A fresh breeze buffeted Italy's fashion capital during the second day of Milan Fashion Week on Sunday, both literally, bringing relief from the June heat, and figuratively, as young designers took the spotlight.
They brought with them fresh silhouettes with new proportions and reinterpretations of old summertime favorites from linens to stripes.
Here are highlights from menswear previews Sunday in Milan for next spring and summer:
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PRADA REALITY
Miuccia Prada took inspiration from graphic novels for her latest collection, which aims to create a dialogue between the virtual world and the real world.
The virtual world is in an exhibit at the brand's Fondazione Prada contemporary art exhibition space.Fashion is Prada's reality.
She employed two artists - James Jean from Los Angeles and Ollie Schrauwen of Belgium - to create graphic stories on a human and not superhero scale that covered the walls of the showroom and became the prints that defined Sunday's menswear collection in Milan.
Scenes included a robot monkey and an oversized spider descending to pick up houses. Prada said she was attracted to the comics because they turn out information in bit-size pieces -- much the same way social media does today.
Nylon jumpsuits defined the Prada silhouette, belted at the waist and gathered at the ankles and cuffs with plastic Prada labels. Shirt collars were turned up. There was a shorts version worn with Prada men's knee socks and pointy leather shoes.
The silhouette was repeated in casualwear, with sweaters tucked into athletic-style trousers. Meshed sweaters of horizontal stripes tucked into houndstooth pattern trousers turned up into a thick cuff. Sandals with socks anchored those looks.
Graphic prints appeared in both pastel colors and black and white on shirts, jacket panels and bags. Prada said she added overcoats to unify the looks.
"Everything was a little naive, too simple," she said. "We thought these big heavy coats would be the right counterpart. That is just fashion."
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TEXTURES AT FERRAGAMO
Guillaume Meilland's second collection for Ferragamo is inspired by the Mediterranean coastline shared by his native France and adopted Italy.
The looks are defined by texture: cable-knit fishermen's sweaters, velvety shorts, corduroy trousers and suede laser cut tops, all hearty fare for wind-swept seaside strolls. The designer also added touches of whimsy like sea horse prints and coral key chains.
"Yes I like the idea of having, for me, something very Italian, something very much linked to the idea of the holidays and the seaside," Meilland said backstage. "Textures, colors, we are trying combine soft velvet, English fabrics and heavy linens ... The fluid and something more rough."
The looks combined for an effortless silhouette that Meilland said was inspired by the 1960 French film "Purple Noon," based on the Patricia Highsmith's "Ripley" novels.
Ferragamo's footwear included penny loafers or slip on moccasins with rubber soles adorned with the trademark buckle for the city or rope accents for the seaside.
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CELEBRITY TURNS
Italian rapper Ghali honed in on a pair of velvety shorts with a sea horse print on a golden background from the front row of Ferragamo's show for next spring and summer.
"I really like the collection. I love lots of the textures that I saw," said Ghali, a Milan native whose new album, titled "Album," is being promoted with an ad on the Duomo cathedral.