MILAN — Building next summer’s wardrobe should be easy if one explores the rich offerings of Milan Men’s Fashion Week presentations.

WWD aims to make it even easier, rounding up seven must-have items for next summer, from the relaxed blazers and sartorial shorts to knit underpinnings and the perfect suede outerwear.

The Relaxed Jacket: Massimo Alba

Relaxed tailoring was all over Milan’s presentations. A master in all things laid-back and utterly chic, Massimo Alba delivered some not-to-miss options, from collarless blazer jackets to double-breasted versions pointing almost toward peacoats, all worked in colors that only Alba can convince men to wear. Inspired from nature, they went from clay and mud tones to hues nodding to cornflowers, grapes and the violet shade of pansies. Natural fabrications like Irish linen amplified the spontaneous looks, as Alba pointed to consumers’ general return to dressing up but in an informal, easy way.

The Knit Sweater: Altea

Altea was the embodiment of Italian artisanal savoir-faire. The brand showcased a collection with relaxed volumes and natural materials like cotton, linen and wool, where texture took center stage. The pieces featured an earthy and neutral color palette with touches of turquoise, pink and green. Vibrant floral prints stood out on linen shirts and shorts. The extensive knitwear range included stylish sweaters, elegant open-collar polos and versatile cardigans crafted with various techniques. Cue the gray crewneck sweater with striped motifs in brown, blue and yellow ochre, which was paired with the Odell trouser crafted from garment-dyed cotton-linen drill and accentuated with a functional integrated belt. The womenswear proposal embraced the same aesthetic with workwear-inspired jackets in linen-cotton tweed paired with organza shirts and skirts in neutral tones. 

The Tailored Shorts: Slowear

There was a neo-gentleman vibe running through the Slowear collection — now a single brand grouping the expertise of specialists including Incotex, Zanone, Glanshirt and Montedoro. Echoes of the preppy aesthetic resonated in the textured chunky cardigans worn over sartorial shorts and chambray shirts with a regimental tie, or the tennis club-appropriate white cable-knit V-necks. For more formal and business occasions, the Slowear man could take cues from workwear and sportswear to twist his resort-appropriate sartorial wardrobe. The suit was rejuvenated ditching the blazer, or previous seasons’ shirt jackets, with the new “Primo” bomber for a cool midnight blue ensemble. “We’re creating products to fuel a philosophy, rather than finding a label and storytelling to attach to them,” said chief executive officer Piero Braga, stressing the positive feedback to the single-brand strategy.

“The more the gap between fashion and its key consumers widens, the more I think Slowear has an opportunity to seize, in that its values and pricing strategy are really filling that gap,” he said. Describing 2025 as a year of consolidation, amid macroeconomic and geopolitical instability, Braga said he expects sales to be flat versus 2024, with strong growth in retail, currently accounting for 40 percent of the business. The brand recently opened a the store in the Italian seaside destination Forte dei Marmi, as well as corners at Le Bon Marché in Paris, Kadewe in Berlin and Illum in Copenhagen.

The Summer Suit: Eleventy

The linen-rich Eleventy collection was awash in watercolor nuances, from subtle grays and pale blues to coriander yellow and dusty pink, the latter inspired by Himalayan salt. They conjured a resort vibe for the spring wardrobe defined by a regular fit, with slightly narrower pants and relaxed jackets. The suit was predominantly broken with tonal pieces — including lots of knit underpinnings in mouliné, cable-knit and openwork stitches — layered under refined blazers in contrasting tones, including a refreshing new Mandarin-collared silhouette. “I think our consistency over the years is paying off. We’ve stood by our goal to provide ‘smart luxury’ pieces, with a strong qualitative component at the right price and without following seasonal trends,” said cofounder and CEO Marco Baldassari. The brand has recently opened a store in Istanbul’s Galataport seafront promenade with its Turkish partner Dogus Group, which marks the first boutique to feature a hospitality component, with a café curated by Michelin-starred chef Andrea Berton.

The Shirt Jacket: Harmont & Blaine

There were plenty of shirt jacket options at Harmont & Blaine fitting different vibes, from the beige leno weave iteration worn with yarn-dyed Prince of Wales shorts and the linen blouson bearing subtle tone-on-tone herringbone patterns, both conjuring Italian Riviera chic, to the workwear-inspired Army green overshirt with collegiate patches, part of a spring drop hinged on the preppy look. The collection grew more colorful in new renditions of the signature striped shirts, here combining different stripe widths or in the “Postcard” capsule of camp collar shirts and beachwear bearing vintage-looking prints. In addition to its Earth Dye capsule hinged on the use of natural pigments, Harmont & Blaine developed the Re-Loved upcycling capsule in partnership with the Re-Jàvu Milano brand. The brand has recently rejigged its governance, naming Daniele Ondeggia its general manager with oversight on business development. The executive said the company grew single-digit last year and it is planning to scale up its digital and retail business to expand its international footprint. In July the Italian brand will open a second store in Miami and more units in Spain.

The Straight-leg Pant: Peserico

Peserico’s spring 2026 menswear collection drew inspiration from nature and its landscapes. The color palette ranged from sandy nuances, clay and sandstone to bolder tones like brick and deep blue, complemented by touches of light blue, white and gray. The lineup included padded gilets and overshirts, water-repellent technical nylon and suede jackets. The capsule collection made with Loro Piana fabrics featured comfortable travel pieces like joggers, sweatshirts and overshirts. The focus was on the functional details like zippers on polos and shirts and new cotton drill fabrics, solid yet flexible, that evoked a workwear aesthetic. Tailoring expertise was highlighted in linen suits and linen-wool micro-weaves pattern suits, while the denim range has expanded with new washes, chambray shirts, jackets and trousers. T-shirts and swimwear featured a logo inspired by Venetian architecture with the statement “Sartorial passion.”

The Suede Jacket: Brett Johnson

Brett Johnson continued to chart his “quiet luxury” approach, building on his sartorial tropes with a laid-back attitude. Rather than ditching formalwear, he is reconfiguring it, providing customers with the opportunity to trade a formal blazer for, say, handsome suede jackets, trench and duster coats, including a beautiful pale blue version of the latter paired with jogger pants and a knit crewneck, making sure he offers bottoms and underpinnings in tonal nuances. The tailoring range included forest green and washed blue linen iterations, structured but always light on the body. A standout was the crisp ivory white lapel-less suit.