Umit Benan is on a roll
The most happening brand in Milan this weekend is Umit Benan – who has been showing here for almost two decades, but who just accelerated several gears.
A naturally gifted tailor, Turkish-born Benan opened a superb new Milan store on Friday – a rather beguiling blend of stainless steel and mahogany. Located on central Via Bigli 6, right opposite a brand-new Umit Benan showroom, where he showed his latest menswear and a debut women's collection.
Back in 2007, he caused huge waves in Milan with his early 'Turkish gents goes international' collections. This year, however, he riffs on a golden era of Italian menswear – the eighties, with strong echoes of Gianni Versace, and above all, Gianfranco Ferré at their best.
Bankrolling and overseeing this new moment is Umit's new partner Davide De Giglio, one of the founders of New Guards Group, known for holding the license to Off-White, the brand created by Virgil Abloh.
Benan has had his ups and downs as a brand, but never creatively – always managing to dream up distinctive clothes. In the last few years, he concentrated on private clients – which included De Giglio – and it has helped him get a fresh new connection to the final consumer. Other Benan fans include Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Lewis Hamilton and Pedro Pascal.
'I have always managed to design to dress real people. Now, everything is much more high-end. My jackets and tailoring are made by Caruso,' underlined Umit, referring to the legendary menswear plant in Parma.
That's upped the price point from about €1,200 to €3,000 for a jacket, and the result is an impeccable finish and hand. Knits are mostly made from yarn supplied by Loro Piana, while some very spiffy leather and nylon reversible jackets are manufactured in the Veneto.
The clothes are classy and stylish but never predictable, more like runway looks than boutique clobber.
'I wanted that '80s silhouette, with a lightly padded shoulder line, like Ferré jackets, but not stiff. Working with top-quality fabrics and 60- or 70-year-old tailors, which is inspirational,' he smiled.
The 45-year-old Turkish designer also showed a new women's line named Umit Benan Paradiso, ideal for St. Barth's or Punta del Este. In an incredible week for Umit's family, his wife just gave birth on Thursday to a baby boy named Kai, joining their two-year-old daughter Maia.
Their family home is amid the canals of Navigli in south Milan, but his business is central. Especially his fab new store, finished with retro-modern steel coffee tables and chairs, great wicker armchairs and Beuys prints, curated by Thaddaeus Ropac.
Underlining faith in the future, his deep-pocketed and experienced partner De Giglio has acquired a 55% stake in the house via D Capital, which also controls Santa Maria Novella, the famed Florentine pharmacy and perfume maker.
'What do I bring to Umit Benan? The most useful thing is the errors of the past in New Guards committed over ten marvelous years. That experience teaches above all what doesn't work,' De Giglio told Milan daily MF Fashion.
De Giglio is on a roll himself, seeing as he helped finance Hailey Bieber's cosmetic brand Rhode, which was just sold for $1 billion.
Next stop for Benan – boutiques in London and Los Angeles. 'But please don't call them stores; they are points of connection,' concludes Umit.
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Fashion Network
3 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Umit Benan is on a roll
The most happening brand in Milan this weekend is Umit Benan – who has been showing here for almost two decades, but who just accelerated several gears. A naturally gifted tailor, Turkish-born Benan opened a superb new Milan store on Friday – a rather beguiling blend of stainless steel and mahogany. Located on central Via Bigli 6, right opposite a brand-new Umit Benan showroom, where he showed his latest menswear and a debut women's collection. Back in 2007, he caused huge waves in Milan with his early 'Turkish gents goes international' collections. This year, however, he riffs on a golden era of Italian menswear – the eighties, with strong echoes of Gianni Versace, and above all, Gianfranco Ferré at their best. Bankrolling and overseeing this new moment is Umit's new partner Davide De Giglio, one of the founders of New Guards Group, known for holding the license to Off-White, the brand created by Virgil Abloh. Benan has had his ups and downs as a brand, but never creatively – always managing to dream up distinctive clothes. In the last few years, he concentrated on private clients – which included De Giglio – and it has helped him get a fresh new connection to the final consumer. Other Benan fans include Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Lewis Hamilton and Pedro Pascal. 'I have always managed to design to dress real people. Now, everything is much more high-end. My jackets and tailoring are made by Caruso,' underlined Umit, referring to the legendary menswear plant in Parma. That's upped the price point from about €1,200 to €3,000 for a jacket, and the result is an impeccable finish and hand. Knits are mostly made from yarn supplied by Loro Piana, while some very spiffy leather and nylon reversible jackets are manufactured in the Veneto. The clothes are classy and stylish but never predictable, more like runway looks than boutique clobber. 'I wanted that '80s silhouette, with a lightly padded shoulder line, like Ferré jackets, but not stiff. Working with top-quality fabrics and 60- or 70-year-old tailors, which is inspirational,' he smiled. The 45-year-old Turkish designer also showed a new women's line named Umit Benan Paradiso, ideal for St. Barth's or Punta del Este. In an incredible week for Umit's family, his wife just gave birth on Thursday to a baby boy named Kai, joining their two-year-old daughter Maia. Their family home is amid the canals of Navigli in south Milan, but his business is central. Especially his fab new store, finished with retro-modern steel coffee tables and chairs, great wicker armchairs and Beuys prints, curated by Thaddaeus Ropac. Underlining faith in the future, his deep-pocketed and experienced partner De Giglio has acquired a 55% stake in the house via D Capital, which also controls Santa Maria Novella, the famed Florentine pharmacy and perfume maker. 'What do I bring to Umit Benan? The most useful thing is the errors of the past in New Guards committed over ten marvelous years. That experience teaches above all what doesn't work,' De Giglio told Milan daily MF Fashion. De Giglio is on a roll himself, seeing as he helped finance Hailey Bieber's cosmetic brand Rhode, which was just sold for $1 billion. Next stop for Benan – boutiques in London and Los Angeles. 'But please don't call them stores; they are points of connection,' concludes Umit.
