Like London before it, Milan Fashion Week returned with beautiful in-person shows, attended by many leading influencers and personalities and collections that encompassed high glamor and surefire commercial successes. Gucci showed up in town for the first time since February 2020, Prada included Kim Kardashian among its guests (a hint of a future collaboration?), and a red-haired Kendall Jenner walked the runway at Bottega Veneta as new creative director Matthieu Blazy presented his vision for the brand.
Giorgio Armani, who had canceled two events in Milan in January due to rising Covid-19 cases, held shows for both Emporio Armani and his namesake brand. Sunday’s final event was the only major show to pay tribute to Ukraine, with the designer sending models down a silent catwalk as “a mark of respect to those involved in the unfolding tragedy,” he explained on Instagram.
Elsewhere, however, the lack of visible solidarity, or any acknowledgment of Russia’s invasion, which began a day after the shows began, was perhaps the biggest shortcoming of the week. In his happy bubble, Milan felt a bit deaf considering the realities unfolding in Eastern Europe.
Below are more takeaways from the week-long fashion bonanza.
Big names, big contrasts
Fendi opened Milan Fashion Week. Credit: FABRIZIO MARTINEZ/FENDI
The Prada show was held inside the Deposito at Fondazione Prada. Credit: Prada
Kendall Jenner wore red hair for the Prada catwalk. Credit: Monica Feudi/Prada Donna
Key basics like white tank tops have been reimagined for a new audience, modeled here by Kaia Gerber. Credit: Monica Feudi/Prada Donna
With all the usual mainstays at court, including Prada, Fendi, Moschino, Armani, Versace and Dolce & Gabbana, Milan is back in its pre-Covid sheen. The ambitious lineup (there were 67 physical shows scheduled) provided a mix of styles, themes, and aesthetics.
Fendi opened the week with an elegant display of tweed and chiffon, plus Bella Hadid headlining the show and a bevy of influencers sitting front row. It was a collection of contrasts and archival references (creative director Kim Jones was inspired by the brand’s Spring-Summer 1986 and Fall-Winter 2000 designs), as well as “It” bags to go with the looks.
Contrast was also Prada’s watchword, where Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada deftly mixed the classics, from white tank tops to bomber jackets, with eye-catching tailored coats and delicately embroidered skirts.
At Max Mara, the brand’s signature teddy bear coat was reimagined in the form of oversized skirts, dresses and sweatpants and then featured alongside floor-length puffer jackets and balaclavas in a sort of street-meets-street style. with alpine slopes. It was a versatile and very wearable mix that worked.
viral scenery
Versace chose a moving and reflective catwalk. Credit: Carmine Conte/Versace
Dolce & Gabbana used a vibrant backdrop of a virtual cityscape. Credit: Monica Feudi
Glenn Martens, creative director of Diesel, presented a science fiction fantasy to Milan. Credit: Diesel
Metallic body paint and an inflatable stage design quickly made the show go viral. Credit: Diesel
The set designs were as elaborate as the clothes in many of this season’s shows.
Real-life Dolce & Gabbana models walked against a virtual backdrop of neon skyscrapers, scantily clad digital avatars and D&G graffiti. Diesel had giant inflatable dolls, dressed of course in the brand’s clothing, lined up on a red-hot runway in provocative poses. Jil Sanders opted for replicas of ancient Greek statues placed at the center of her set, while Donatella Versace chose a reflective catwalk with movable side panels, creating a play on optical illusions.
And then there was Gucci, welcoming guests to the ultimate trippy setup: a giant room with a black-and-white checkered floor and mirrored walls lit with purple lights.
However, the prize for the most interesting format should probably go to the relatively young brand Sunnei. Doing away with the traditional catwalk, the brand staged its show en plein air, on the outskirts of Milan, with what co-founders Simone Rizzo and Loris Messina described as a “performance within a performance.” The models came running, not walking, along one wall of an industrial building, while the audience, sitting on metal benches in front of them, was invited to watch the show in slow motion on their phones.
