Etro’s Jedi gentlemen cool

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, 'Star Wars' smote Kean Etro, and that obsession was the theme of his latest collection for his family’s famed fashion brand this season.

In a wise move, Kean left the comforts of Etro’s recently preferred show space, a giant sports arena, and moved to Garage Paullo; a wrecked old parking space from the 1930s. And the transition added a neat soupçon of grit to this spring/summer 2020 collection.

Guests were greeted by a fab funky, art and commerce installation of a mocked-up Jedi starfighter surrounded by a dozen Etro suitcases in signature paisley. The rough garage floor decorated by a huge mandala made of colorful powders, which scattered into small dust clouds as the models marched.

Though this was very much desert-saga Star Wars with the color palette in dusty hues of sand, earth, soil and spice.

This Rebel Alliance wardrobe, however, was not made for fighting but for casual cocktails with Han Solo and Chewbacca in the Mos Eisley bar.

Opening with some dashing ponchos in ginger-hued paisley, several perfectly executed safari jackets in dense silks, and a couple of natty jacquard suits; often anchoring the casual Jedi gentleman style with Roma centurion sandals.

And though many models wore differing movie poster t-shirts from the 9-film series, this was very much targeted at the sequel trilogy. Poe Dameron in apache-pattern shirts; dark floral wool pants and a fantastic tropical jungle print bomber. And, as it was a co-ed display, Padmé Amidala in dark check palazzo pants, paisley waistcoats and enormous pendants.

"Yoda has always been my master. My teacher since I was a kid. So, I wanted to give something back to the force – harmony," said Kean, standing beside his nephew Filippo, who even showed up in a Yoda face mask.

"The desert to me represents silence, and the essence of design. There is a great book by Carl Schuster called 'Patterns That Connect', a long-lasting analysis of the connections in design, from simple looms to carpet designs, to Tuareg, Mauritania and the Gobi Desert. So, this is me saying may the green force go with you," concluded Kean.

Etro’s Jedi gentlemen cool

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