“From the back of a motorbike to the streets of London, and then up to the Italian slopes.”

Luxury label Iceberg defines itself by its versatility—its willingness to unite not only disparate fabrics and style codes, but also core identifiers. Its allegiances aren’t to a city or a market, but to a certain sort of attitude that can manifest in really any context: one that’s daring, irreverent, and delivered with a wink.

It was the right spirit to kick off Milan Fashion Week. Creative director James Long presented his Fall/Winter 2023 collection from La Pelota, a high-ceilinged event space in the city’s Brera district. Models were styled along a spectrum, spanning from bikewear to streetwear to skiwear. The palette starts all-black (baggy trousers, puffer jackets, hoodies, high boots, ties, all fashioned out of leather), gradually incorporating richly-toned knitwear and fur until each look was piled in layers upon layers—shearling-lined, shaggy, and increasingly playful.

There was a sense of momentum to the presentation, bolstered by the approach of Iceberg’s 50th anniversary. Next to nods to the past—references to a 2001 campaign starring Pamela Anderson, for instance, in which she rides on the back of a motorbike donning only Iceberg knee-high boots—there’s excitement for the future, retaining an energy that has yet to fade.