It was a full circle moment for Magliano at Pitti. Five years ago, Luca Magliano launched his eponymous brand at the Florentine trade show, so naturally the brief was celebratory — the return of the prodigal son. Taking place in the city’s Nelson Mandela Forum, an arena usually reserved for basketball games, the traditional runway was nowhere to be found. Instead, a huge staircase reminiscent of the iconic stairway to Heaven from Powell and Pressburger’s A Matter of Life and Death descended from the rafters and through the arena’s tiered seats, whole rows strewn at either side of it as if it crash-landed into place.

As the models slowly descended, we got our first glimpses of the collection. There was a distinctly 80s feel to the outfits. Huge billowing cotton trousers, oversized boyfriend jumpers, single-breasted suit jackets, distressed leather jackets, and a whole lot of layering. On foot, embroidered slippers and studded loafers were bespokely provided by UGG (yes, those are Scuff and Ascot Slippers, through the twisted lens of Magliano).

What couldn’t be caught on the runway cameras was the total nonchalance of the street cast models meandering through the crowd with the gait of bored security guards or people sulkily wishing they were anywhere else.

There was a purposeful queerness imbued in practically every garment, and surely Magliano is one of the first luxury brands to offer chest binders, produced in collaboration with the gender-affirming underwear brand Untag. At the heart of it all was Patrizia Cavalli, the lesbian poet who served as the collection’s muse and whose styling was recreated in many of the looks. 

As the models made their way back up the stairway to Heaven, the music quietened and the lights went up, but Luca himself was nowhere to be found. No wave, no bow, no nothing. Here are the clothes, now go home. You have to love it.