Get first reactions to the Milan show.
With fresh color and a firm silhouette in soft fabrics, the menswear 2010 season has opened in Milan with a clear vision: put creativity and craftsmanship into clothes that are for real. The climate change is evident — but not essentially depressing. As the designer Tomas Maier said about his powerful show melding formal and casual on Sunday: “This is not a time to dumb down — it is a time to give men things that have good design and are better made — and you have to excite them.” Enticing customers into stores is possible, as the Montenapoleone fashion avenue in Milan proves. But the numbers of customers are down everywhere, and designers are talking about keeping a firm grip on prices. – From NY Times