June 29: In a verdant space penned off in the middle of Milan's central Giardini Publici, designer Neil Barrett staged a clever show built around the concept of a "cool" grandson raiding his granddad's wardrobe. The result was a mixed bag of looks, most of them indeed pretty "cool" that served, however, to remind the audience how little the current generation of men's clothes has to that of their grandfather's. How many of our grandfathers, after all, ever wore six-pocket cargo pants, except perhaps those who went into the army. And do any of you remember granddad being obsessed with deliberately faded and aged denim? Few designers understand fabrics as well as Barrett, a Briton who consistently dreams up novel finishes and texture for the materials he uses, making his collections that much different. His battered leather jackets that at a distance seem to be made of denim, and seersucker jackets, which at first glance appeared to be of a light felt, were great examples of his craft.
Neil also has a neat hand with detailing -- vertical micro pleats that ran down pants, linen bibs on grandfather shirts and satin lapels of some absolutely great distressed white leather tuxedos. His clothes are also appealingly practical. His dropped-crotch cargo pants with asymmetrical pockets looked perfect to carry a grandson's standard contemporary kit of a Palm Pilot, IPod and cell phone.
A pity then that Barrett's silhouette has gotten wider each season. His first collections were leaner and crisper, a line that was missing in this show. Once he can blend his fabric and detailing skills to neater proportions, Barrett will make a great collection. This almost was.

Bureau Report