D&G, Cavalli and Fendi schmooze Milan Dolce & Gabbana threw gold over eveything, even underwear, for their autumn winter 2013 menswear collection in Milan. The make-believe chandeliered opera house setting, with Verdi in the air and red velvet dripping everywhere was a perfect antidote to the current crisis gloom. The collection was pitched somewhere between Dorian Gray and "The Leopard" with the designing duo penning another ode to noble dressing. We had fur-trimmed evening coats and capes, gold brocade jackets, and gold embroidered breeches to cut a dash in. Never forgetting their penchant for sportswear, the designing duo decorated distressed fabric with gilded fringes and lavish embroidery to create a dandy/grunge effect. The gilded grandpa wooly underwear also fit into the latter category. For their curtain call, the duo sent out 70 models dressed in every imaginable cut of yesteryear's elegant overcoat, all in de rigeur black. Roberto Cavalli has also rolled out his collection, with his son Daniele in charge of the men's line for the first time. In a mainly black collection animal patterns and embroidery provide the finer details. Lapels of dinner jackets were embroidered with crystals, returning to their traditionally smaller form in silk and cashmere, or recreated directly on the garments through skilful sartorial cutting. There is an evolution rather than a revolution of the fit: underlined by a slightly narrower shoulder, trousers sitting looser on the thighs, refined shirts from pashmina, and destructured coats with Raglan sleeves. Leather Chelsea boots completed the classic look. Like most Italian designers Cavalli is sticking to the traditional and familiar in their menswear collection for next winter. The mood reflects the austerity all around, but it is not all gloom. There are flashes of color and glamour to lighten spirits. Having focused on luxury women's designs for the last three years, Rome-based fashion house Fendi unveiled its first male collection since 2008 in Milan. It combines tradition with innocation, if not iconoclasm with its static show using dummies, not models. Designer Silvia Fendi explains. "We have been using a new kind of technology that allowed us to transplant a fabric into another like melting two fabrics together" says Silvia Fendi. "I thought it was good to do a presentation so that people can go closer and touch," she says. So, Friendly Fendi is what the collection intends to communicate with its cashmere, denim poplin, silk ottoman, twill and armoured wools. More about: Fashion, Italy