A model presents creations of the Italian fashion brand Salvatore Ferragamo during the Autumn/Winter 2012-2013 Men's Fashion Week in Milan, northern Italy, Jan. 15, 2012. (Xinhua/Wang Qingqin)

Traditional elegant colors such as black, gray and whites are dominating menswear at the ongoing Milan fashion week, but bright details such as deep purple and midnight blues are also adding some creative zest.

In debt-ridden Italy, the new menswear season returned to traditional elegance, with designers opting for hints of color in their previews for next winter at the Milan fashion week.

In Ferragamo's latest collection, long leather coats and waterproof overalls in high-tech textiles were playfully paired with all-black or -gray wool business suits, while Prada provided live entertainment with real actors modeling its clothes.

Hollywood stars such as Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe and Gary Oldman surprised visitors by strutting down the Prada runway, wearing the collection's clothes with natural ease.

They depicted today's man who likes to be smart in a traditional way, but with startling, rather eccentric touches. This season's accessories included medals and flowers on the lapels to gartered knee socks under the overcoats.

Missoni's menswear featured various kinds of outerwear, from bomber jackets and hunting parkas to puffy down jackets.

Dark colors dominated Missoni's palette this season as well, as "building a classical but contemporary wardrobe" was the main objective of the last three to four collections, designer Angela Missoni told Xinhua backstage.

"The main colors are browns, greens or blues, but you will find some strong hints coming out in a subtle way," she said.

"Do not try hard, just add little by little to your wardrobe anything you like," the designer suggested to ordinary men who strive to be elegant and refined, adding stylists must be a reference point.

The eurozone debt crisis in a sense shaped the 2012/2013 winter collections' austerity mood as regards style and color. Yet there were also occasional attempts at creativity that suggest the need for Italians to roll up their sleeves and move on.

"The fashion sector is one of Italy's excellences, with a positive balance of some 12 billion euros (about 15 billion U.S. dollars)," Milan-based Chamber of Fashion President Mario Boselli told Xinhua.

"In 2011, the turnover of the fashion system has increased by about 5.5 percent, more than the previously estimated 4 percent," he said, adding that such positive data were very important for the country's faltering economy.