Milan Fashion Week: SS19
If London is the rebellious anarchic teenager outfitted in neon clad, Milan is the refined mother who knows best. In contrast to the previous week capturing a youthful electric vibrancy, the Italian fashion capital offered the age old Bottega Veneta mantra of living “quiet luxury”. It is here and now where the preference for athleisure starts to fold, and we turn our focus towards a subtler luxe-leisure; luxurious in quality and craft, leisurely in fit and formality. As a whole, Milan proposed clothing for the career woman; ambitious, driven. To her, craving attention on social media popularity seems desperate - her eyes are drawn to the DOW index and skimming through her brimming portfolio of investments. She is an adult who deserves grown up collections.Appealing to such refined taste would be Salvatore Ferragamo which added considerable oomph to beige, drawing a parallel to Richardo Tisci’svery beige Burberry debut. The Ferragamo palate was however energised with punches of regal aquamarines, pink sapphire and ruby reds. Creative director Paul Andrew elevated repurposed staples, such as the classic button down shirt pairing it with flowy leather Bermuda shorts and thoroughly impressed with the footwear - of course - with sculptured wedges, slouchy wicker boots and sandy fabric sandals. Tailored crisp and clean suiting felt new and exciting due to a degree of coolness extended through loose structures.
Max Mara also expressed muted hues, exhibiting its famous coats in all shades of nude, as well as a cheery parade of sunshine yellows emphasising the cross-generational appeal of their iconic product. Real clothes for real women was also a point made by Alberta Ferretti, although with IT girls like Bella, Gigi and Kendall wearing t-shirts and camis, her target audience is clearly of a younger demographic. After three seasons for Jil Sander, Lucie and Luke Meier proved successful with a mostly mono-chrome collection based on a sculptural slouch; architectural in cut and refreshingly unpretentious. All of these labels captured a sense of refined reality, fashion for the street; not lacking on “the dream” of fashion. Instead of fantasy these collections sparked personal and professional aspiration, which is indeed - to use a very overused term- “empowering”.
Equal to the refined narrative, Milan also proposed a natural tone; one that is not edited with Photoshop or FaceTune so to speak. Francesco Risso did this very well at Marni where the humble imperfections made the collection not only endearing but authentic. The frayed hems, the strokes of paint on skirts and jackets, the colourful collage pasted across an asymmetrical midi dress all spoke to our great desire for the human element- which is increasingly overshadowed by artificial intelligence and machines. A backlash against perfection- hallelujah! Also exhibiting an organic, natural tone was Missoni, which celebrated its 65th anniversary. To commemorate the occasion, Angela Missoni sent out one of her strongest collections to date, composed of delicate gossamer-light pieces. They were physical strands of fresh air, soft and innocent and sweet as they lovingly wrapped the models like a grandmother’s embrace. Similar to Missoni, Giorgio Armani offered a collection also drenched in blues and forms of lightness, albeit with a masculine edge expected from his loyal consumers. Natural ease was also apparent at ETRO, inspired by Bruce Brown’s The Endless Summer, the 1964 surf-cult hit. It radiated the ultimate cool girl vibe, personified literally by female pro surfers, Victoria Vergara and Maribel Koucke who, board in hand, waves in hair were flawless. The collection referenced the skate and surf culture in California as well as the denim and calligraphy of Japan and the Pacific. The paisley prints and blend of coastal culture brought in the sunshine.
On the subject of cool girls - enter Miuccia Prada. Prada continues its winning streak creatively and financially, having exceeded analyst expectations by a 9 per cent rise in revenues to €1.54 bn in the six months to June 30. For this season Prada explored the complexities of the bourgeoisie. She injected radical youth into tame ladylike classics; take a knee length A-line skirt and make it transparent to reveal underwear, a mod Babydoll dress in black leather or a printed bodysuit remixed with a plunging neckline synched with a belt under the breasts. The underlying meaning pointed to a polarised society based on extremes of the political right and left. The few splashes of Prada’s acidic colours also seeped elsewhere such as at a neon infiltrated Bluemarine, the colourful doodle collection at Moschino and at Versace, who served a particularly inspiring tangy green amongst oodles of printed floral layering.
All encompassing trends are almost impossible to discern nowadays, however I will say that Milan took a more organic tone, it was more refined and modest, it stood for real women today on the street and at the office interested in aspiration. Even at uber-glam houses Versace and Cavalli, there was less La Dolce Vita sexiness and instead a more pragmatic approach- great style doesn’t need to lack utility. Milan brought a powerful whisper of decadence, suggesting that fashion forward women today do not want to hide behind a curtain of shrill colour. The start to a new age in minimalism? The dawn of anti-logomania?
