Celebrating a return to almost normalcy, Milan Fashion Week brought out the best that Italy’s fashion capital had to offer with more than 125 shows and events, its biggest in 18 months. On top of the exuberant, glamourous looks dominating the runways from brands like Missoni, Etro, Fendi and Emporio Armani, the past few days have also delivered a few surprises and highlights along the way.
From the highly-anticipated reveal of Versace and Fendi’s collaborative swap fashion show, to Prada’s border-busting simultaneous livecast runway between Milan and Shanghai, to Gucci’s experimental new e-commerce vintage-ware platform, we review every Milan Fashion Week moment you might have missed.
Versace x Fendi
As the rumours predicted, a Fendi and Versace runway show collaboration was debuted on Sunday. Swapping houses for the evening, Silvia Venturini Fendi and Kim Jones of Fendi showcased 25 looks designed for Versace, which were followed by 25 looks created by Donatella Versace in turn for Fendi. The nineties-themed Versace by Fendi saw models including Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Amber Valletta wearing archived looks from Versace that incorporated Fendi’s FF symbol, while Fendi by Versace brought a rebellious, punk interpretation meshing both brands’ iconic monograms and motifs in denim and bright colours.
Prada’s simultaneous shows
With the help of technology, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons presented their first Spring/Summer 2022 collection by staging two livestream shows simultaneously from Milan and Shanghai. Showcasing the collection in two places at once, according to Simons, was a demonstration of new possibilities in the fashion community, and the runway’s ability to transcend borders. Models in Milan walked alongside their counterparts in Shanghai wearing the collection, which featured black leather jackets, corsets and skirts with trains.
Gucci unveils digital vintage store Vault
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While Gucci made the announcement back in 2020 that it would no longer follow the seasonal fashion calendar, planning to stage only two shows a year instead of the traditional five, its missing presence in Milan Fashion Week was still jarring to many. However, the brand wasn’t completely absent from the fashion festivities, as they announced the launch of Gucci Vault, their new online concept store, with a physical event in Milan. Offering vintage archival pieces that range from the sixties to the nineties, the digital retail experience is accessible at vault.gucci.com, and adds to the emerging upcycle trend adopted by a number of luxury brands.
Dua Lipa’s runway debut
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As the face of Versace’s Fall/Winter 2021 campaign, British pop star Dua Lipa graced the runway for the first time at Versace’s Spring/Summer 2022 show for Milan Fashion Week. In a black skirt suit held together with neon coloured safety pins and black platform sandals, Lipa opened the show while her own song ‘Physical’ played in the background. Closing the show, she also posed with Donatella Versace in a shimmery fuchsia top and matching skirt.
Onitsuka Tiger’s first MFW show
Only having previously presented at Tokyo Fashion Week, sports shoe brand Onitsuka Tiger’s first show at Milan Fashion Week marks a step in its expansion plans into Europe’s luxury fashion sphere, following the opening of its first flagship store in Milan. Showcasing their East Meets West philosophy with an ‘Unfashionshow’, the Spring/Summer 2022 collection was presented in a co-ed virtual show with minimalist pieces that highlight function and practicality, notably puffer jackets, tracksuits and sneakers in black, grey and neon orange.
Photo: Fendi