Milan Fashion Week

Milan may have made its name with body-hugging tailoring, but the main design language the just concluded Milan Fashion Week was more relaxed and about draping the body in soft materials that subtly reveal the shape.

Despite the predominance of the brassiere top, these were not vamped-up collections. It came in studded leather, ironic pop-art cartoon renderings, or luxurious python bandeaus, which were almost always veiled beneath sheer fabrics or worn beneath peek-a-boo tops that stood away from the body. A belt often defined the silhouette.

The fashion in Milan this season was very much a battle between minimalists and non-minimalists. While some designers hued to the clean lines, many employed ruffles, bustles and pleats for flair. And there was no shortage of sequins, beads or metallic studs.

Even the most feminine collections had sporty references: athletic stripes, visors, tube socks, jogging shorts, tank tops and trekking shoes. The 1950s swimsuit, ostensibly modest, left the poolside and headed for the street.

Top designers took inspiration from architecture with ancient Sicilian temples printed on dresses at Dolce & Gabbana and structured tailoring at Salvatore Ferragamo.

“It’s a very architectural season,” Ferragamo designer, Massimiliano Giornetti, told Reuters before his show, saying he was inspired by Mexican architect Miguel Angel Aragones.

Beige was the predominant colour in Giornetti’s collection, which featured tailored blazers and blousons cut high at the waist or low at the neckline, exposing midriffs and snakeskin bras.

Giornetti also drew on the archives of the fashion house founded by shoemaker, Salvatore Ferragamo, who made footwear for Marilyn Monroe, Greta Garbo and Audrey Hepburn, to create square-toed shoes with broad snakeskin straps at the ankle.

Flamboyant Italian duo, Dolce & Gabbana, drew their own inspiration from an “imaginary journey to discover ancient Sicily”, presenting dresses printed with ancient ruins and shoes with heels shaped like the columns of a temple.

The collections provided the finale to a week which has seen 74 official shows, store openings, and parties attended by celebrities including Cate Blanchett and Blake Lively.

Giorgio Armani not only summed up next summer’s diaphanous look, he perfected it. The designer, whose relaxed styles have caressed rather than grabbed the body for over three decades, used different lightweight fabrics to create shadowy layers for summer 2014. He also mixed silks and knits to create a pale shimmering effect.

This time, Armani kept to a pastel palette for his delicate styles, with flashes of bright shades such as deep-sea blue and coral red. Tiny floral embroidery, always an Armani favourite, lent an even more feminine touch to the summer look.

Gianfranco Ferre’s architectural style continues to survive him. Design team Federico Piaggi and Stefano Citron’s women’s styles for next summer, presented on the last day of Milan Fashion Week, had a structural look that adhered closely to the design language developed by Ferre, who died in 2007.

Concentric seams gave structure to the bust, the waist and hemlines, while layered pockets, shoulders or pleats gave a depth to the looks reminiscent of an Escher print. Hemlines varied from mini to floor-length, often in the same garment, with either a short skirt under a draped overlay, or short shorts exposed beneath a wide slit.

Culled from www.vogue.com