MILAN FASHION WEEK MENSWEAR FALL/WINTER 2026: DAY 1

K-WAY
review by MAREK BARTEK

K-Way’s winter presentation felt like a brief escape to the mountains, with an espresso bar and cable-car setting doing the scene-setting. The collection, created in collaboration with Scotty James, leaned into the idea of fashionable activewear that still makes sense in real winter conditions.

Colour played an important role, with fuchsia, blue, white, mustard, black, and grey cutting through the alpine palette. Technical jackets and fleece jumpers were layered in a way that felt relaxed rather than over-styled, while slightly bell-shaped trousers introduced a subtle 90s reference through a skiwear lens. Practical details — zippered hems, adjustable elements — kept the collection grounded in function.

But the theme throughout the collection was the balance: pieces clearly designed for winter activities alongside more polished looks that feel just as appropriate off the slopes. It was a collection that works whether you’re actually skiing or simply sitting at the ski bar.

LI-NING
review by MAREK BARTEK

images courtesy of LI-NING

Li-Ning made its Milan debut for Fall/Winter 2026 with The Athlete in All of Us, a show that placed winter sport less as competition and more as a mindset. Staged at Padiglione Visconti during an Olympic year — with Li-Ning once again sponsoring the Chinese Olympic Team — the show felt well-timed rather than just symbolic.

The collection unfolded in two parts. Li-Ning Glory focused on utility and movement, offering streamlined silhouettes built for daily life, where technical fabrics and precise construction did the heavy lifting. Running alongside it, Li-Ning China (LNCN) brought a more expressive energy, drawing from podium suits, retro winter sports references, and traditional Chinese motifs reworked through modern textures and colour.

Across both lines, winter sports codes were filtered through a fashion lens without losing functionality. Footwear anchored the looks, reinforcing the brand’s performance credibility. Snow fell during the finale, but the message was clear long before: sport here isn’t about winning — it’s about momentum, discipline, and the athlete that exists every single one of us (even when they’re hard to find sometimes). 

DSQUARED2
review by NIA TOPALOVA

images courtesy of DSQUARED2

Buonasera and arrivederci to the first day of Milano Fashion Week with Dsquared2 closing the evening delivering an offering that was, in every sense, exceptional - serving up snow chic bathed in Heated Rivalry references, gracefully infused with “an avalanche of hotness”. 

Hudson Williams made his runway debut as he opened the show, followed by a daring double tease dressed in nothing from the waist up but a pair of mittens on long strings dangling from their necks, two oversized caps, and denim pants with a subtle ski equipment touch. The snow was cold but those two were anything but. 

Dsquared2 brought us back to their Canadian roots for FW26, bringing to the table sharp tailoring and sporty silhouettes, with lots and lots of alpine details. Hockey jerseys and ski equipment were integral to the mood, woven into oversized fur hats, goggles, and ski boots that were anything but ordinary. Parkas and puffers were boldly mixed with treated leather and latex, denim, suits, and coats in sequins and crystal embellishments. 

This season perhaps was undeniably “hot as ice”.