Magliano “Kicks Ass”, Finding the Desirable in the Complexity of the Everyday
Review of Magliano Spring 2025 Men’s Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
THE THEME
Imagine for a moment an inversion of the hierarchical pyramid that favours homogenous megabrands at the pinnacle, and leaves rising creatives struggling to put on runway shows, let alone pay staff and grow businesses into financially viable – and sustainable – entities. In an upside-down world where the pyramid is flipped would we still be questioning the state of the fashion industry? If steady support and the right marketing allowed emerging brands to scale, fashion would benefit greatly from designers like Luca Magliano, who has built a name for himself by fostering a community of like-minded enthusiasts who buy into the brand because it genuinely offers a unique viewpoint, in contrast to what is happening across the rest of the menswear market.
Speaking to the designer when he was an LVMH prize nominee he told The Impression “We have an organic way of doing things, this forms the base of all our designs”, and when talking through a knitted polo top, he described it as “super simple and super classic, but the shape is completely deformed, so when you wear it the shape reveals itself based on your body”. Citing this as a good example of how they approach the left-field way they design.
Describing spring 2025 the word dysfunctional came up in the brands show notes, as a way to explain how operating in a normal way is not how the brand ‘functions’. Instead, exploring the complexity of interwoven ideas is the sweet spot for developing the Magliano look, rather than anything that represents as clear cut or straightforward. The collection confidently weaved together a number of different ideas – from childhood fables to the fossilisation of memory and clothing fit for days at the beach. The use of technical fabric, such as parachute and performance nylons – in the way that Italian sportswear brands are known for their innovating – was inspired and formed part of an organic melding of the world of work and sports, reframing the trackpant, utility vest, and retro blouson into everyday considerations, becoming part of a “new chic wardrobe” of workwear. They also proposed new ideas around the nylon parka-cum-blazer and a sports skirt. Memories of childhood could also be found in the bow details on zip-front cardigans or pointelle knits, the latter of which featured a reflective panel strip across the front, as a nod to the theft of racing car symbolism which the brand had borrowed and re-contextualised.
Luca Magliano has always had his own ideas around fit, function, and how to develop complex clothing that is both fantasy and reality all at once. In this individual point of view of how mens clothing can come together and be pulled apart we see the emergence of a star in the making, because as much as the clothes appear intellectual, there is a desirability to own each piece, from the pinstripe bomber jacket with a twisted waist detail, a woven tank with an up-turned half-belted hem, knotted patchwork denim jackets and a shawl-collar blazer made from towelling fabric – a throwback to spring 2023 when a branded towel became a skirt with the insertion of a leather belt.
The choice of a muted palette of muddied darks, shot through with flashes of hot pink and khaki, also added to the cohesion of the collection and requires the designer to push his creativity even further, least the clothes look staid, which is not the case with this collection.
THE BUZZWORDS
Functioning dysfunction, technical brilliance, modular chaos
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Look #22
A simple denim jacket is pulled apart and reformed to demonstrate how the most classic of silhouettes can become complex iterations of their former selves.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
On form and right on time, Magliano’s runway presentation in the raw concrete setting of a warehouse on the outskirts of Milan allowed for a zeroing in on the collection, it was also a collection which should fill any ‘Fashion is Dead’ naysayers with courage. In building a brand and community around a cleverly complex design aesthetic Magliano is bridging the gap between the present state of classic (yet, still valid) Vs forward-thinking menswear. Because, as much the paint-by-numbers version of menswear will always persist, innovators who have one foot firmly on the ground are who are needed to force through new standards and new ways of approaching what has gone before. And in that, Magliano’s show titled “Calcinculo” which roughly translates to ‘Kick Ass’, they managed to deliver.
