'EX LIBRIS': ETRO Finds Its Narrative Voice For Menswear AW22-23

Etro returns with a refreshingly literary delineation for Autumn/Winter 2022. Aptly titled Ex Libris, the collection emulates a journey, as if taken directly from the tomes of Kean Etro’s bookshelves. Each look presents like a protagonist, with distinct coming-of-age themes softly deposited throughout the presentation. If the collection makes use of juxtaposing iconography - we note the recurring apparition of the North star as a cartography reference, accompanied by wolves and varying declensions of rose motifs - it does so wrapped in the confidence of a delicate silhouette. The elaborate use of layers throughout each of the looks elegantly reiterates an exercise that in recent times has perhaps been forgotten; the art of dressing well.

With this amalgam of contrasting motifs, strong colour compositions and tactile materials all communicating within the collection, much relies on the considerate styling found in each of the looks. The collection juggles Etro’s traditional paisley print as well as jacquard silk, rubber and wool, with the presence of velvet and cristalline embellishments in the accessories (most notably in the technicolour gemstone belts and chains). When projected as a whole, this otherwise bold and eclectic decision successfully upholds a clean, luxe feel, while simultaneously allowing each ensemble to evoke its own distinct character.

This season’s Etro is a wordsmith, and he proves this through the careful manipulation of slogan printing and repeat pattern work. Playing with puns and deliberately repurposing the image of the rose as both iconography and wordplay (it is used both in its Ancient Latin form to line the outerwear pieces as well as in its botanical form across patterns), this season’s silhouette is built on the reimagining of ‘archetypal garments’. The collection exists in an ambiguous space between youth and adulthood, and Etro’s imagining of classic pillars of menswear such as gardening overcoats, pullovers and printed shirts work in conjunction with crystal patterns, puffer jackets and cartoon sneakers to echo this liminality.

Finally, if the collection conveys such convincing clarity then much can also be said for the linear nature with which it has chosen to present its colour palette. Choosing to show the collection in monochromatic looks, the stylised outcome is a neat and orderly showing of an otherwise theatrical palette, that spans from cool ice-blue tones to regal jewel hues.

Ultimately, Etro’s scholarly take on this season serves as a skilful reimagining of traditional storytelling, cleverly conjugated for the contemporary eye.