Following the exciting presentations at London fashion week, the next stop on the Fall/ Winter runway schedule is Milan, Italy, home to countless iconic and household brand names in fashion. This season, Milan welcomed new residencies of creative directors who debuted their designs for well known fashion houses like Moschino and Blumarine as well as featuring collections from beloved designers like Kim Jones and Miuccia Prada.
Milan, known for its incredible architecture and one of the foremost design capitals in the world is a major destination during the runway season, attracting tourists and international fashion lovers. As home to one of the largest luxury fashion economies in the world, and birthplace of numerous historic fashion houses – the trends that are showcased here inevitably trickle down to create uniforms for the masses.
As the fashion industry shifts and is democratized to be made accessible by media landscapes like TikTok and Instagram – the people who consume fashion content and critiques expand as well, introducing a new demographic into runway culture and consumption. In response to this, technology has been at the forefront of innovation in the industry and digital runway shows were also included in the fashion week calendar.
A steady balance between new technology and historic technique is the core of what makes Milan Fashion Week so exciting, and with that being said – here are this season’s highlights.
Diesel
Glenn Martens has made it a point to make Diesel accessible to the masses for some seasons now, offering open invitations to the masses and opening his runway presentations to invite transparency into the industry. This year he took this concept of inclusivity to another level by live streaming behind the scenes for 4 days before his runway presentation in Milan. Models walked the runway surrounded by screens filled with the faces of hundreds of people who registered to participate in the show. The unisex show was filled with Diesel staples like manipulated leather and denim pieces, including braided knitwear, intense layering, faux fur pieces, and sheer panels which appeared like burned edges to garments. Martens continues to create spectacles through his collections and further push the importance of community in fashion by creating luxury design that is accessible to all.
Fendi
Kim Jones has delivered many an iconic collection since his entrance to the 99 year-old fashion house, staying true to his muse, Fendi heiress Delfina Fendi – who also acts as the houses artistic director of jewelry. The collection was filled with strategic asymmetry, exquisite draping, color blocking and dynamic silhouettes which borrowed from Japanese inspiration. Polkadots added a playful touch to the sophisticated and chic pieces, bright layered garments stood out among the mainly earthy and muted palette which provided contrast and fun pops of color throughout.
DSquared2
The two great minds behind Dsquared2, twin designers Dean and Dan Caten took personal inspiration when casting their runway show, filled with duality – 24 sets of twin models came down the runway featuring day-and-night versions of the over the top maximalist styled looks. The campy unisex collection was fun-filled and balanced polished aesthetics with outdoor wear and grungey looks which featured fur, flannel and athleticwear. The duo emerged to take their bow following suit in the show’s concept – Dan in sleek denim trousers and a sheer chiffon shirt and Dean alongside him in a plunging black corset dress and bright red hairdo.
Prada
Vogue’s March cover girl Miuccia Prada took inspiration from bows this season, using the girlish applique as a symbol of youth on more mature silhouettes that referenced vintage silhouettes. As the masters of ‘ugly-chic’ Prada and Simons played with nostalgia, sending lettermans jackets, sweater sets and cocktail dresses down the runway accessorized with gloves, textured hats and clutch bags envisioned in modern textiles. Bows appeared subtly as belts and fasteners, making a more obvious appearance on dresses which were covered in the applique, the symbol of youth being repurposed on traditionally more mature garments was refreshing and oh so Prada.
Gucci
Following the relatively recent exit of beloved Gucci designer Alessandro Michele, Sabato De Sarno has slowly but surely built the foundation for his vision for Gucci. The italian designer presented his latest womenswear collection last week full of wardrobe essentials, namely outerwear and gowns of varying lengths and silhouettes. The collection leaned into stiff construction to create geometric shapes with jackets and coats, moving into leggy silhouettes that utilized sheer textiles and shortened hemlines on dresses.
Marni
Marni returned to the italian runway after several international shows including Tokyo and Paris. Francesco Risso noted this collection was conceptualized without the typical visual references like moodboards and instead was created instinctually by returning to the basics of design and stripping back the creative process to simplify and deconstruct garments to essentials. With an emphasis on triangular silhouettes seen on jackets and dresses, there were many fur looks which ranged from bags to full jackets and even shoes which played into animalistic and primal references which also appeared in mixed animal printed garments.
Moschino
Moschino welcomed a new creative director following the exit of beloved designer Jeremy Scott and the tragic death of newly appointed creative director Davide Renne. Adrian Appiolaza assumed the role in January, following an impressive career in the industry – the Argentinian designer leaned into Franco Moschino’s design legacy for his debut collection, balancing the campy characters with more wearable everyday garments. The unisex collection opened with a classic trench coat and long string of pearls, the model clutching a paper grocery bag filled with bread and produce. The collection explored graphics like a large question mark, smiley faces, peace signs and polka dots which brought a playful touch to a more serious Moschino collection.
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