44 Label Group Men’s Spring 2023
Men’s designers are obsessed with youth this Milan season, trying to decipher what excites twentysomethings who just emerged from the pandemic somewhat bewildered.
Techno artist Max Kobosil knows the scene pretty well as his DJ gigs attracting youth-brimming crowds. Those kids packed the greenhouse-like, sweltering hot industrial space where he showed his sophomore collection, looking like “stans” cheering for their favorite celeb.
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This was a punchy and energizing show, filled with just-released Kobosil music that oozed mischievous eroticism, fashion that read Berlin techno-raver fixated with the 1990s, and hairdos that were a treat themselves, from gelled spikes dyed in lime or fiery red to mullets.
Lanky models strutted down the runway with angst and rage, one even typing furiously on her smartphone, apparently oblivious of context.
They wore strongholds of a night owl’s wardrobes — dark-tinged but unfussy — including sleeveless tops and track pants done in a matte black parachute fabric; cargo pants cut under the knee with slogan T-shirts; gray bomber jackets and shorts with a shimmering surface, and magma-printed biker shorts and crop tops.
Kobosil said backstage that T-shirts are the hero piece for the nascent brand, which was launched last year with backing by Italian retailer Claudio Antonioli. Here they featured random skulls and bones prints and spelled “burn your past,” or “guestlist,” among other slogans.
Dégradé gray washed cotton jeans that morphed into citrusy green, over dyed nylon windbreakers, shorts and waist-tied billowing parkas, and especially the recurring unisex workwear skirt, pocketed and pleated at the back, proved Kobosil is no one-trick creative type.
One felt like belonging to this community and left the show wondering: “How do I get on Max’s list?”
Launch Gallery: 44 Label Group Men's Spring 2023
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