MILAN, Jan 17, 2005 – Day one of the autumn winter 2005/06 menswear collections in Milan began with a glorious kick-off yesterday, despite the cold weather, a traffic block due to the excessive levels of smog in the city and the usual undertone of the beginning of a tight knit fashion schedule that will last for close to the next two months.

Ennio Capasa for Cotume National is the reason why most of the fashion guru’s, victims and followers flooding Milan got out of bed on a grey Sunday morning mid January.

He made it worth the effort by taking us on a eclectic urban chic journey from good boy Jimmy Dean’s with neat hair to a new Russia that reminiscing the elegant traditions of the former USSR as he pins stars and moons instead of the sickle to lapels.

After recently participating in an exhibition dedicated to Rudolf Nureyev, one of the greatest Ballet dancers of our time, Capasa rediscovered an ‘exceptional male icon, one of the most intriguing and elegant ever’.

And so in an ode to dance, Capasa’s men flowed along the catwalk in outfits that seemed in some way to trace the footsteps of Nureyev.

From the late 30’s where he grew up in Russia, to the 50’s and 60’s when he leaped to freedom in the west to the 1970’s that he spent in London.

Tight silhouettes in flat fronted trousers that slightly flared at the bottoms, jackets and shirts with side closures, high collars and pinstripes, pants tucked into riding boots, crushed wool suits, leather and waxed denim to fur luxury in lapels and hats, while lengths and shapes vary, from a little python bomber to three quarter overcoats in herringbone and suede.

This traveler is eccentric and mysterious choosing an undertone of colors in various shades of brown, chocolate, grey, black and rust for his stylish wardrobe that perfumes confidence and determination.

Poetic and nostalgic, yet modern and firm, Ennio Capasa gives us a man this season full of elegance and practicality, chicly innovative and eloquently captivating.

Costume National

Costume National

Costume National

Costume National