MILAN, Italy (AP) — On the second day of Milan Fashion Week, designers focused on predominantly womenswear looks for next fall and winter.
On the first day of revealing exposed skin, the second day provided alternatives for women to increase or decrease how much they exhibit.
Some highlights from Thursday’s shows, which were largely womenswear previews for next autumn and winter, on the second day of Milan Fashion Week:
PRADA PLAYS WITH COUTURE ON A DAILY BASIS.
Brides and nurses both receive their due in Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’ latest Prada collection.
Caring was the uniting theme, which the designers argue is in limited supply in a world where wars continue to rage.
According to Prada, the couple sought to emphasise modest, practical looks rather than “excessive glamour.” “Beauty may be found in daily things,” she continued.
A white uniform garment embraced the body, upgrading something simple usually found in a workman’s store with couture embellishments. While the stiff collar, button-down front, and waist pockets suggest a uniform, elements like the trailing train are more form than utility.
“Why not give attention to items that people wear in real life?” Simons suggested backstage, rather than relegating uniforms to workplace stores.
In contrast, the designers plan a series of white skirts, ranging from tiny to flouncy and embellished with 3D floral details, as wedding attire, changing a one-day celebration piece into a quotidian affair. The white skirts were coupled with strong pullovers and jackets to emphasise their new practicality.
The collection is heavily influenced by concepts introduced in the menswear look shown last month. The outwear emphasises architecture, but with a more feminine touch. Cropped capes with military embellishments, as well as duffel coats with unexpected volumes on the back, provided a new silhouette.
The pencil trousers worn with ribbed knitwear and shoes, some with flat wing-like embellishments, were perhaps the most flexible of the runway outfits. They were displayed in appealing colour combinations such as pink and seafoam green. And the long uniform dressers back, this time in silken designs with modest trains, ideal for an evening out.
Dua Lipa, Sienna Miller, May Ray Thurman Hawke, and Jeon So-Mi were among the front-row attendees. Outside, fans of the Chinese singer Kun thronged.
THE CIRCUS EMPORIO ARMANI
Models circling the Emporio Armani runway smiled, which is unusual for a runway outfit. It’s not every day, after all, that a lighthearted, fun-infused collection asks people to do so.
Tiny bowler hats seemed to create the nearly vaudevillian attitude of the collection, which was highlighted by asymmetrically buttoned jackets, multi-toned organza skirts, and enormous disco-ball sequined cocktail dresses capturing light and attention. Sheer blouses with vivid rounded collars, little purses falling off straps, and ribboned necklines accenting velvet suits all added to the levity.
“There’s a little bit of everything, but it’s all in the service of one thing: discretion in displaying slightly unconventional fashion,” Armani said after the show.
The 88-year-old designer admitted that he had a good time, but added, laughing, “But I’m exhausted.”
WARRIOR OF THE BLUEMARINE
Nicola Brognano, creative director of Bluemarine, presented his collection against the backdrop of a flaming letter B set among stone ruins.
The liquidy metallic form-fitting dresses and tunic-and-slack combos made it apparent that the Blumarine woman for next season is a fighter. Long metallic chainmail gowns were paired with studded leather underwear.
Shearling jackets and embellishments completed the ensembles, adding a bold touch.
NONCONFORMITY IN MOSCHINO
Jeremy Scott’s latest Moschino collection was less literal than usual, but it was far from subtle.
Scott’s code shifted from surrealism to punk, announcing his intentions with exaggerated spiked wigs worn by all of the models. Opening designs were inspired by Salvador Dali’s surrealism, with houndstooth patterns that appeared to dissolve and wavy hemlines on jackets and skirts creating the same surrealistic appearance.
Jackets and skirts covered in spikes and trimmed with mesh were then embellished with bejewelled broaches for an aristo-punk atmosphere, culminating in a tulle princess dress worn with bejewelled opera gloves. The bejewelled bra top and sequined and beaded dress had a Mardi Gras vibe to them. Shoes had zig-zag heels.
“It’s a revolt flavoured with surrealism, laced with a touch of nonconformist royalty,” the designer explained in the notes.
MAX MARA ANNOUNCES A ‘CAMELOCRACY’
Max Mara’s creative director, Ian Griffiths, is witty about the Italian label’s penchant for monochromes, especially in neutral camel. This season, he both fills and overturns the runway with ensembles in brand-bending brocade and jacquards.
The collection was loosely based on 18th-century court attire, as evidenced by soft, dressing gown coats with elegant pleated embellishments, wide pannier skirts maintained short, and pretty velvet ribbons put in the hair.
Griffiths avoided making a “BBC costume drama” by adding modern features such as silhouette-defining wide belts. The Max Mara camel-coloured universe’s jacquards and brocades “give you a kind of swashbuckling cavalier air,” according to the designer.
Griffiths stated that he places the dignity of the Max Mara lady at the centre of his collections and is conscious of the global market’s various modesty requirements.
“What I displayed today is my concept of dignity: clothes that highlight whoever is wearing them in their finest light, to show off their beauty but in a way that never degrades them in any way,” Griffiths added. “I feel sympathy for women who chose or are forced to wear something they probably fell in love with on the runway and then spend the entire day or night just continually wondering, ‘Am I young enough or slim enough?'”
ROBERTO CAVALLI’S SOUTHWEST INSPIRATION
With western-inspired motifs and a rock ‘n’ roll mentality, Fausto Puglisi’s 2018 collection for Roberto Cavalli could crowd the Coachella music festival.
Patchwork leather skirts, very slender lace body suits, and elephant-leg jeans were worn with silky patterned blouses that flowed easily off the body. Flowing dresses exposed backs and midriffs, but could be concealed by patchwork leather jackets with star motifs as the sunset. The ensembles were complemented with turquoise-studded jewellery.
The collection was a good fit for a Milan Fashion Week catwalk that encouraged people to show off their skin even in the fall and winter.
