Sporty, maximal, and leather-obsessed. Milan Fashion Week hit all loud luxury’s favourite notes, including uninhibited colour, curvaceous tailoring, and an undeniably Italian attitude towards evening glamour and everyday allure.
The week at a glance
The month of designer debuts hit its stride in Milan, with the mononymous Demna’s first studio-supported collection for Gucci headlining proceedings. Dropping a lookbook on the Gucci Instagram at the close of London Fashion Week, it was clear the label under Demna’s signature dry, self-deprecating humour had turned to storytelling to recapture its dwindling audience. Titled La Famiglia, the collection spoke to the brand’s outrageous caricatures and red carpet opulence, with Tom Ford-esque tailoring and leather pieces in a tight edit of 37 looks.
The Italian house then held a screening of a short film for the collection in Milan and New York, directed by Spike Jonze and Halina Reijn, and starring Demi Moore, amongst other Hollywood stars. With sales down 25% in July, it was a smart move to reignite positive chatter and desirability around the flailing label — and have the collection available shortly for customers to shop for a limited time.
Simone Bellotti was next, unveiling his first collection for Jil Sander. His debut for the storied German label featured all the hallmarks of Sander’s minimal style from the late 90s, but without the heavy nostalgia. Sporty pencil skirts, shrunken knits, gauzy dresses, strategic cut-outs, and elongated oxfords are set to take Jil Sander’s new era comfortably into the future.
Next, Dario Vitale for Versace, the first non-family member to helm the brand, and Donatella Versace’s successor. Vitale, a Miu Miu alum, leaned into Gianni Versace’s early 80s garish-as-glamour impulses with an unabashed attempt at freeing the Versace woman from Donatella’s signature explosive dresses and razor-sharp silhouettes. This appeared as muscle tanks, colour blocking, and mismatched layers. The intentionally chaotic turn-out was amplified in the styling, with trouser zips and buttons left open and undone.
Finally, Louise Trotter stepped up to the plate for Bottega Veneta. From her years at Carven and Lacoste, Trotter’s skill is first-class craftsmanship, and for Bottega, she wove the brand’s iconic intrecciato into various wearable iterations, and championed cocooned shoulders and feathery bursts of upcycled fibreglass as a key silhouette.
The debuts were almost upstaged by the arrival of The Devil Wears Prada 2 star, Meryl Streep, in full Miranda Priestly get-up, alongside Stanley Tucci as Nigel Kipling, who took their front-row seats at the Dolce & Gabbana show, straight across from Anna Wintour herself.
Meanwhile, purveyor of Italian style and exquisite tailoring, the late Giorgio Armani’s final collection was an emotional tribute to the designer, with his key muses from over the years seated in the audience. And, in a dramatic end to the week, it was announced that Silvia Venturini Fendi will leave her post as creative director for Fendi, sending the rumour mill into overdrive once again.
Runway highlights
Continuing on the thread of Prada’s SS26 Menswear show, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons tunnelled into a future where clothes are required to continually adapt to the changing status of the environment and technology. So what exactly does this look like? In a world of information overload, the collection was not intended to focus on any one garment, nor an idea of clothing hierarchy.
To the outside eye, this could be interpreted as simply ‘anything goes’, however, the off-body bras and the skirts hanging from suspender-style straps were intentionally meant to detach the pieces from their traditional constructions, delivering an experiment in supreme lightness and freedom through clothing.
Where other designers didn’t go quite as deep conceptually, the idea of freedom remained. Versace’s incessant mix-and-matching and leaning into classically tacky cuts and silhouettes, The Attico left bras and underwear exposed beneath too-tight low-slung pencil skirts and loose cardigans, No.21 playfully layered knits on dresses on trousers, and KNWLS debuted in Milan with an intriguing, outer space-adjacent collaboration with Nike — a far cry from the neutral, streamlined NikeSKIMS collection which dropped the same week.
On the other side of the coin, clean, nipped-in sportswear and sophisticated lived-in tailoring were essential to the week’s aesthetic. Think lightweight utility jackets at Sportsmax and Emporio Armani, Max Mara’s halter-neck tailored vests, smooth, crisp leather pieces at Boss and Jil Sander, and the wool and organza tracksuits, and athletic perforated pieces at Fendi.
The trends
Lashings of leather, bold, unbridled colour, and styling that signalled wardrobe freedom, these were the prevailing trends from Milan Fashion Week SS26.
Summer leather
Not the usual fabric for the summer climate, however, several brands created highly desirable leather pieces that looked just as easy and laid-back as linens and lightweight silks. Bottega Veneta’s black leather dresses fell casually off the shoulder, while Jil Sander’s signature double-face coats were crafted in an ultra-fine leather. The exceptional craftsmanship at Tod’s rendered buttery-soft napa into handkerchief tops and skirts, and classic cotton summer stripes were actually crafted from applied leather.
Full saturation
With the beginnings of a neon pink and acid green return at London Fashion Week lingering in the air, Milan decided to take things up a notch with full-throttle colour, from the biggest houses to the usually more subdued brands. Prada took lime green, lemon yellow, and orange to task in spliced fabrics and truncated silhouettes, while Fendi played with hot pinks, reds, and sky blue. Giorgio Armani’s regal navy and purple hues glittered and glistened, a reminder of Armani’s eternal style and the arresting power of colour.
Soft armour
Hints of Sarah Burton for Givenchy, perhaps? Rounded, cocooning shoulder silhouettes were peppered through the more tailored collections, notably at Bottega Veneta, Sportsmax, and Jil Sander, where they offset the waists for a curvaceous, powerfully feminine silhouette. KNWLS’s biker jacket versions offered a sense of protection, like softly sculpted armour encasing the body.
Fringed and frayed
Much like the feathers of New York Fashion Week, flapper-style fringing and frayed edges have carried over into another season. However, it was Bottega Veneta’s sweaters that took the newest stance on the look, with bright shades of orange, red, and blue made from recycled fiberglass. “It has the feeling of fur, and it moves like glass,” Trotter said. “And it’s been tailored and constructed so it follows where you normally have a shoulder line.”
State of undress
The Attico, No.21
Bandeaus were a key fixture of SS25, and the undergarment appears to be gaining popularity across the Milanese brands. Often with loose, open cardigans and shirts, or off-shoulder layers, the look presents as a devil-may-care selection for those opposed to the more conservative tailoring trend we’ve seen of late. Dolce & Gabbana continued on their pyjama trajectory, Etro’s bohemian bandeaus sat perfectly beneath bedazzled western jackets and shirts, and Jil Sander’s peek-a-boo bras were a humorous nod against the collection’s sharp minimalism.
Planning your next assortment? Catch up on FW25's top trends from New York, London, Milan and Paris.
Image credit: WWD, Tagwalk
