Gatsby-esque suits and dolce vita tailoring: here’s what Milan thinks men should wear for summer

 Gatsby-esque suits and dolce vita tailoring: here’s what Milan thinks men should wear for summer 

Shorts at Gucci that are short enough to make a matron blush, crop tops at Prada that no man over 23 would dare to wear and sparkles aplenty at Louis Vuitton. Men’s fashion’s current focus is Gen Z, and who could blame the conglomerates for trying? 

Times are tough and it’s standard corporate practice to snare them young and lock them in for life – a phone case at first, levelling up to trainers in time – but across the men’s Spring-Summer 2025 shows, there hasn’t been a great deal for the grown-up male consumer for whom Taylor Swift sounds like a breed of bird rather than the biggest sensation sweeping the world right now. 

Thankfully Alessandro Sartori at Zegna takes the long view approach to men’s dressing. The 57-year-old designer isn’t about the flash and frippery of the new, but a more gradual tectonic shift towards a more considered way of dressing for men. 

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This season, his designs were a fresh, light antidote to the searing 29 degree heat in Milan, with a focus on long term excellence of fabrication over a hit bag. His choice of models was also notable – characterful men of a certain vintage with sweeps of grey hair alongside the more youthful types who normally walk catwalks. Oh, and choosing 58-year-old actor Mads Mikkelsen to grace the catwalk looking effortlessly cool, was the perfect triumph of men of substance over kids creating a social media frenzy.