The models were left on the corner and debuted with the clothes running through the streets. Credit: Victor Boyko/Getty
It was a new version of the typical catwalk. Credit: Victor Boyko/Getty
new energy
While the heavyweights didn’t disappoint in terms of clothing, their casting choices did. Yes, there were racially diverse models, certainly a major change from just a few seasons before, but, for the most part, they remained slim and conventionally attractive.
Fortunately, the new Italian names offered attractive alternatives.
Brilliant newcomer Marco Rambaldi, in particular, put on one of the most talked about shows of the week with a bold runway show that was inclusive, provocative and genuinely funny. Entitled “New Post-Romantic Poetics,” it was streamed live on Maison Valentino’s Instagram account (as part of a partnership between Valentino and the organizers of Milan Fashion Week) and featured a variety of body types, fluid gender and a cast of non-professional models, many of whom identify as LGBTQ.
Design duo Luca Lin and Galib Gassanoff of Act N.1, another brand to watch out for in Milan’s recent fashion renaissance, chose trans people, older women and a young mother with her baby, among others.
Marco Rambaldi prioritized diverse casting in his daring show. Credit: Marcus Tondo
A celebrity filled affair
Whether it was Julia Fox in Diesel, Kim Kardashian in Prada, Julianne Moore in Bottega Veneta or Rihanna in Gucci, celebrities made a big comeback at Milan Fashion Week. Some of the events felt more like red carpet awards ceremonies than fashion shows, with hordes of people and paparazzi waiting outside every venue to catch a glimpse of A-list stars.
Julia Fox at the Diesel show in Milan. Credit: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty/Diesel
Kim Kardashian in the front row of the Prada catwalk. Credit: Pietro S. D’Aprano/Getty Images
gucci did it again
Gucci is no stranger to collaborations, having recently worked with the likes of Balenciaga and The North Face. But the partnership he featured in “Exquisite Gucci,” the title of his Fall-Winter show, could be his biggest commercial success yet. In collaboration with Adidas, the brand sent out models wearing giant leather berets, jackets and bags with mixes of the two brands’ logos, proving how good creative director Alessandro Michele is at his job: making the brand a harbinger of how great.
Get ready to see these designs on hypebeasts everywhere.
Gucci presented a collaboration with Adidas at Milan Fashion Week. Credit: Courtesy of Gucci
back to the office
Designers appeared to embrace the back-to-the-office trend that is gathering steam in some parts of the world, with tailored suits a recurring outfit option at Milan Fashion Week.
Suits with a twist were all over the runway this season, like this sequined Gucci number. Credit: Kevin Tachman
Suits made from herringbone fabric (pictured below this furry green coat) were showcased on the Bottega Veneta runway. Credit: Alessandro Lucioni
Gucci based an entire collection on it, introducing a range that included fitted and double-breasted styles, as well as a standout velvet tuxedo with crystal and sequin detailing. Bottega Veneta had a minimal version of the two-piece suit for men and women alike, while both Versace and Dolce & Gabbana opened their collections with a high-shouldered suit. Prada’s structural suit jackets were also on point.
sartorial escapism
Credit: Moschino/Marco Ovando
Camp was king at the Moschino show. Credit: Moschino/Marco Ovando
Bella Hadid in Moschino. Credit: Moschino/Marco Ovando
In a complete antithesis to suits and pretty dresses, Jeremy Scott’s Moschino delivered the week’s most surreal show and one of its most jacket collections to date. The delightfully extravagant lineup encompassed harp gowns and lampshade headpieces, grandfather clock-inspired gowns and skintight ensembles adorned with phrases like “Maid in Italy” and “Gilt Without Guilt.”
The Hadid sisters walked the runway: Gigi (pictured above) closed the show in a spectacular gold gown with a sweeping tulle train and matching gloves with gold leaves wrapped around her arms. But it was Scott himself who made the most striking entrance, as he came out to take his bow in a red astronaut suit.
Featured Image: Gigi Hadid and Jeremy Scott at the Moschino show.
Source: www.cnn.com