At a Glance
- Dsquared2 turned the catwalk into a fake-snow Olympic stadium with Hudson Williams opening in a ripped-denim racing look
- Ralph Lauren showed ski-lodge luxury to A-listers Nick Jonas and Tom Hiddleston ahead of outfitting Team USA
- Prada unveiled foldable origami hats and modular capes, shrugging off criticism of ultra-slim silhouettes
- Why it matters: Menswear’s biggest labels are using the Feb 6-22 Winter Games as a global marketing stage while wrestling with diversity and sustainability scrutiny
Olympic fever hijacked the final day of Milan Fashion Week as designers raced to align with the Feb 6-22 Winter Games. From Dsquared2’s cheeky Canadian tribute to Ralph Lauren’s star-studded presentation, the Fall-Winter 2026-27 menswear season wrapped with snow-covered runways and podium-worthy footwear.
Olympic Spirit on the Catwalk
Dsquared2, founded by Canadian twins Dean and Dan Caten, staged the most overt salute. Actor Hudson Williams-star of the buzzy gay-hockey series Heated Rivalry-opened the show strutting down a staircase blanketed in fake snow. He wore a ripped double-denim jacket emblazoned with a sparkly racing number, setting the tone for a collection heavy on Olympic iconography.
The label’s hybrid footwear stole headlines:
- Women’s floating stiletto that snaps into a ski boot at the ankle
- Men’s version merging dress shoe and alpine boot
- Intarsia gold-medal knitwear, irreverent yet IOC-copyright conscious
Across the city, Ralph Lauren opted for patrician polish inside a Milan palazzo. Patterned knits, fleece jackets and heritage flannel evoked upscale ski lodges. Seated front-row: Nick Jonas, Tom Hiddleston and Noah Schnapp. The presentation previewed the cozy American aesthetic the brand will ship to Team USA athletes next month.
“As a designer you feel the vibrations in the world,” founder Ralph Lauren said in a pre-show social clip. “If you are sensitive to that, you develop an ear or a feel for the clothes that you think you’re going to do the next season.”
Prada’s Fold-Flat Hats and Ultra-Slim Silhouettes
Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons explored every conceivable men’s hat, from berets to fedoras, engineering each to fold flat like origami. Once collapsed, the hats snapped onto the backs of coats.
Key pieces included:
- Modular cape fitting over jackets for extra utility
- Dress shirts with T-shirt necklines that buttoned down the back
- Jackets cut so slim that cuffs purposely protruded extra-long
The skinny base-layer car coats drew murmurs, but Miuccia Prada was unapologetic. “That’s fashion,” she said, adding: “Talking about intellectual honesty, we are working for a brand that sells expensive clothes to possibly rich people, and so you have to deal with beauty, elegance, to understand what is believable.”
Zegna Pushes Generational Wardrobe Building
Creative director Alessandro Sartori emphasized longevity over trends. A single elongated jacket could be worn three ways:
| Style | Button Formation |
|---|---|
| Single-breasted | Standard lapels |
| Double-breasted | Horizontal inside buttons |
| Casual | Unique three-button horizontal row |
The family-owned house controls roughly 60% of its supply chain, a distinction amid Italy’s ongoing textile scandal. Behind glass, the brand displayed a century-old jacket made from its own fabrics. “Our customers are collectors, and not just fashionistas,” Sartori said. “I want people to collect pieces like watches.”
Jewelry, Up-cycling and Casting Controversies
Men’s jewelry moved center-stage:
- Dolce & Gabbana lapel pins morphed into ornate brooches with embedded watches
- Prada fastened sleeves with lapis lazuli and tiger’s-eye cufflinks
- Giorgio Armani added subtle lapel pins
Fifteen-year-old label Simon Cracker showed up-cycled garments, one of the few brands with credible sustainability claims.
Diversity debates resurfaced when Dolce & Gabbana-still recovering from a 2018 anti-Asian ad backlash-fielded an all-white cast. French TikToker Elias Medini dubbed it “fifty shades of white,” while Hanan Besovic of @ideservecouture wrote, “having a cast of all white models in 2026 is diabolical.”
Ghanaian designer Victor Hart countered the narrative with his Milan debut, supported by the AfroFashion Association. Statuesque denim looks threaded with industrial belting referenced street culture and traditional craft.
Key Takeaways
- Olympic tie-ins offered brands priceless global exposure weeks before the Games open
- Footwear innovation stole the show, from convertible ski boots to fold-flat hats
- Diversity lag remains a sore spot, even as new voices like Victor Hart gain runway space
- Sustainability claims face scrutiny, with heritage houses such as Zegna leveraging vertical supply chains while smaller labels like Simon Cracker champion up-cycling
