英语文摘:Modern gentlemen acquire new elegance at Milan fashion week

MILAN, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- A new generation of gentlemen shining with a strong personal style was the protagonist of the Milan men's wear preview showings for the 2012/2013 winter on Monday.

Like the debt-ridden Italy, the new men's wear season returned to austere elegance, with classical colors such as black and grays. Designers also aim at encouraging modern men to fulfill their dreams.

The overall look of the latest Gucci collection in the third day of the Italian fashion capital runways was of nowadays dandies, or "tormented poets", as creative director Frida Giannini called them in her show notes, saying she came up with a vocabulary of "intellectual luxury for new rebels" inspired by Austrian-born actor Helmut Berger.

The rose theme appeared throughout the show, from real flowers in the pocket of evening jackets to travel bags in floral printed velvet.

An elegant hard worker who does not give up dreams at daytime, this contemporary dandy enjoys relaxing himself at night in a black velvet tuxedo worn with a collarless shirt, which peaks out of the jacket like a silk scarf.

In the Zegna new collection, man was going back to tradition, driving inspiration from very classic color patterns and shapes, but modernizing at the same time.

The show kicked off with classic three-button suit jacket and pleated tapered trousers, but then surprised viewers with details such as hints of bright colors unexpectedly popping out in the back of austere jackets.

"This is for any young guy living in a metropolitan situation", Paul Surridge, the new designer at Z Zegna, told Xinhua backstage.

The new collection, the designer said, was "more about updating the new gentleman approach to clothing which is missing in today mainstream."

Although there is no limit to personal sensibility and creativity in the variegated metropolitan life, a shirt with a collar new for the season and a nice tie never should be missed in a chic wardrobe, he added.

This new ideal gentleman, who has the true passion of combining traditional style with a new personalized class, also shapes a more sophisticated concept of elegance.