For Fall/Winter 2026–2027, Etro staged its menswear collection away from the neutrality of galleries, opting instead for the shadowed back rooms of a Brera trattoria. The intimate setting was transformed into a plush, cabinet-of-curiosities environment, where mannequins crowned with Venetian papier-mâché animal masks, owls, foxes, and other symbolic creatures formed a surreal tableau. Titled Ani-men, the collection examined the tension between cultivated elegance and primal instinct, filtering that duality through Etro’s signature lens of refined eccentricity.

The conceptual thread traces back to a 1997 Etro campaign that explored physiognomy and the poetic parallels between human character and animal nature. Under Marco De Vincenzo, this archival reference is not revived verbatim but intelligently reworked, embracing a knowing sense of strangeness that borders on camp without collapsing into parody. The soundtrack, nodding to early electronic experimentation, reinforced the idea of remixing tradition, classical structures reassembled into something deliberately offbeat and contemporary.

Materiality and surface detail take center stage. A palette of forest greens, deep browns, and garnet reds grounds the collection in a nocturnal richness, while Etro’s iconic paisley functions almost as a genetic code, recurring across velvet robes and relaxed pajama silhouettes. Tailoring introduces a more formal register, though never a rigid one: slim-lapelled suits are softened with feather embellishments and matched waistcoats, transforming plumage into a form of modern heraldry. Elsewhere, plush knitwear features pixelated jacquards depicting deer faces, a subtle collision of artisanal tradition and digital-era aesthetics.

Critically, Ani-men succeeds in restoring narrative and fantasy to menswear, even if its maximalist language may divide opinion. The reliance on velvet, feathers, and persistent patterning leaves little room for minimalism, but this is a conscious choice rather than a limitation. Beneath the theatrical styling, the clothes are carefully constructed and commercially coherent, reaffirming Etro’s commitment to quality and continuity.

Ultimately, De Vincenzo delivers a confident recalibration of the house’s heritage, one that treats eccentricity as an asset rather than an indulgence. By allowing instinct, ornament, and history to coexist, Etro Fall/Winter 2026–2027 positions itself as a sophisticated celebration of the gentleman’s untamed side, proof that tradition thrives most when it dares to be imaginative.