Milan delivered a season that balanced spectacle with substance. Designers tested new formats, revisited archives with intent, and sharpened house codes for a global audience. The result was a clear statement of where Italian fashion stands now, rooted in craft and unafraid of experimentation.
DIESEL
Glenn Martens turned the entire city into Diesel’s runway with his giant transparent eggs scattered across Milan. Inside? Fifty-five looks. Satin denim lasered into wild colors, deconstructed biker jackets, trompe l’oeil knits, and leather cut like mythical hides blurred the line between “real” and “trick of the eye.” Accessories got just as playful, from the new slouchy ‘Load-D’ bag to skeletal jewelry and watches iced with pavé crystals. Egg hunt as high fashion? One can always trust Diesel to gamify Milan Fashion Week.
GUCCI
Forget the runway; Demna decided his Gucci debut deserved a film premiere instead. The Tiger, created with Spike Jonze and Halina Reijn, featured a stellar cast that included Demi Moore, Kendall Jenner, Alex Consani, and Elliot Page, and more posing as members of an alternative Gucci household, all dressed in the clothes revealed only hours before on Instagram. The collection was made available immediately, collapsing the usual gap between show and shop. It was a masterstroke in controlling attention with spectacle, celebrity appearances, and commerce fused into one, ensuring Gucci remained the brand at the center of Milan’s opening conversation.
JIL SANDER
Simone Bellotti brought Jil Sander back to its Milan HQ for the first time since 2017, stripping the space to pure white and letting the clothes speak. The collection asked questions about “lessness” and “moreness,” then answered with razor-sharp tailoring softened by georgette, mirrored leathers, and airy silks. The silhouette was vertical and disciplined, but playfully broken up with raw hems, clustered chiffon, and unexpected flowers. Accessories were serious business with lace-ups, ballerinas, multipurpose bags (including the new ‘Pivot’), all engineered with the precision of architecture.
FENDI
Color was the headline at Fendi. Against Marc Newson’s pixelated set, florals exploded across everything: embroidered onto bags, cut out of leather, dangling as charms, even woven into furs. The casting was as bold as the palette, with familiar faces like Paloma Elsesser, Mariacarla Boscono, Adwoa Aboah, and Karen Elson walking the runway. This wasn’t a nostalgic summer; it was a technicolor future seen through Fendi’s lens.
MISSONI
Alberto Caliri grounded Missoni firmly in the everyday, with seaside spontaneity as the backdrop. Voluminous minis, open-back tees, cardigans stolen from “him,” and beach towels turned wardrobe staples set the mood. Everything was cropped or shortened, pushing legs into the spotlight. Bags multiplied, jewelry scaled up, and striped shirts became the glue holding it all together. It felt casual, spontaneous, and lived-in, turning Missoni into the instinctive choice for whatever the day throws at you come summer 2026.
ETRO
Marco De Vincenzo leaned into motion. Ruffles met sharp tailoring, crochet met metallic jacquards, fringes ran across suede bikers, and beaded trims refracted print. Jewelry suggested liquid metal in mid swirl. Accessories carried phyto and zoomorphic charms. The result was an energetic flow, psychedelic in mood and grounded by craft.
MAX MARA
Max Mara staged a Rococo revival with Madame de Pompadour as its muse. Trench coats sprouted sculptural coronas, pencil skirts were crowned with gauzy crests, and organza skirts unfolded like underwater flora. The palette was whisper-soft, but the execution fierce. Straps, belts, and tailoring tethered the fantasy firmly to now. The collection was whimsical yet pragmatic, decadent yet disciplined.
PRADA
Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons framed the uniform as both shield and stage. At the Deposito, a bare industrial space with a lacquered orange floor, the show opened with a military shirt and pleat front trousers, setting a foundation of discipline. From there, the collection stretched the idea of uniformity into freedom. Tailored workwear was interrupted by candy bright earrings, mock croc bags, and billowing taffeta skirts. Spliced skirts carried ruffles alongside straps, bra tops were draped into new shapes, and crystals surfaced in unexpected places. Opera gloves brought flashes of glamour. The collection resisted rigid definitions, instead suggesting that autonomy lies in the act of recombination. Prada’s message was not about authority imposed, but authority chosen.
EMPORIO ARMANI
The first of Giorgio Armani’s final two collections carried the weight of history. Emporio Armani’s Spring/Summer 2026 lineup recalled the designer’s lifelong themes of travel and ease. Greige tailoring, obi inspired wraps, and diaphanous fabrics created movement and softness, while accessories nodded to his fascination with Japan. The closing looks shifted tone, with sequined tees, sheer dresses, and crystallized bikini tops revealing Armani’s lighter side. The applause that followed acknowledged both the collection and the absence of the man who had defined Emporio Armani for decades.
