Indeed, there’s more to Burberry than just trench coats. Christopher Bailey’s Spring 2012 collection was largely hand-made and exuded a laid-back cool: moccasins, crocheted raffia caps, and lightweight shorts. As The New York Times’ Guy Trebay wrote of the Burberry man, he’s “a cool but well-heeled slacker.”
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A net motif ran throughout the collection at Dolce & Gabbana, where tank tops, jackets, and sweaters were made of mesh. Some shorts even left little up to the imagination with one layer of fabric—and a layer of see-through mesh on top.
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The Versace runway had it all: from baroque silks to studded leathers, from soft linen suits to zebra-print Speedos. The shorts, which ranged from baggy to short and tight for swimming, must have been a departure for NBA stars Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade, who sat in the front row. “It was good,” Anthony said after the show. “It’s good to know what’s out there.”
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At Jil Sander, Raf Simons unveiled a collection centered around new proportions: boxy on top, short on the bottom. Models came down the runway with wet heads, in angular suit jackets, and cropped shirts. Shorts were kept short but loose—and paired with thick socks and commando boots.
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At the hands of Miuccia Prada, it’s go bold or go home. A series of bright prints came down the runway at Prada on Sunday, in pink, orange, and green. Many of the pieces seemed inspired by Caddyshack: floral golf bags, studded spectators, checkered pants, and jaunty golf hats with cartoon prints.
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The palette was soft at Etro, where a majority of the suits, pants, and shirts came in shades of gray and beige. But the collection had a frisky edge, too—as evidenced by one pair of canary-yellow pants, polka-dot shorts, and a pink paisley suit.
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Vivienne Westwood is known for her zany British grunge aesthetic—and this season was no exception. Her inspirations seemed to range from samurai (with low-slung coats and paper bag-waisted jeans) to ancient Greek Olympians. Several models came down the runway adorned with laurels in their hair—and one man appeared in shorts, knee socks, and in a sweater with a Greek-vase motif.
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At Missoni, the collection was inspired by the tracksuits Ottavio Missoni created for the Italian team at the Olympic Games in London in 1948—and featured several sporty and wearable clothes. Shorts came in muted tones, such as gray and burnt orange, and were paired with printed rope sandals.
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Shorts of every variety and color exploded out of the gates at D&G, where Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana sent down the runway a series of burlap shorts, flowing silk shorts, and, of course, extravagantly-printed shorts. For the finale, shirtless models came out in a parade of short shorts.
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