Milan Fashion Week did not disappoint, living up to the high expectations set for when it returned to IRL displays.
The Milan Fashion Week shows revealed a plethora of fresh ideas and sartorial perspectives, from the season’s big debut at Bottega Veneta to the up-and-coming labels to look out for.
To see every major event in Milan, scroll down.
Max Mara
Sophie Taeuber-Arp, an architect, dancer, textile designer, painter, and sculptor, was honoured by Max Mara this season as “a creative polymath whose oeuvre was overlooked for decades, and is now rediscovered… a modernist who invested even the most everyday objects with a sense of magic and mystery,” according to the house.
With an appearance from both Hadid sisters, the collection was jam-packed with pieces so desirable you could visibly see editors lusting after the looks as they passed them on the runway. The label’s iconic Teddy material was extended from its coat into shorts, skirts and dresses; tailoring was slouchy and loose and the coats enveloped you in a big (impossibly chic) hug.
Versace
Donatella Versace went all out in a season full of corsets and bustiers, building each garment in her 60-look presentation around them. They were incorporated into blazers and full-length leather coats, as well as wiggle dresses and puffa jackets, and more traditionally, on their own in candied satin colours.
Versace explained that she wanted her designs to be built on “contrast and tension—like an elastic band pulled tight and about to snap back with a build-up of energy.” That mood, she remarked, was irresistible to her, just as this collection would be to her multigenerational fan base.
Moschino
Jeremy Scott, fashion’s funny man, brought a big smile to our faces during the Moschino show at Milan Fashion Week. The designer’s first physical presentation in Italy since the pandemic was pure escapism — a surrealist take on Beauty And The Beast that made us feel like we were seeing a live-action remake.
In a collection that comprised a lampshade worn as a hat, a garment fashioned to appear like a huge harp, and cutlery-inspired bodices, models walked in the most dramatic of ways to operatic sounds. Lumiere on stage singing Be Our Guest was the only thing missing.
Prada
It’s no wonder that the fashion industry is infatuated with Euphoria. The cast are frow regulars, and now Prada wants a piece of the Euphoria pie by casting model and actor Hunter Schafer in the brand’s autumn/winter 2022 show. Hunter Schafer introduced what will certainly be the season’s sell-out garment (for generation Euphoria and beyond) alongside modern-day supermodels Kendall Jenner and Kaia Gerber: a white tank top with Prada’s iconic triangle emblem fastened in the centre. It’s no longer about the Prada headband; instead it’s all about the tank.
Bottega Veneta
For the past few years, Bottega Veneta has topped editor wishlists. There was little the company could do wrong, from the cushioned cassette to the now-famous Bottega green. However, it was reported at the end of last year that creative director Daniel Lee will be stepping down after a brief term, putting former Maison Margiela designer Matthieu Blazy in charge.
Blazy delivered a collection that stayed true to the house standards while infusing new vitality into the designs — sequin dresses with high shine boots stood alongside the more pared-back style we’d come to anticipate from Bottega. But, perhaps most significantly for Bottega (and our September wishlists), Blazy gave us good, good accessories.
Giorgio Armani
In light of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine prompting a lot of discussion, what is fashion’s role in a crisis like this? How does fashion acknowledge this moment in history? What is the appropriate tone to take? That tone arrived in the shape of a silent runway for Giorgio Armani, the 87-year-old designer.
The Giorgio Armani presentation began with a voice reading a message in English from the designer: “My decision not to use any music in the show was made as a sign of respect to the people affected by the evolving tragedy.” His label was the first to cancel a show due to Covid-19 concerns in February 2020, and two years later, he is the first to speak out against another historical moment.
Roberto Cavalli
Maria Sophie of Bourbon, the last Queen of Naples, was the inspiration for Roberto Cavalli‘s AW22 collection. “In the heart of seduction, individualism and such total freedom, you can even play with cage dresses,” the show notes read. “Cavalli’s magical cut-out thus becomes scaffolding made up of fabric bars that are assembled and disassembled on the body with a gesture of feminine self-affirmation.”
Fendi
“The best way to explore the Fendi archives is through the Fendi wardrobes,” said creative director Kim Jones of the AW22 collection.
Jones was inspired by Delfina Delettrez, who walked into the Roman offices wearing a printed shirt from her mother’s wardrobe, and dug into the house’s archives to uncover spring/summer 1986, which was a celebration of Karl Lagerfeld’s enthusiasm for the aesthetic movement. “These are collections which, although they come from the past, feel very now.”
Jones reinterpreted and matched 1986’s geometric designs and sartorial styling with autumn/winter 2000’s lightness. Jones describes the collection as “a wardrobe designed for every aspect of a woman’s life, for every generation.” “And it all started with Delfina.”
Diesel
“The power of Diesel is that we talk to so many people,” said Glenn Martens, creative director of the brand’s inaugural runway show, which he sought to be disruptive, seductive, fluid, and fun. “We can push sustainability and innovation, and we can push experimentation and concept. It’s pure Diesel – you need put it on in two seconds and live your life.”
Dolce & Gabbana
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana reinterpreted their hallmark Sicilian sartorial standards for the metaverse age. It showed up in their classic black LBD with an appliqued satin corset, retro-inspired jackets with supersized shoulders, and small dresses with exaggerated puff-ball sleeves.
The textiles selected reflected this sensation of amplification. “Iridescent surfaces, crocodile prints, shiny materials with eco fur, laminated, new type of jerseys and nylon are all examples of materials that have been taken to extremes,” they relayed.
Gucci
It’s been two years since Alessandro Michele put Gucci on the runway at Milan Fashion Week, and he’s back with a season-defining partnership with Adidas. The sportswear label’s signature stripes went down the sides of trousers, around the body of Gucci logo suits, and around the belts of smocked dresses. Looks were completed with logo’d baseball hats, deer stalkers, and water polo caps that are likely to be a wish list must, referencing the brand’s hero red and green from the 1990s.