Tonino Cannucci
Men’s for the coming winter will be of a decidedly sporty allure, foregoing the classic style in the strictest sense of the word. In fact, even with elegant shoes a daywear mood will prevail, which can be worn from morning to evening and on different occasions, with jeans or a suit, thanks above all to rubber soles replacing traditional ones in leather (which are present on a niche level) or in leather with rubber inserts on the heel and toes, and even better if coloured in tones that highlight some of the details of the upper like eyelets, inserts, and laces.
Even on the front of the upper elegance leaves behind, or almost leaves behind, iconic traditional features like English piercings in favour of asymmetrical perfing, infiltrations of colour, folded French trimming like piping, and padded inserts in the quarter. As far as the materials are concerned, we find leathers characterised by brushings and different pigments, two-tone uppers, tongues, and coloured details that ‘break up’ the monotony of the most elegant and formal style. There are suedes, heavy and textured nubuck, and two-tone and brushed calfskins. Silhouettes remain short and rounded, and in terms of the latest trends, there are also squared toes, which designer labels are pushing in recent years and which at the moment seem to be popular above all in the Northern European market.
Next to elegant proposals with a more casual mood, we naturally find a bona fide casual style, which appears to be dominated more than ever before by sneakers that are easy to sell and trans-seasonal. The outsoles are mainly ultralight boxed EVA, in both a single-piece version, which represents a must-have, and in a version made up by different colours and materials. Without a doubt, outsoles are an important focal point in the proposals of the stylist, where for example we find sneakers with welts featuring two different coloured halves, or matchings of different materials.
The upper is characterised by different matchings of materials, like matte calfskin with a prominent grain or washed and suede leathers, but also waterproof winter nylon. The silhouettes are medium-short, while the details characterising them include contrasting stitching, stitching with thick thread, and prominent tongues.
Lauro Designer
The buzzword of women’s and men’s fashion for the coming winter is ‘comfort’. Starting from women’s, leading the way in the line of styles is the military half boot and biker boot, which in any case are made more comfortable and feminine by zippers but above all by high and bulky heels with an extra-light sole. So, the volumes of outsoles become larger, but also lighter, thanks to the use of materials like ultralight EVA, also enriched by leather or leather-effect welts. Leathers are waxed and matte or total black and brushed, but also lit up by contrasting coloured details like red, for trim, welts, and laces. In terms of combat and biker boots, some models are enriched by metal accessories like small chains or little buckles for a more distinct look. Another important trend of the season is the stylish Western style with Texan boots in suede, but also Western details on city low boots. The stylist also proposes combat boots with details that recall the mountain world and uppers in antiqued leathers that bear signs of use. Outsoles in general are an important part of footwear, not only for the thickness they provide, but also for the presence of inner hidden wedges and layered welts in multiple colours, which brighten up brown combat boots. As far as men’s is concerned, Lauro Designer proposes desert boots that are visually very heavy with prominent welts, while in the more classic combat boot Total black makes a return but with outsoles taken from a sporty style in lightweight EVA.
Goretti Studio Design – Claudio Goretti
The moment of uncertainty we are all going through on a global level is favouring a comfortable, practical, style destined to last over time, both because of the quality materials used and style. For women, in particular, we find ankle boots and combat boots with grip-fast soles in rubber or ultralight EVA, which exalt the features of comfort, flexibility, and the simplicity of the style. The leading colour is black lit up by touches of silver, white, brighter colours, and tone-on-tone matchings. In the materials, we find mostly leather, and especially nappa leather, with elasticised details, along with leather/fabric matchings. Next to ankle boots and combat boots, we also find lace-up models and mid-height sneakers in elasticised Lycra. Altogether, the proposals avoid exaggerations in favour of a simple and basic style, which we also find in men’s proposals. Here, the model of reference is the lace-up ankle boot with rubber or ultralight EVA sole. Men’s highlights the casual element and the practicality given by lightweight and flexible outsoles, suited also to a younger public.
Bettini e Penazzato – Walter Bettini
Women’s for the coming winter embraces different guiding themes. We have Natural, characterised by extremely luxurious, elegant, and handmade materials, like for example nappa, goatskin, and calfskin treated with aniline that captures the brightness of surfaces. In this mood we also find woolly effects and thick cotton for inserts. Another mood is represented by maxi volumes, which from apparel is conveyed to footwear with XXL outsoles in footwear but also with voluminous bootlegs in the line of boots. There is then Patchwork, characterised by multicoloured inserts, multiple materials, underlined also by geometric cuts, over-the-top matchings, or diminishing tones in the most elegant style. We next find a typically winter mood, like Matelassé with quilting, and paddings on leathers and fabrics, suited also to sporty and classic styles. Going into detail, the line of boots for the coming winter sees the way lead by wrap-around models, which are often elasticised, almost like a ‘second skin’, and even with glossy finishes. In general, not only in the line of boots, but especially in the more elegant styles, there is a play of transparent effects and shadings, double tone effects, and degradé, which create feelings of depth. The winter palette of reference seems to be dominated by the various tones of black (black/grey, total black), beige and natural tones, degradé browns, and reddish browns that are blended with dark red and burgundy. For contrasting matchings and inserts, we also find light blue, dark greens, and eggplant purple. Women’s is daring with a vintage-kitsch style from the 70’s with contrasting colours, while men’s is oriented towards maxi volumes and soles derived from the unisex look.
