It felt like Franca Sozzani, the recently passed Editor of Vogue Italia, was looking over Milan herself this fashion week. The season saw Italian designers doing what they to do best, creating fashion that is covetable and immaculately constructedat the same time. The principal themes from Milan this season were arguably nothing too fresh but echoed the sentiments of ongoing global trends like big volumes, ample striping and a lot of ornamentation. As former fashion editor and now a major fashion influencer, Anna Dello Russo puts it – Milanese trends are like Noah’s Ark, turning a bit of this and some of that, haphazardly putting it together. Is it a lack of good editing or just unapologetic indulgence?
Miuccia Prada is the real torchbearer of maximalizm but its comeback is all thanks to Gucci’s genius Director Alessandro Michele, who has successfully mastered the trend. This season was all about creating over the garbs. Save for Missoni’s pink pussycat hats, Milan managed to stay in a bubble of adornment, unlike their western friends who chose politics over everything. However, a big surprise were the multi-generational and multi-racial catwalks that were very out of character for Milan, but a welcome change nonetheless.
Here is a list of trends bearing the ‘Made in Italy’ tag with utmost pride envisioning a profitable future for the country in dire need of it!
Purple Piazza
Historically, the most elitist of all colours, purple is paving its way through ready to wear collections in shades ranging from deep plum to soft orchid. The colour is not essentially as prominent as primaries like red or yellow but it is in the race right behind S/S 2017’s pink to be the next big colour of the season. From Alberta Ferretti’s sheer gown to Bally’s brocade jacket and Marni’s pantsuit, purple was hard to miss.
Chockablock Prints
A country where designers are famed for their artful prints and multicolour stripes, it is relatively easy to foresee this trend. Nevertheless, no one could anticipate just how far designers will go in throwing an infinite number of prints and patterns on a single outfit and still miraculously make it work. Diesel Black Gold, Fausto Puglisi and Atticohad clean collections but a statement was clearly in the making via dresses that donned at least in three prints or more each.
Slits out Front
A style that is normally more apparent in summer collections is back with a bang for winter as well. Slits have been in vogue ever since Angelina Jolie popped that leg at the 2012 Oscars in her black Versace gown but this season’s slit stands right in the front and is finding its place in daytime clothing. Parading in woollen skirts that you could wear straight were models at Jil Sander, Marni as well as Max Mara.
Corduroy Continues
Seventies have been reigning over the fashion clouds for a few seasons and another by-product of the same is thick corduroy. Filling up the space between the sheen of velvet and the warmth of wool, soft pile cuts of corduroy were found singing in every designer’s heart this fashion week. The durable texture and suitability in work wear makes it a huge hit. Heavy corduroy sets were a sight to see at Trussardi in yellow, ErmannoScervino in powder blue and Prada in burnt orange.
Well-rounded
Have you reached the roundabout of life and are not sure where to head next? Fret not! Italian designers have just the right silhouettes for you. Facilitated by exaggerated bishop or cape sleeves and oversize shapes, designers have found the picture-perfect solution to looking curvy even without the obligatory curves. Ballooning silhouettes – our favourite style of the season was seen throughSportmax’s white sweater or Lucio Vanotti’s big sleeves or the puffer jacket at Tods.
Popping Polka
Polka dots are the most whimsical and flirtatious of prints but seeing the print party happening on most collections, polkas are shining through as the most wearable and grown-up look of the season. The sartorial specks were seen mostly in monochrome perfection referencing a retro mood yet formulating the ideal bridge between business and fun. A schoolgirl print was the look to beat as evident from Emporio Armani’s skirt suit or Antonio Marras’ wrap dress.
Befriending Orange
Every season comes with a fire colour that shows how colours can truly make or break an outfit. This season’s palette just might be extracted from a beautiful sunset thanks to the very many shades of orange we witnessed on the ramp. Maybe it is an admiration of the endearing sun or just wishing for a bad day to end but orange is gallantly walking the line between bright yellows and sultry reds. Most prominent in outerwear, Orange was unmissable in the coats at CerdricCharlier, Salvatore Ferragamo as well as Arthur Arbesser.
Maximum Mesh
After the booming rage of fishnet stockings apparent on both the runway and the street, acquaint yourself with a similar fabric taking over Milanese catwalks – glittery mesh. The trashy teen trend that was hot in the eighties and came back riding the athleisure movement is now making its move into ready to wear fashion in a more direct way. Beginning from the sparkly mesh bodysuit at Gucci to the gown laden with silver crystals at Dolce & Gabbana, Milan served up a week of twinkling glamour.
Nappa Leather
Leather in its softest avatar was quite the omnipresent trend at Milan fashion week. Generally associated with ’80s punk rock followers which were also evidently spread throughout the season, leather as a fabric took a very polished turn appearing in garments that looked regal and extremely grown up. A firmly fitted skirt suit at BottegaVeneta and Trussardi’s tan co-ordinates to Erika Cavallani’s loose jacket and wide trousers in blue, leather has never looked this comfortable.
Point of Embellishment
Catwalks in Milan are famous for inculcating a sense of joy and ample amount of razzmatazz into their fashion. Extravagance, whether it is to display nostalgia or just to exploit the moment to its fullest is a major theme this year. You cannot elementally talk about maximalist styles and leave the embellishments in their box. Started by Gucci with a storm and continued further on by designers like Dolce & Gabbana and Alberta Ferretti, from big throw downs to smaller bits respectively, embellishment was the key to upliftment in every collection.
