Did Massimo Alba just invent the ideal garment for attending January fashion weeks, when show goers straddle chilly weather, long car rides and warm show venues?

“This can function like a coat when you travel, but you can also wear it as a jacket,” street-style star Nick Wooster remarked as he shrugged on what Alba described as “in between a pea coat and a double-breasted jacket.”

Wooster’s, in muddy brown, 700-gram felted cashmere, looked terrific over his aquamarine sweater and full-legged pants, melting on his shoulders as if he’d owned it for ages.

“I like to find a balance between modern tailoring and contemporary outerwear,” is how Alba summed up his practice, steeped in a “sentimental attitude in terms of colors and shapes.”

Inspecting the designer’s latest collection, displayed on racks in his Milan store, felt more like looking through someone’s closet than shopping, given the subdued colors, relaxed shapes and lived-in patinas, like the brushed cashmere sweater Alba was wearing in a mesmerizing amethyst shade.

His press notes cited an ambition to create “a wardrobe of clothes that become friends,” and you understand exactly what he means, without any cringe.

Alba has a cult following for his quiet, considered and sophisticated clothes, a healthy slate of wholesale clients worldwide, and five boutiques in Italy that service men across several generations.

But he said he’s ready to take his independent brand to the next level and take on an investor to ramp up retail expansion, eyeing New York, London and Paris for future Massimo Alba boutiques. For sure, his bankers can tout a hero item in the making for next season.