Salvatore Ferragamo Fall 2009

Roberto Cavalli Fall 2009

Raf Simons fall 2009

Prada fall 2009

As Miuccia Prada saw it, the message of her latest men's collection was simple and obvious. "Survival," she said backstage. "And to survive, you have to be strong." There have been seasons when Miuccia toyed with the fragility, the ineffectuality of the modern male. Not this time, thank God. The setting was a tight little carpeted pit, almost a cage; Thunderdome with shag pile. One model sported a tasseled headband, like an extreme fighter. The clothes themselves began as emblematic Corporate Man: gray suit, matching topcoat, black oxfords. Then in crept an ever-harder edge. First, a laser-cut leather duster, almost monkish in its austerity. Next, a shoe covered with studs, presaging an avalanche of hardware on shirts, pants, jackets. Toughen up, tough it out—that's what the leather and metal was saying.

Still, while you're picturing studs armoring gray flannel or a banker's striped shirt, you might wonder who, right now, would honestly want to arm erstwhile Masters of the Universe against their just desserts. But Miuccia was presumably using such menswear staples as symbols of Honest Joe Everyman. And it's Honest Joe who is suffering. Maybe that's why the patterns that decorated shirts evoked the thirties, another era of values-questioning social upheaval. Longtime Prada collaborator Frederic Sanchez's aural accompaniment incorporated Anne Clark, whose visionary combination of spoken word and techno sounded like dystopia's backing track. All in all, a stunning summation of the current jittery mood in fashion.

— Tim Blanks

Paul Smith fall 2009

Moschino fall 2009

Common Projects canvas Safari Boot

Accessories for life

BBlessing leather briefcase

"With all the layoffs and downsizing in the workforce, we see our leather briefcase as the perfect way to keep up appearances. A classic carryall for the itinerant overachiever." 

$530, BBlessing, 181 Orchard St., NYC, (212) 378-8005, bblessing.com

Jean Paul Gaultier fall 09

In the past year, there's been a right old furor about racism in fashion, but one designer who has always been color-blind (and gender- and faith- and age-blind) is Jean Paul Gaultier, the industry's great humanist. In the week of an epochal presidential inauguration, he chose to take on the issue of black and white with a full-on celebration of black power. Gaultier referenced both politics (the Afros and militant stance of Angela Davis and Stokely Carmichael in the sixties) and pop (the sound and style of the Specials and the 2 Tone movement in the late seventies). The Clash were on the soundtrack, as a reminder that punk in England then was as free of prejudice as Gaultier is now.

Hugo by Hugo Boss

The black passage was followed by a dizzying array of patterns; virtually every conceivable variation of black and white was represented. Black-on-white graph patterns were followed by the same effect in white on black, followed by a large-format herringbone trench, followed by variants that mixed and matched all forms of black and white to create a DPM effect that almost blurred the eyes. Elsewhere, a skillful play of proportion and old-fashioned craftsmanship were apparent; peppered throughout were highly desirable pieces, like charcoal pencil pants with a banded waist, or a black cashmere trench that virtually shined. And just when the two-tone palette started to get oppressive, out came a sharply cut camel overcoat over a red turtleneck, followed by a blazer version of same, both shocking in their simplicity, the eye of Pieters' visual storm.

Gucci fall 09

Pet Shop Boys' "It's Alright" delivered Frida Giannini's message for today, as Milan's arch-eighties aficionado presented a collection of clothes inspired by power pop, the most optimistic face that new wave ever offered to the world. The shiny, tight little jacquard suits, the primary-colored shirts (Kelly green a particular aide-mémoire for Those Who Were There) matched with skinny ties, the leopard-print knits, the two-tone loafers, the tonic jeans, the checkerboard trim on a cardigan…ah, the memories came flooding back. The Lurex! The leggings! The Lurex leggings! Frida didn't miss a trick. She even managed a coat in a maroon mélange that hasn't been seen since the sun set on Danceteria.

Emporio Armani fall 09

 High-waisted pants paired with cropped leather jackets; huge black velvet wraps that enveloped their wearers; a fur-collared, rough-edged shearling parka that suggested something post-apocalyptic—there wasn't really a through line.