MOSCHINO
Adrian Appiolaza leaned into Arte Povera for Moschino’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection, titled ‘Niente.’ Materials were reused and reimagined, from potato sacks cut into gowns to capes stitched from scraps. Archival prints resurfaced with new energy, while playful signatures remained smiley faces, trompe l’oeil tricks, and even knitted swans. Accessories followed the same ethos, balancing humor with wearability. The collection felt pared back compared to Moschino’s usual spectacle, but the humor was sharpened rather than lost.
MAISON MARGIELA MM6
The MM6 team skipped the runway, instead painting a path through Milan’s streets in the house’s signature white. Models appeared in extra bright palettes, cropped denim tailored like suiting, and twinsets layered with macs and shirting. Raw hems and cutaway illusions nodded to the brand’s deconstruction codes. Accessories injected surreal wit, from cocktail glass jewelry to futuristic sunglasses. It was an urban vignette, showing how the language of Margiela is strongest when it meets the street.
ROBERTO CAVALLI
Fausto Puglisi delivered a Roberto Cavalli fantasy drenched in gold. Lamé gowns, gilded denim, snake print swimsuits, and velvet devoré trousers shimmered under the lights. Even eyewear and accessories carried the metallic treatment. Gold was positioned not as a shade but as an identity, worn by women who refuse to recede. It was a maximalist statement, faithful to Cavalli’s DNA.
SPORTMAX
Shown in the Frigoriferi Milanesi, the collection explored perspective through lightness. Organza reimagined trenches and trousers, doublé wool and glove leather grounded the line. Botanical graphics painted with Japanese cosmetics layered into optical veils, while hand-molded leather flowers formed sculptural tops. Architectural knitwear and clean kitten mules kept the silhouette mobile and exact.
TOD’S
Matteo Tamburini built the collection around the ‘Gommino.’ The motif appeared as perforations across jackets, as inlays on dresses, and threaded through handbags. The color palette emphasized earth tones with saffron highlights. Loafers carried hand-stitched multicolor threading, and the Gommino itself was reintroduced in both classic and open-toe variations. Bags such as the ‘Wave,’ ‘Di Folio,’ and ‘T Timeless’ were updated with intricate workmanship. It was a statement of Tod’s authority in craft, presented with a lightness suited for summer.
FERRAGAMO
Maximilian Davis returned to the 1920s, when the house was founded. Exoticism and jazz-age glamour came alive through leopard prints, fringed embellishments, silk satins, and cut-out suiting. Drop waists, open backs, and speakeasy tailoring recalled the liberated femininity of the period. Menswear drew on Harlem Renaissance dandyism, while ties were reinterpreted as sashes and dress panels. The result was a Ferragamo that mined its archive not for nostalgia but for energy, reclaiming rebellion as luxury.
DOLCE & GABBANA
The Metropol show became a cultural moment when the cast of The Devil Wears Prada appeared in the front row, Meryl Streep staying in character as Miranda Priestly. The collection took sleepwear out of the bedroom. Striped pajamas were drenched in crystals, sheer lace robes and lingerie became eveningwear, and footwear oscillated between towering stilettos and fluffy slippers. Dolce & Gabbana leaned into their identity, giving us a collection that is playful, decadent, and unashamedly bold.
BOTTEGA VENETA
Louise Trotter’s debut was Milan’s most anticipated. She paid tribute to Louise Braggion, the house’s overlooked former creative force, and explored a blend of Venice’s extravagance, New York’s energy, and Milan’s rigor. Oversized coats and tuxedo jackets anchored the tailoring, while dresses woven from thousands of iridescent strands provided spectacle. Intrecciato was everywhere, not just as technique but as metaphor for craft and collaboration. Accessories extended the theme. It was a debut marked by respect, clarity, and purpose.
BOSS
BOSS framed its Spring/Summer 2026 show around The BOSS Paradox, exploring how order and disorder can exist together. Menswear highlighted the brand’s tailoring codes, with single and double breasted suits cut in softened shoulders and wide pleated trousers. Lightweight construction gave the pieces a more relaxed feel, while outerwear ranged from supple white leather jackets to long technical wool coats styled with utility trousers. Womenswear carried the same balance of structure and freedom, with strapless dresses finished with practical pockets, trenches engineered with pleats, and knitwear that fastened down the back rather than the front. Accessories completed the mood: cummerbunds and belts sat low on the hips, loafers and sneakers were given ultra thin soles, and the new ‘Revers’ bag, inspired by a blazer lapel, became the key handbag of the season.
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