MILAN--Gaia Trussardi is very much attached to the idea of creating a home when setting the stage for her mens collections.
While in the past we have caught a glimpse of her fabled-family's estates in Milan and the Italian countryside, this time she gave her audience some laid back late Prohibition-Era, Jazz-Age, tribal-African design -- both in terms of props and her latest men's collection filled with colorful pinstriped Zoot suits and stiff, oversized 1930's style denim laborer jumpers.
"We are a family business. We communicate the fact that we are a family brand and we want people to see the idea of the family, not just in our collections, but also in our caffe' and our shop," Trussardi told Now Fashion.
The building blocks of her collection were traditional Italian tailoring but also in large part images from Mali-born photographer Seydou Keïta, who is known for his black and white portraits of African women and men in the 1940's and 50's, as well as his affinity for capturing subjects dressed in wild African patterns and geometric designs.
We saw Gaia's personal taste come to life a bit more in last season’s womenswear collection, with more edgy, sleek silhouettes and innovative patterns. This mens season, with the relaxed double-breasted blazers and roomy high-waisted, three-dart trousers in fun but wearable fabrics crafted with relaxed jersey - we are seeing even more of her own personal spirit emerge from the Trussardi family tradition rooted in leather goods.
Her overall goal this season was making formal wear lighter, roomier and comfortable like a "jogging suit".
"Formal wear and elegance doesn't have to be worn just in a formal setting like work, but daily," she said.