Top 10 Milan menswear shows

In honour of their 20th birthday celebrations, Dolce & Gabbana pulled out all the stops. A star-studded front row, including Morgan Freeman, Rachel Weisz and Matthew McConaughey, watched Annie Lennox's live perfomance of her greatest hits. A Whiter Shade of Pale provided the perfect soundtrack to a collection of summer tailoring: linen and raw hemp, basket weaves, washed muslin, everything ultra-soft and worn. The rolled hem shorts and poplin shorts fastened with a rope belt were exceptional.
Photograph: PR

Who but Prada would take inspiration from medical, dentistry and fast-food workers uniforms? The evidence is there in the loose, boxy silhouette with minimal fastenings and the bold block colour; it shouldn't work but it does, beautifully. Our favourite pieces were the denim boatneck smock shirt, the wide-leg trousers (the widest Prada has ever done) and the buttersoft, washed-leather totes. They were adorned with initial badges and we wanted them. Badly. Photograph: PR

Moncler Gamme Bleu wowed the crowd by sending out the models on bicycles around Milan's velodrome in a spectacle of a show. If you strip back the styling details, such as cycle-print leggings worn under the shorts and billowing capes, there were plenty of pieces for the sporty fashion lover to covet. The lightweight outerwear was especially good. Photograph: PR

We jumped for joy too when we saw Christopher Bailey follow up the Aviator military collection with another winner for Burberry. The biker jacket was the key focus, shown in studded, navy, gilet and 'armadillo' effect. The collection is available for pre-order until 27 June at burberry.com, with delivery in just six weeks' time - perhaps one reason why this collection feels more appropriate for the cooler months. The rain that poured down on the Burberry tent in Milan certainly added to the 'blurring of the seasons' debate.
Photograph: James Cochrane/Burberry

Colour blocking: it became clear at Pitti Uomo in Florence, when Jil Sander showed a riot of block colour, that this trend was back. The eye-popping orange blazer and striking graphic, acid house, stripy T-shirt took us back to our rave days. At Tods they gave us a 'which shoe?' dilemma, with a rainbow collection of super-light leather trainers (these also come in washed neutrals, another key season trend). Finally, Italian tailoring brand Brioni notched up 65 years in the business and used the vibrant colours of David Hockney as a key inspiration. Photograph: PR

Sarah Burton, the creative director at Alexander McQueen, choose to show a low-key presentation for the first menswear collection since the designer's death earlier this year. It was a concise collection that referenced the brand's heritage. On the whole it was calmer, and some might say more commercial, but given the continuing economic climate that is no bad thing. We look forward to next season when she and her team are in their stride and can be left to produce the gasp-enducing collections we have come to expect from McQueen. Photograph: PR

L'dejeuner sur l'herbe was the title of the D&G show, with the Manet namesake painting featured as a print on T-shirts and vests, but this was more an American picnic then a Parisian one. Johnny Depp as Cry-Baby popped up on one T-shirt print, and picnic-cloth check featured on everything from shirts to trousers turn-ups. It was a fun end to a week of S/S collections that at times looked surprisingly winter-like, reflected perfectly in the unseasonally inclement Milan weather. Photograph: PR

We are big fans of Marni on the fashion desk: it's fashion without the whistles and bells, stylish pieces that fit seamlessly in to existing wardrobes - exactly what good fashion should be. For S/S11 Marni experimented with the crop proportion we saw on other catwalks, but with more success by layering, so shirt hems were exposed rather then midriffs. We were also quite taken with the dipped-hem denim shorts and the bags, and we defy anyone to find fault with a Breton stripe. Photograph: PR

Question: What could be better then high-end leather? Answer: High end leather that ticks a key trend. Basket weave is set to be big news for S/S11 accessories, appearing in several collection. Our favourite was this saddlebag-rucksack hybrid from Gucci. Photograph: PR

The Lady Gaga effect was evident at Emporio Armani, not least in the projection of her video on the back of the catwalk (Armani made her tour outfits). On the catwalk we saw it in an abundance of black leather, S&M fetish caps and boy maquillage, which made for an ultra-young show. One item our holiday wardrobes won't include is the mankini - we'll leave that kind of exposure to Borat and Gaga. Photograph: PR