Menswear Milan Report

The menswear fashion week kicked off in Milan on Sunday, with all eyes on British menswear labels Burberry Prorsum and Vivienne Westwood. Both brands have a knack for mixing heritage prints with a more modern approach, and both, for example, featured tartan trousers, two-tone cardigans and tweed coats for AW 2005. But whereas Burberry Prorsum moves forward from its traditional starting block, Vivienne Westwood, who had a massive retrospective at the V&A Museum last year, was living on past triumphs.

Burberry's show could very well turn out to be the best of the season. As ever, the inspiration came from the stylish, aristocratic British male, but also mixed in is 60s bohemianism. William Morris prints were sloshed across umbrellas and shirts, and the suits were particularly elegant in subtle tweed. The slight hippyish element came from embroidered sheepskin jackets and the odd tassle affixed to the beautiful leather bags. Even more bold than the jewel-coloured cardigans was the rainwear, which was patterned in the distinctive Burberry check.