Making a Case for Utility Fashion Amidst the Pandemic

It’s been a year since street style lived up to its pre-pandemic exuberance. In a “normal” Fashion Week, we’d post hundreds of images documenting the energy and expressive style of models, editors, buyers, and influencers at the shows. What was once a reliable cadence governed by specific dates and times—Vogue’s Phil Oh never missed a big show!— has now become a giant question mark.

For the record, there are always stylish people on the streets; the medium pre-dates Fashion Week. But when it came to capturing the (limited) action at the Milan menswear shows this weekend, our photographer Gianluca Senese trained his lens on the models zig-zagging between photo shoots and live-streamed shows. As a result, the images are a bit quieter than we’ve seen in the past, and there’s a good chance these models didn’t expect to be photographed this season.

That means we’re getting a glimpse of their most intuitive, easygoing style, with an emphasis on comfort and functionality. Think: oversized MA1 bombers, vintage leather coats, cozy knits, and roomy trousers. Below, scroll through all of Senese’s model-off-duty images thus far, and come back for photos from the remaining shows in Milan and Paris.