Jackets are a staple of a man’s wardrobe, the male version of the little black dress. Which doesn’t mean they have to be boring. On the contrary, few designers bring as much imagination to the jacket as Neil Barrett, who hails from a family of tailors and the house of Prada.

For his spring collection in Milan, Barrett sent out a smorgasbord of outerwear: sumptuous windbreakers (yes, there’s such a thing), safari-print blazers, Perfecto-trench hybrids, and bombers with contrasting sleeves. Toward the end of the open-air show came exquisite leather flight jackets in beetle colors, complete with matching backpacks. If anyone can pair a tuxedo jacket with baggy shorts and make it seem natural, or have a slouchy trench feel so very right now, it’s Neil Barrett.