PARIS / MILAN / BERLIN, Europe — Despite the high intensity of the Men’s Spring / Summer 2025 season that kicked off in June, this go-around in Paris and Milan lacked some serious novelty. Whether that is a bad thing or not remains to be seen. There wasn’t a great deal of urgency in the collections presented, but perhaps it speaks to other pressing matters at hand.

As Paris and Milan wrapped up, PROTOChic had a front row seat to the behind-the-scenes of Berlin Fashion Week courtesy of one Ms. Kim Russell (@thekimbino). The Perth-based stylist gave us the added inspiration to take a closer look and revisit a highlight or two from the season that was.

BIANCA SAUNDERS

Fresh off the back of a British Fashion Council win, Bianca Saunders sought inspiration from the acclaimed photography of Bradley Smith for her Spring / Summer 2025 collection The Hotel. The netted cloche-style hats and bandanas brought much-needed specificity to her assortment of silk, denim, and cotton separates. Saunders often plays with optically illusive prints that can accentuate or in the case of this season, offer a “counter-critique of the obsession with the hourglass figure in womenswear” per the press release. In theory, points were made, but in practice, we would have loved to see the concept pushed even further.

WALES BONNER

One of our favorite designers came back with a music-inflected show Midnight Palms. While the collection presented more formal-forward looks via thick satin lapels and tuxedo suiting, a fair share of henley tees and speckled knitwear were on display. Trust the Adidas partnership is still in full force, evidenced by bowler shaped leather bags and high-rise shorts that would make any 1970s NBA player blush. In a way, Look 23 most encapsulates Bonner’s aesthetic — easy, free-flowing, and an eye for detail. A sparkle in a shoe or a netted tank top provided that added energy to an design philosophy that centers black masculinity. While we’re less keen on the oversized floral prints, we’re excited to see how she will play outside of her traditional black-white-navy palette in future collections.

PHARRELL FOR LOUIS VUITTON

Creative director Pharrell  Williams often punches above his weight class in terms of facilitating cultural resonance not typically observed at the major European houses. Mission accomplished for the landmark decision in bringing a multi-disciplinary recording artist to the helm of Louis Vuitton menswear, but it is not necessarily successful because of the clothes. Beyond the runway (where the collection missed the mark on both emotion and innovation), Pharrell secured some history-making credentials bringing Nigerian stars to the main stage, including Burna Boy, Tems, and Wizkid. If one could liken this moment to the influx of K-Pop on high fashion front rows, we may only be a short while away from a proper brand ambassadorship for one of Afrobeats very own.

ANONYMOUS CLUB

American fashion designer Shayne Oliver is back on the runway. If you recall from an earlier dispatch, his legacy has been quite cemented with Hood By Air followed by an avant-garde turn as a guest collaborator with Jean Paul Gaultier. In his now third act as creative director of Anonymous Club, Oliver showed his Spring / Summer 2025 collection in Berlin proffering a similar flavor of subverted streetwear with dramatic proportions. In every way, it made sense to show in a market like Berlin where its off-center locale gives more space to push boundaries. Oliver’s reemergence begs the question of whether one of the pioneers of 2010s high-fashion streetwear can influence the industry writ large again.

MARTINE ROSE

Back in Milan, Martine Rose did what she does best: twisted tailoring paired with rock and roll sportswear. Rose has long spoken about grounding her designs in what is real and authentic to those in her community. With her all-over-prints, chaps-style denim with leather inserts, and one-of-a-kind footwear, you’ve got to be a bit daring to pull off a Martine Rose fit. With her work on Balenciaga Men’s (Demna hired Rose to consult when he joined in 2015), a few of her tropes found their way from her namesake label to the French house, in the form of typography and mixed media on lengthy outerwear, graphic tees, and nylon separates — designs that carried Rose’s indelible touch and no doubt shaped the house of Balenciaga’s future. Looks like the future has caught up to Rose.

Lead Image Courtesy Casely-Hayford