Numero Ventuno (N°21), designed by Alessandro Dell'Acqua, unveiled its Spring/Summer 2018 men's collection in Milan on June 19th. Surfing was a major trend at this season's Milan men's collection. N°21 used a 1950s-style illustration of a surfer waiting for a wave as its icon for this season. It's dynamically applied to cutwork on cotton poplin shirts, intarsia knitwear, and surf pants, while American photo prints appear as key images on coats, short-sleeved shirts, and even sandals. Dell'Acqua's signature vibrant yellow is used effectively as an accent color on beige coat collars, sneaker soles and heels, and patent leather zippers. Along with cherry brown glen plaid pants, it forms the key element of this season's outfits. While surfing is the key image, Dell'Acqua's signature sartorial tailoring remains strong. Black suits are paired with black and white printed shirts, sky blue pajama suits, and rigid denim sets are worn with white T-shirts underneath, and the balance of the shirts peeking out from the jacket sleeves is also carefully considered. A large, colorful puka cher is worn around the neck, giving an informal yet formal look.

Tropical themes such as Hawaii and Cuba continue to be a trend in the men's fashion scene. Trendy items of the season, such as large botanical camouflage, madras check sets, lettered sweatshirts, and pajama suits, are smartly put together to create a relaxed collection that is typical of the brand, which is reportedly doing well in the Japanese market as well.

Text: Tatsuya Noda