5 best accessories during Milan Men’s Fashion Week

Giuseppe Cacace / AFP photo

Stefania D’Alessandro / Getty Images

Giuseppe Cacace / AFP photo

Antonio Calanni / AP photo

Accessories are key to completing a look, and the runways were full of inspirational ideas. Here are five of the best.

Head coverings

Whether swathed in a Guns’n’Roses headscarf at Versace, or decked in charming handknitted caps at Bottega Venetta and Gucci, it seems like hats are key for the adventurous chap. The scarves at Versace may have been richly printed silks, and the crochet work at Gucci vaguely reminiscent of grandmothers, but the message was clear: well dressed boys will cover their heads this season.

Neckline flourishes

With increasingly feminine touches appearing across the collections, it seemed only fitting that men now have freedom to choose how to finish an outfit. Long scarves, discreetly tucked into jackets, appeared at both Bottega Veneta and Etro, while Versace gave us thin slivers of silken sheen, knotted around necks. It fell to Gucci, however, to push the edges of the envelope, with ladylike fabric posy’s and satin flowers pinned to throats and collarbones.

Backpacks and bum bags

Bags are a given at men’s presentations, and this season was no exception. However, in among the oversized weekend bags there were sturdy backpacks and gunslinger bumbags nestled into the smalls of backs or strapped halfway down thighs. Also on show were mini messenger bags, slung across the torso for convenience.

Jewellery

It’s never that earth-stopping to see jewellery for boys on the runway. This time around, though, the treatment felt far less staged — almost as if the models had just turned up wearing their own things, and forgotten to take them off before taking to the runway. There was a casual scattering of rings across fingers at Gucci, and woven leather bands around wrists at Bottega Veneta.

And finally, the bicycle

Giorgio Armani sent a mountain bike down the runway. Action-man fashion indeed.