada’s short shorts came integrated with the belt. For Véronique Nichanian, the menswear artistic director of Hermès, in a chic twist, the tennis-style short shorts were inspired by retro athletics. At Dior Homme, British fashion designer Kim Jones’ short shorts were made of light fabrics cut with a high waist. The formula for the perfect length of shorts does not exist. But, the fact that they are so short shows that men are confident about their body.

3. Hats to hide or to stand out

Hip-hop’s influence was everywhere in Valentino’s spring/summer 2019 collection. Fashion designer Pierpaolo Piccioli has established the hat as an essential element. The collection features caps and bucket hats which come in various colours and prints, including military green camouflage with pink VLTN logo to match the windbreaker and trousers. The designer extended his obsession with knitted bucket hats, waxed cotton ones, and even one made of feathers.

Fendi’s menswear designer Silvia Venturini also included lots of bucket hats. They came in prints of the “double F” in brown and gold. Sometimes, bucket hats matched the print of the trousers, sometimes the bag. Most of the time, they had a large label sewn on the front.

At Versace, the hats were flamboyant with floral print on a black background, luxurious red snakeskin, black shiny vinyl, neon orange, baroque bejewelled motifs and red box logo in rouge and white. In New York, Calvin Klein’s former designer Raf Simons took models back to graduate season with the square academic cap.

4. Timeless, trans-seasonal and versatile

The trench coat is probably the most charismatic garment in the menswear wardrobe. It is a British classic that will never go out of style, to be worn from mid-season onwards. Sarah Burton, Alexander McQueen’s creative director, reinterpreted the classic trench coat in the spring 2019 collection. The camel trench was open on the sleeves at first. Then the coat was created in rich leather with bright blue or light red. Later it was split in two, with camel on the upper part and the lower part in black.

Riccardo Tisci presented his version of the trench coat for Burberry. The cut was oversized in a relaxed mood with “Burberry” in capital letters, either to signal his arrival in London or to announce Peter Saville’s new logo. After years in Los Angeles, Hedi Slimane chose another direction for his arrival at Celine in Paris – his light green double-breasted trench coat with a belted waist and epaulettes was so chic.

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