In Milan, Lushness and Severity

That, at any rate, is one explanation for the lush throughline that permeated key catwalks, looking a tad overfamiliar in the contemporary vein. Close up, this season had pieces owning a certain severity of their own, using light layers, crinkled hems, washed textiles, fine cottons and easy pieces meant for do-it-yourself ensembles, all with a slouchy, cool attitude. Sweet. That, of course, continues to make Milan a member of the minimalist tribe of avant garde fashion — but, interestingly, without the avantgard-ness. Milan needs to edit: cutting it to half of the total number of shows would have double the season’s impact. But on the whole, Spring 2024 hit the mark. 

At Fendi, Kim Jones took a gentle, feminine approach to the quotidian by crafting a quiet confidence through ease: there were enough pickings here for girls who like to collage together their own romantic city-like style.

Photos courtesy of Fendi 

On the other hand, to keep attention coming from a traditional perspective, Prada kept building the character of its collection into a distinctive personal signature, that of Mario Prada, a traveler, with a deep intellectual curiosity who would journey around the globe to source precious items to enrich everyday life with a lick of polish. What epitomizes more polish, though, is relative. Prada likes to play with volume through details, and superfine organza and gazar gave the impression — intentionally? unintentionally? — that proportion play is a huge touchpoint in a Spring setting.

Photos courtesy of Prada

Decidedly substantial was Marco Rambaldi’s latest outing. “It’s precious,” the designer said on the day of the show, explaining how empowerment and emancipation played a key role in his Spring outing, amid the rigid societal constructs imposed by the world at large. “The body is a fundamental aspect of my design vision, and textures such as lace which caress it are like a second skin, in particular, lingerie acted as a portrayal of a freedom I want people to sense within my clothes.” But in the arena of freedom, what’s the purpose of fashion? 

Photos courtesy of Marco Rambaldi

“Having fun and playing all around,” said Roberto Cavalli’s creative director, Fausto Puglisi, who unleashed a conundrum of skin-tight toppers and flared pants that had a far-from-poignant, confusionary verve that worked its way into dense natural motifs that climbed up the textures.

It was a welcome change, then, to find a youthful frivolity in the styling of the collections of MSGM’s Massimo Giorgetti and Nicola Brognano’s Blumarine, adorned with primary-colored tints and abstract prints that had a lightened up tone rich with structure as past outings. To wit, in Giorgetti’s work, that was ever present in the vibrant prints and gentle fabric gatherings at the hip, coupled with knee-high socks and shameless slippers which, when thrown together, layered willy-nilly. He worked a classically artsy vibe, referencing The Victoria and Albert Museum’s tartan exhibition and calling upon architectural shapes to infect his work. Sounds heavy, but when put into catwalk context it looked occasionally compelling and, dolefully, dull. Like much of what was on display, that mix did not quite win the race.

Photos courtesy of BOSS

Alberta Ferretti’s collection was on the one hand pragmatic, on the other delicate, but both could account to one case in point: seduction. More often than not, Ferretti’s journey opened with fresh cotton shirts and trousers enhanced by the rhythm of bold stripes on light blue backgrounds. These were accompanied by suits airing wide trousers and constructed jackets, where silhouettes are fluid and vertical, either very short or very long: a key characteristic that emphasized convertibility and ample wearability. A view that gained a more realistic, pared-down manner at N21, where amid the rigor, pieces stood out — particularly embossed chiffons that added an overall sense of levity. “I have no fear of using and processing clichés: for me Napoli is not an experience, it’s my home town, representing my origins,” opined Alessandro Dell’Acqua of his recent collection, specifying that, “It’s upon my own supply of knowledge of this city where everything overlaps that I built the fanciful vision of an airy light upbeat collection. I set together aristocratic and popular souls, culture and carnality, false morality and bold natural sensuality.”

A commercially appetible tenor that devoted to a refined gamut of workwear offerings at BOSS, including utilitarian working jackets with corset-like structured bodices that succeeded at modernizing the label’s references to a younger market, detaching the overly strict codes they held in a previous instance. “This season’s show was such a great, empowering way to feel the BOSS style both on the catwalk and on myself,” Gigi Hadid told me backstage right after the show, explaining how she “felt an awesome energy for having walked.” Per usual, there was an emphasis on liberal young tailoring here, and the smoked gray two-pieces worn with black added a smart touch.

Photos courtesy of Gucci

A touch that went on a hot pursuit of minimalist codes at Gucci, which saw the debut of the house’s new Creative Director, Sabato de Sarno, with a new vest that points out to a canvas of quintessential volumes that are nothing short of traditional. Season after season, Gucci flouted out the modish, projecting a scope of innovation-led thinking and strategically-thought showmanship. At Gucci, all the extravagance is usually tempered by the maximalist-inspired tailoring and hyperbolic details that were hallmarks of the brand. Now, the “defiant tradition” has acquired a newfound gaze, which shone through less than the aforementioned, but it will perhaps work in a much more successful way. Gucci is not the brand you go to for a simple button-down. Nope, because the real deal at hand here are clothes that inspire a cultish following from people who don’t fear to wear those very properties.

Photos courtesy of Bottega Veneta

And on those, Milan — plus the meticulously-crafted shapes offered by Bottega Veneta’s Mathieu Blazy  — delivered. “I wanted to incorporate sculptural details mixed with a very du-jour feel in my work,” said the trailblazing designer Maximilian Davis, 28, who currently helms Ferragamo and, in turns, fashions garments that play with the art of conceal and reveal. There’s a sweetly intoxicating profusion of elegance in Davis’ world: be the long kaftans anchored by chunky hardware, or the longline garb scattered in flouncy volumes. “It’s about having a sense of ease and effortlessness, playing with the everyday pieces but adding a touch of grace to elevate them to new levels,” continued Davis. All in all, the wonderful thing about Milan is that the garments always make you think, see, feel and learn something out of the ordinary, because clothes have as much distinctive handiwork as they do innovation.

Photos courtesy of Ferragamo