Menswear Range Steps Back to Kitsch

Designers, advertisers and many men's magazine editors have spent countless hours and even more money trying to convince the public that fashion is not all camp and that Real Men Like Fashion, Too.

Sadly, many of their efforts will have been undermined by Milan menswear fashion week.

In the past few days there have been Spandex leggings with blazers, mini satin shorts and male models showering on stage. But yesterday's D&G show managed to out-camp them all.

On a stage replete with teepees and smouldering campfires, male models marched up and down in impressively tight shorts with "I love a Cherokee" scrawled on the backside, drooping suede chaps affixed to denim shorts and suede moccasin boots.

Almost all were wearing mirrored aviator sunglasses, the crucial accessory for any self-respecting 70s porn star. And just when you thought the cliched homoeroticism had reached its zenith, a model came out wearing only a suede rag wrapped around his hips.

D & G is Dolce & Gabbana's diffusion label and so always aims for the mass market as opposed to what can be called fashion in the strictest sense. But it's hard to imagine who the designers think will be buying "Fort Apachee" satin shorts, other than Village People tribute bands.