Following the men's spring/summer collection shows held in late June, the Milan ladies collection week took place from September 19 to 27.
The ladies collections revealed in four cities - NY, London, Milan and Paris - are considered to be the most important. As opposed to business-oriented NY, avant-garde London and fashionable Paris, the creative skills in the craftsmanship-inspired cut and the enhancement of the features of the original materials are said to be the characteristics of Milan. For some time, the trend has been for couture and elegant taste, while last year's fashions were somewhat led by Milan. I wonder what the trend will be next season.
The most notable trend in the Milan collections this year was the use of colors, which were similar to colors used in autumn/winter collections, with the use of khaki, brown, bordeaux and dark green. Black was also a standout again this year. On the other hand, there were many colorful prints and brilliant items that looked like stage costumes, featuring lame, spangles and synthetic gem stones.
Examples of the former were the collections of Marni, which used lots of dotted and geometric patterns and Gucci, which introduced a series of tropical prints. Examples of the latter were adopted by many brands, including Blumarine, which used coral motifs and Emilio Pucci, which recreated Pucci prints in spangles. As it turns out, this brilliant trend seems to have been derived from iconic images like Donna Summer and Diana Ross, under the theme of "America in the 80s." Along with this trend, there were a number of jump suits and one-shoulder and body-conscious dresses.
In addition, functional lines and masculine looks were other common themes. Many brands used materials that sway along with the movements of the body like Prada, while other brands included jackets in their collections, such as Armani and Jil Sander, both of which are good at this kind of style. Many of the jackets had silhouettes that emphasized the shoulders and now I wonder if the shoulder-pad boom of the 90s is coming back.
During the collection, a number of shop openings and special events were held in addition to the shows and exhibitions. Many new boutiques including Giorgio Armani and Moncler opened. Highly-publicized special events included the 50th anniversary exhibition of Mila Schon, which was deeply memorable because of the death of the designer just before collection week, the 80th anniversary retrospective exhibition of Salvatore Ferragamo and the unveiling of the Tod's promotional film, which was attended by performers Gwyneth Paltrow and Dennis Hopper.
