At Milan’s menswear fashion week, Etro proposes post-pandemic indulgence. Models adorned in wools, silks, and velvets passed through slats of red and yellow winter sunlight, walking for a digital audience on Via Tortona.

Repurposing is foundational to Etro; the paisley design that has become synonymous with the Italian fashion house appears reformed in each of their collections. For Fall/Winter 2021, creative director Kean Etro took inspiration from pandemic-induced visits to the closet to clean out, rediscover, and reimagine. The collection is intended to be deeply personal to the consumer, who is encouraged to recklessly mix and match its pieces with the current occupants of their own closets. Mindful of a culture that has been forced into habitually dressing down, Etro is boldly optimistic, redefining what it means to overdress.

Instead of confining the line to a single, succinct idea, the colletion encapsulates daywear and evening wear, the ironic and the elegant, function and aesthetic. Carefully curated layers play with excess, and prints in warm, muted tones compete with neon colors. Etro is unafraid of glut—a vibrant pink peaks out behind an earthy sweater, three layers of outerwear bury a green blouse, paisley and leopard prints accompany multi-colored patchwork sneakers. Modernity decorates the looks with leather accessories ranging from AirPod-sized cases to substantially elongated belts.

The models finish the show en masse, exiting the vacant showspace and bringing the ornamental collection out of isolation and onto the streets of Southern Milan. Etro finds the potential of freedom in fashion—the freedom not only to choose what to wear, but the freedom to wear everything all at once.