Fashion Network
3 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Umit Benan is on a roll
The most happening brand in Milan this weekend is Umit Benan – who has been showing here for almost two decades, but who just accelerated several gears. A naturally gifted tailor, Turkish-born Benan opened a superb new Milan store on Friday – a rather beguiling blend of stainless steel and mahogany. Located on central Via Bigli 6, right opposite a brand-new Umit Benan showroom, where he showed his latest menswear and a debut women's collection. Back in 2007, he caused huge waves in Milan with his early 'Turkish gents goes international' collections. This year, however, he riffs on a golden era of Italian menswear – the eighties, with strong echoes of Gianni Versace, and above all, Gianfranco Ferré at their best. Bankrolling and overseeing this new moment is Umit's new partner Davide De Giglio, one of the founders of New Guards Group, known for holding the license to Off-White, the brand created by Virgil Abloh. Benan has had his ups and downs as a brand, but never creatively – always managing to dream up distinctive clothes. In the last few years, he concentrated on private clients – which included De Giglio – and it has helped him get a fresh new connection to the final consumer. Other Benan fans include Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Lewis Hamilton and Pedro Pascal. 'I have always managed to design to dress real people. Now, everything is much more high-end. My jackets and tailoring are made by Caruso,' underlined Umit, referring to the legendary menswear plant in Parma. That's upped the price point from about €1,200 to €3,000 for a jacket, and the result is an impeccable finish and hand. Knits are mostly made from yarn supplied by Loro Piana, while some very spiffy leather and nylon reversible jackets are manufactured in the Veneto. The clothes are classy and stylish but never predictable, more like runway looks than boutique clobber. 'I wanted that '80s silhouette, with a lightly padded shoulder line, like Ferré jackets, but not stiff. Working with top-quality fabrics and 60- or 70-year-old tailors, which is inspirational,' he smiled. The 45-year-old Turkish designer also showed a new women's line named Umit Benan Paradiso, ideal for St. Barth's or Punta del Este. In an incredible week for Umit's family, his wife just gave birth on Thursday to a baby boy named Kai, joining their two-year-old daughter Maia. Their family home is amid the canals of Navigli in south Milan, but his business is central. Especially his fab new store, finished with retro-modern steel coffee tables and chairs, great wicker armchairs and Beuys prints, curated by Thaddaeus Ropac. Underlining faith in the future, his deep-pocketed and experienced partner De Giglio has acquired a 55% stake in the house via D Capital, which also controls Santa Maria Novella, the famed Florentine pharmacy and perfume maker. 'What do I bring to Umit Benan? The most useful thing is the errors of the past in New Guards committed over ten marvelous years. That experience teaches above all what doesn't work,' De Giglio told Milan daily MF Fashion. De Giglio is on a roll himself, seeing as he helped finance Hailey Bieber's cosmetic brand Rhode, which was just sold for $1 billion. Next stop for Benan – boutiques in London and Los Angeles. 'But please don't call them stores; they are points of connection,' concludes Umit.
Fashion Network
3 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Setchu stages first runway show in Milan menswear
Six months ago, when Satoshi Kuwata made his global runway show debut with Setchu in Florence, he swore it would be his last live show. This Friday in Milan, he opened the latest menswear runway season. Like in his debut, the Japanese designer has gone fishing for inspiration. This time, it was not in the Pacific but near Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, where the discovery of striking straw-using artisans was the wellspring of this dramatic collection. Presented inside a 100-year-plus atelier in Milan, the co-ed show opened with a leggy lass in an oversized man's shirt, cut with kimono-worthy sleeves, followed by a matinee idol Asian male model in brilliant giant white cotton pants that hung off the waist. Note to all fashionistas: the elephantine pant is again essential in every man's wardrobe. Kuwata played accomplishedly with a series of colonial motifs – safari jackets or rangers' coats – cutting them loose and disentangled. In a sense, the biggest news of this collection was how the female models looked even better in Setchu's masculine tailoring than the male models. One gal in a khaki look that riffed on Grace Kelly in John Ford's classic film, Mogambo, looked utterly divine, her allure enhanced by a triplet of straw bags she carried in her right hand. She was followed by a raven-haired lass in a white mini-tunic cocktail dress wrapped in a wildly woven basket. 'It's a new side of Setchu. I was under a lot of pressure from friends to show again. But what attracted me was how much I could express, even with a small budget. The goal is always to make something emotional,' said Japan-born Satoshi. Kuwata is one of fashion's great image-makers, and his noble African in a slim blazer paired with a white T-shirt and midnight blue dhoti shorts was a look of great understated elegance — especially on a Milan Friday when temperatures soared up to 38 Celsius. 'I love playful functionality, but timeless and with another joy,' he expounded in his sibylline manner. Trained by Huntsman and Davies & Son — the latter being the oldest tailor on Savile Row — Satoshi is an excellent pattern cutter, a skill few of his contemporaries will ever achieve. Though this season, he insisted he wanted sculpting, not just tailoring. 'Victoria Falls is one of the best fishing destinations to catch tiger fish. And I met this tribe — the Batonga — and their way of weaving baskets, which is quite different from any other country. So, the construction is random, which is what I wanted in this collection — organic random shapes,' insisted Satoshi, the 2023 LVMH Prize winner.
