MSGM AUTUMN/WINTER 2015-16 READY-TO-WEAR MILAN FASHION WEEK

Massimo Giorgetti’s four-year-old label MSGM was born from prints. Today he showed not a one. It was tempting to see it as a cleaning-house situation. Giorgetti is rumored to be the front-runner for the Emilio Pucci post left vacant by Peter Dundas’ departure. If Giorgetti winds up at the LVMH-owned label, he’ll be responsible for developing loads and loads of prints. Maybe he was trying to establish some distance between the two brands; presumably he’ll want to keep MSGM going—it’s a $40 million operation.

Either way, the collection wasn’t as staid as the lack of Giorgetti’s signature prints might have suggested. He made sure there were still plenty of eyeball-searing colors—shocking pink, electric orange, highlighter yellow—and he often showed them in combination, as on mohair coats with large contrast pockets, patchwork Mongolian lamb chubbies, and extra-long color-blocked mohair scarves. Without prints, he maintained surface interest with the multicolor lace he used for tops worn with high-water flares and V-neck vests (why are these suddenly everywhere?) or with macramé appliqués on a slim tailored coat and various other pieces.

Giorgetti is hardly at risk of alienating the 600 stores around the world that stock his label, in other words. But as other brands (Au Jour Le Jour, for one) capture the collective eye of the street-style set, Giorgetti does seem eager to imbue his collection with a new sense of sophistication. In that regard, the pieces sewn here and there with giant hearts didn’t quite connect, but the coats with the wrapped-tie necks had a certain polish.. ​