It’s 5 p.m. on a winter Friday and the corporate guys slam the laptop shut and zoom out of the city to a mountain getaway for the weekend.
That feeling of escapism was high on Umit Benan’s mind for fall, triggered by pictures taken in St. Moritz in the ‘80s of himself as a child with his father decked out in the decades’ signature color blocking.
Incorporating that sweet memory – while seeking to expand the wardrobe he provides to an ultra-high-net-worth clientele and C-suite businessmen – Benan had rib-knit polos in Klein blue or bubblegum pink, mustard plunging V-necked sweaters, turquoise knit hoodies and burnished burgundy shawl-collared cardigans layered under sartorial pieces.
Weekend mountain-goers may not even need to ditch their wide-lapeled cashmere coats or fluid double-breasted suits befitting a very cool banker, either, but just update the look courtesy of handsome padded bomber jackets in high-tech silk, gentle suede blazers and cocooning shearlings.
In keeping with his obsession for all things ‘80s, Benan’s signature reboot silhouette — broad and boxy shoulders, elongated blazers and pleated fluid pants, largely inspired by masters such as Giorgio Armani, Gianfranco Ferré and Nino Cerruti – was updated with novelty and more tactile fabrics in an overcoat with rounded shoulders, paired with tonal blazers and mélange crewneck. It was a feast of cashmere plushness.
During a walkthrough at his newly opened showroom on Milan’s Via Bigli, the designer mentioned his style heroes – from John F. Kennedy Jr. to Aristotele Onassis – as sources of inspiration, his aim being to reimagine their unique flair and attitude using a contemporary lens. The mission was accomplished here. Benan’s modern dandyism and signature imprint lent models dressed in his uber-luxe fall collection the look of modern royalty in the making.
