The overarching theme at this season’s Milan Fashion Week Men’s was to take a deep, deep breath, and relax. In fashion – heck – in the world generally, everyone is always in such a rush. A rush to get from A to B, a rush to put things out there, a rush to make judgements. (A rush to make collection after collection? A rush to constantly change designers?) But the Milan designers said a collective: “Stop. Slow it right down.” You can take it easy, you can take your time, and you can look great doing so. Take it from someone with a resting heartbeat that sounds like a trip-hop beat – if you keep your foot down, you quickly run out of gas.

Speaking of foot on the pedal, Canali may have taken inspiration from the high-speed, high-adrenaline cars of 60s and 70s Gran Turismo this season, but the Italian brand hit the hand-brake and skidded into the chill lane. Tropes of the motor world, including boiler jackets and mechanics’ uniforms, were reimagined with a soft, sensual touch, while the braided leather trims of steering wheels used to being spun out of control became artisan knitwear decoration.

Now time for a dip. Welcome to Tod’s Gommino Club, an al fresco villa experience where models relaxed around the pool in unstructured tailoring and pieces made from Pashmy, an extremely soft and silky leather. A safari jacket crafted in linen-silk was more jacuzzi party than Jurassic Park, and a newly developed Travel-wool encouraged the unimaginable: flying without stress.

“Free ease” – the words vibrated from the Prada press release. “A shift of attitude – dismantling of meaning, and dismantling power.” For Miuccia and Raf, taking it easy certainly didn’t mean sitting on your ass, it meant taking a step back, and considering your next steps. Sometimes the best form of attack is defence, and sometimes that means returning to craft, community and being conscious of your surroundings. On a runway covered in flower rugs, models walked in pop art colour mixes, short shorts, tracksuits, and plain white tees. Shirts were decorated with hand-drawn sunshine and waves illustrations, while on their heads, many models wore oversized raffia hats that brushed across their faces in the imaginary breeze.

At dunhill, a calm garden party set-up matched Simon Holloway’s collection. Inspired as ever by British menswear codes, this season the designer injected a louche rhythm into his designs, drawing inspiration from the rock ’n’ roll spirit of Britain’s musical icons; specifically name-checking Charlie Watts and Brian Ferry. Considering the slanted similarity between the wardrobes of Britain’s aristocracy and its rockstars, sleeves were rolled up, buttons loosened, and collars popped like Cantona. Regency stripes referenced the Regatta and the Rolling Stones in equal measure – not that the latter would ever be seen dead at the former. While some models walked with their canine friends – and as we all know, nothing takes the edge off more than a day out with the dog.

Giorgio Armani followed suit, literally. The brand’s signature tailoring was constructed with fluid, lightweight silhouettes; double-breasted jackets came with soft shawl collars, and trousers were cut wide-pleated with generous turn-ups. Soft Mediterranean tones transported us to calmer shores, as sun-faded graphics alluded to hours, days, weeks, who knows, spent in the summer heat.

The big takeaway from it all? Keep it loose – and don’t be afraid to ease into something, to take your time with something, to think first and react later, to thoroughly enjoy the moment.