Posted: 6/23/08 Section: Diversions

Media Credit: Antonio Calanni Models wear creations part by Versace men's spring/summer 2009 fashion collection, at Milan fashion week, in Milan, Italy on Saturday.

MILAN, Italy - The latest "first" for Barack Obama comes off the Milan runway.

Calling the U.S. presidential hopeful "the man of the moment," Donatella Versace dedicated her Spring-Summer 2009 collection presented Saturday evening to Obama, creating a style she said was designed for "a relaxed man who doesn't need to flex muscles to show he has power."

Chatting with reporters in the cool of the garden of her private palazzo in downtown Milan at an after-show dinner party, the designer also had some fashion tips for the campaign trail. "I would get rid of the tie and jazz up the shirt," she said.

In fact, there were no ties in Donatella's latest show, and shirts under jackets were either super easy with rolled up sleeves or replaced by a silk T-shirt.

The new Versace suit has a structured jacket softened by a double lapel or no lapel at all and slim trousers with slick techno-fabric sheen. Crazy zigzags break up the monotony of pinstripes and checks, while the pastel palette gives the collection a warm summer feel.

Sitting in the front row, actor Rupert Everett applauded enthusiastically, showing that even if it was not dedicated to him, he found the collection right up his alley.

Overall, this round of "moda Milanese" menswear preview collections, which ends Wednesday, promises to be all about chilling out, a refreshing thought in a Milan in the grip of this summer's first heat wave.

The relaxed feel of the collections is epitomized by the return of the unlined jacket, which, when coupled with wide loose trousers, creates a casual yet elegant summer suit.

Right at home with this look was Tomas Maier, the creative director at Bottega Veneta, who presented his collection Sunday morning.

From the ultra soft pajama jacket to the classic blazer, to the white shantung silk dinner jacket, the idea is to keep a guy stylish and comfortable throughout the day. Novelty comes in the "double jacket" which appears to have separate layers, creating a two-jackets-in-one effect.

"If you think about the gap in menswear between a tailored suit and a T-shirt and jeans, it's filled by the jacket," Maier says in his show notes.

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