Grant Woolhead's Fashion Week Diary: Day 1 & 2

Pictured, clockwise from left: Prada's fur vests; Calvin Klein model Pier-Gabriel Lajoie; the polar bear at Woolrich; Fruit stand at Viale Papiano market; Versace's hanky underwear.

The market at Viale Papiniano
"We stumbled upon this market and stocked up on some wonderful cheeses, fresh fruits, and vegetables, many of which are indigenous to Italy such as the puntarella vegetable. You could spend a few hours wandering through here testing everything."

The video art at Ermenegildo Zegna
"Johan Soderberg directed a wonderful video for Stefano Pilati's Ermenegildo Zegna show this season, much better seen than described, you can watch it in full here."

The soundtrack at Neil Barrett
"The American press were pleased to hear some classic R'n'B and hip Hop anthems at Neil Barrett's show. The best moment was perhaps a remix of Drake's "Started From the Bottom," which had us all bopping."

The chaps and handkerchief underwear at Versace
"Most gay men have some understanding of the hanky code, and those of us old enough remember Ray Petris Buffalo and Trojan looks but this was a whole new level of outrageous. Models in embroidered leather chaps and hankercheif underwear had us yelping, definitely a highlight of the day, plus Donatella looked amazing!"

The polar bear at Woolrich
"I'm not usually a fan of taxidermy, but at Woorich today was a giant polar bear. A writing on the floor stated that the bear had a happy life and died of natural causes, which made me feel slightly better about the whole thing. It was impressive to see a life-size polar bear. The Woolrich coats were pretty great too!

The fur vests at Prada
"German avant-garde expressionism took on a 360deg cinematic quality at Prada this season (see all the men's looks here). Dark militance definitely crept through in the wrought iron austrere set. The fur-trimmed vests, which wouldn't look misplaced in a prison camp, were a highlight of the show, along with the longer-than-long pant silhouette. Prada always sets the bar for the season, and this season was no exception."

God Save Food
"A wonderful little cafe in Milan where they serve delicious health foods and fresh juices. They also have free internet, which is quite a luxury in Milan."

Valextra's man bags
"Valextra have reissued many 1960s designs in a beautiful array of colors, from petrol to flamingo this season. One of my personal favorites was the wonderful attache-case in white (pictured, right)."

Palazzo Crespi Milano
"Italo Zucchelli of Calvin Klein threw a beautiful party to celebrate his men's collection for Calvin Klein. The space where he held the party, Palazzo Crespi, was incredibly ornate and still owned by an industrialist Milanese family. Mountains of caviar was served with vodka shots. The huge apartment had a grand piano, playing wonderful renditions of all the classics. Amoung the select few attendees were singer Ciara with her boyfriend Future, Victor Cruz, and model Noah Mills. The editor of Fantastic Man Gert Jonkers closed the evening with a Backstreet Boys rendition on the piano. Definitely a fashion week highlight!"

The Calvin Klein model
"Calvin Klein hit back on the nostalgia of the house's original fragrances, with sweatshirts emblazoned with 'Obsession' and 'Eternity' which were pretty special (Watch the full collection here). The model who opened the show was Pier-Gabriel Lajoie, the star of a pretty raunchy Bruce La Bruce movie called 'Gerontophillia.' In it, Lajoie has some explicit sex scenes with an older man. Check out the trailer below: