Beginning with Prada and ending with a surprise Gucci protest, the Milan Fashion Week 2019, September had a interesting red carpet. Designers indulged their artistic inspirations as the relationships between art, lifestyle, craft and fashion merged again this season. At Moschino, Jeremy Scott was in the midst of his Picasso period, with painterly brushstrokes paying tribute to his icon’s work. Never one to shy away from statement, Scott featured model Cara Taylor inside a giant gilt frame in his finale.
While Miuccia Prada chose to avoid fashion in favor of timeless style, Gucci’s Alessandro Michele made a controversial statement with a series of straitjackets. But in the end, it was Donatella Versace who had the party of the week with her Friday night slot.
Revisiting one of her own most significant fashion contributions, Versace had Jenifer Lopez on the runway wearing a 2020 version of the jungle green dress, the singer wore to the 2000 Grammys.Top Shows of the Milan Spring-Summer Fashion Week held this September are hereby
Fendi
Silvia Fendi for her first solo ready-to-wear show since creative director Karl Lagerfeld’s death in February, showcased a giant light installation at Fendi HQ, representing a new era for the brand.
Gucci
Alessandro Michele’s Gucci show was a fashion moment to remember. Interested by the notion of humanity and uniforms, Michele sent models down a conveyor belt runway wearing variations of white straitjackets, which the designer said were “the most extreme version of a uniform dictated by society and those who control it.”
The move sparked protest from one of the show’s models, Ayesha Tan Jones, who held her hands on the runway, to reveal a note written on her palms: “Mental health is not fashion.” The brand confirmed the straitjacket-inspired items will not be made available for sale, but were designed “to represent how through fashion, power is exercised over life.” The range also featured a number of colorful items that Gucci designed as an “antidote” to the white utilitarian garments.
Bottega Veneta
At Bottega Veneta, Daniel Lee referenced Matisse in his new soon-to-be-cult monkey and pineapple prints. Leather is the brand’s calling card and it dominated, with paper thin dresses, boiler suits, coats and lightweight waterproof anoraks showcased on a catwalk of giant Intrecciato (the brand’s signature weave) enclosed under Perspex. Stealing the show was a trio of sequined cowl-neck dresses in tomato red, pale blue and gold, styled nonchalantly with an update of those kitten heels that proved so popular last season.
Jil Sander
At Jil Sander, designers Luke and Lucie Meier’s conceptual designs incorporated macramé, raffia, crochet and basket weave appliqué carving a niche: the minimal aesthetic that Jil Sander is known for that interplayed with craftsmanship to create a softer edge. Artisanal psychedelic marble-prints were juxtaposed with sharp tailored jackets.
Embroideries came in raffia, and paper and beads embellished shirts, shirt-dresses, and defined shouldered gowns. Highlights were the harmonious fusing of the severe and delicate detailing, tassels on structured coats and a straight-fronted shirt dress pleated at the back.
Prada
At Prada, which was one of the 32 fashion brands to sign up to the Fashion Pact last month and has committed to using regenerated nylon made from waste materials, head designer Miuccia Prada advocated a timeless rather than trend-led wardrobe. “Simplicity is the first and most important thing, (more) than the clothes .(these are) timeless clothes you don’t throw away,” she said after the show.
Colville
At Colville, recycled boat sails had been made into deliciously crunchy wind breakers. Colville for spring/summer 2020, headed up by the former Vogue fashion director Lucinda Chambers and her Marni collaborators Molly Molloy and Kristin Forss – continued to do what it does best: make beautiful, effortlessly cool clothes that can be worn with everything you already own.
Inspired by art, design and real life, these guys are in it for the long-haul, just like their clothes. Easy nylon shrugs (which will work with jeans and an LBD) and tactile raincoats which crunch to the touch were highlights here.
Max Mara
This season, the main inspirations for Max Mara’s creative director, Ian Griffiths were the Killing Eve women. He took the wardrobe of a female spy for his inspiration, opening with a troupe of Villanelle lookalikes in three-piece tailoring, charcoal grey and Prince of Wales check. It was followed up with a classic spy trenchcoat, strap and pocket-detailing taken from gun holsters – which came in pastel hues. The killer touches were silk tiered bias-cut skirts worn with fitted jackets and strappy backed evening dresses.
Sportmax
Beneath a canopy of billowing sails, Sportmax’s show opened with fluid lines and sail-inspired trapeze dresses. Capturing the mood of holidays by the sea, minus the obvious nautical traits, subtle references came in the detailing. Light, floaty dresses and blouses were edged with leather at the neck or cuff, while rope drew in the waist – and stitching defined silhouettes. Tailoring, cut loose to create movement, felt fresh when layered over a woven leather vest and worn with shorts. An eye-catching leather pea coat and faded knitwear made you long for your next holiday.
Tod’s
There was a lot to like at Tod’s this season: the buttoned ribbed tabards, elasticated leather dresses, board shorts worn with bum bags and wear-anywhere black-pleated satin dresses. Elsewhere, ponyskin came woven into leather and swirled incisions on leather bridged the gap between traditional craftsmanship and modernity. Kitten-heeled slingbacks had an easy chic. Considered and elegant, the collection made for excellent workwear inspiration.
No.21
This was Alessandro Dell’Acqua’s first show of men’s and womenswear. One of his big inspirations was Yves Saint Laurent’s 1971 Scandal collection. It opened with 70s prints that appeared with rounded sculptural sleeves in silk faille; others were light and billowing in chiffon. The men’s sharp suiting was a reflection of the all-over prints, given a modern twist when worn with slouchy shorts and slash sleeved oversized knits. Details throughout saw slashed sleeves exposing skin, asymmetric tops revealing shoulders and wrapped skirts half closed at the waist.
Emporio Armani
Giorgio Armani was in full flow with a palette of soft tones: languid and wonderfully slouchy crumpled velvet suiting showcased the designer at his best. Sitting alongside the louche tailoring were looks that experimented with proportion and volume: a tulle trapeze dress layered over cropped flares, generous dresses worn with big bows tied at the neck or worn with loose-tailored jackets. It was a collection full of little gems – a sage crumpled-velvet jacket, perfect with jeans or a dress. The finale closed with silvery crystal evening wear which sparkled under the spotlights.
Milan’s designers may not have had pressure from the likes of Extinction Rebellion to address its carbon footprint, as London had the week before, but many took their moment in the spotlight to address the issue of sustainability.
