Fabio Quaranta Menswear A/W11

As the winner of last season's design talent competition at Pitti Uomo, Italian designer Fabio Quaranta was one of few catwalk stars at the trade show. Of course, the lack of competitors enabled him extra amounts of attention but - luckily - in Quaranta's case, he was worth every single praise. With his modern take on traditional casual tailoring, Quaranta cleverly kept everyone's attention through his use of small details, such roughly cut off trouser hems, contrast stitches on vents, shoulders and pockets (that are meant to just support the garment and to be taken off after purchase), tweed trousers with elastic waists and suit jackets tucked into bottoms.

The main pieces, though, were jackets that Quaranta had constructed from navy cashmere coats with shawl collars and stitched onto the bottom half of  tweed jackets. The oddness of it was far outweighed by the clever styling and beautiful combination of fabrics. Using mature models, and - in one instance - a very mature model, Quaranta managed to add a sense of timelessness to the collection. 

The colour scale was mostly based on grey tones, but one of the better looks consisted of a pleated floor-length skirt in navy blue, a white over sized T-shirt and a black double breasted jacket on top. Underneath most jackets we saw fairly plain shirts, some simply white, others in a subtle gingham pattern. Showing on a bed of grass, it was cleat that, not only was Quaranta a worthy Pitti winner, but also that he fully comprehended the importance of quality fabrics, as the herringbone suits showed. Also the extensive use of elegant hats added to a satisfying debut from Fabio Quaranta.

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