A memo from Milan: 9 points of note at Milan Fashion Week from Hadid hysteria to commuting with Mrs Prada

Italy's catwalks are packed with smart stuff. Karen reports from Milan
Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty
Karen Dacre27 September 2016

1. OK commuter

Commuting is cool. Miuccia Prada has decreed it.

Taking ordinary metropolitan women as the starting point for spring/summer 2017, the designer who finds beauty in the mundane unveiled a collection that looked perfectly suited to the Central line.

At least it looked perfectly suited to a chic incarnation of our dear smog-ridden transport system - you won’t catch me trekking down to Tottenham Court Road in Mrs P’s divine new trench.

Prada SS17 
Catwalking.com

Roll-necks, checked bomber jackets and sports-inspired sweater vests were among this collection’s best bits.

Prada SS17 at Milan Fashion Week

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2. Sisters doing it for themselves

With umpteen catwalk appearances, a host of public appearances and a scuffle with a grabby stranger under their very short belts, the Hadid sisters came out of Milan Fashion Week fighting.

Thankfully such warrior-like behaviour does not happen at home.

While one design house may favour Gigi over Bella or vice-versa, the sisters support one another.

Taking to Instagram after the Fendi show, Gigi noted: “I had to hold back tears of pride & joy watching my beautiful lil sis open the show today.” The sisterhood lives.

3. Taste is timeless

After a week of heavily themed collections and obscure points of reference, Bottega Veneta served as a breath of fresh air.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary on Saturday, the house stayed true to its quiet approach to luxury with beautiful leather dresses, sublimely cut trenchcoats and a dress for every occasion. A reminder that good fashion has no age limit, the house enlisted everyone from Lauren Hutton to Karen Elson and Gigi Hadid to model its latest collection.

Bottega Veneta SS17 
Catwalking.com

As testament to Bottega’s appeal, each generation looked at home in this collection.

4. Girls who are boys who like boys to be girls

Proof of the fashion world’s determination to streamline was evident in every design house in Milan enlisting an army of boys to model in their womenswear showcases.

Giorgio Armani SS17 
Catwalking.com

At Gucci, which will officially combine its men’s and womenswear showcases from next year, this meant a handful of boys modelling the most gender-fluid pieces from its latest collection, while at Armani it was a chance to crowbar a suit into proceedings.

5. Stuff equals sales

Front-rowers may philosophise about the 21st-century insurgence of Milanese maximalism but they need not bother.

The root of the heavily themed collections sweeping the Italian catwalks - see Gucci’s alchemical smorgasbord of cultures and historical silhouettes - has as much to do with sales as it does designers’ desires to define newness through mashing up chronology.

Gucci SS17 
Rex

When times are hard the big boys throw handbags at the problem. A renewed determination to showcase earrings, wallets, and shirts - notice them layered under sweaters - is the ultimate money-spinning exercise.

6. Pretty as a picture

The statement coat will take on new meaning next season when it becomes a work of art in its own right. In Fendi’s showcase this saw the house’s signature fur give way to intricate tapestry coats.

Fendi SS17 
Catwalking.com

Oversized in silhouette and pulled in at the waist with stretch parachute belts, the coat spells a new sense of extravagance. Expect to stock up on neutrals.

7. Good sports finish first

With Naomi on the catwalk, Serena Williams in the front-row and the words “this show is for women taking chances” blasting out around the auditorium, there was no escaping the fact that Donatella Versace’s latest production was a feminist manifesto - albeit in expensive clothing.

Versace SS17
Pixelformula/Sipa/Rex

A homage to strong women who succeed, Versace offered sports couture for all occasions.

Track tops in butter-soft leather and billowing nylon parkas were among the highlights.

Versace SS17 at Milan Fashion Week

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8. Whatever the weather, you can’t beat a good dress

Milan may be preoccupied with reinvention at the moment but its fashion houses still know a good sundress when they see one.

Sportmax’s latest collection - one part homage to the Nineties, another functional fashion for those with functions - served up examples a-plenty.

Sportmax SS17 
Pixelformula/Sipa/Rex

Voluminous in silhouette with perfectly placed ruffle-trims, this tribal print treat is low-key but lovely.

9. Ready to wear, ready to wait

The high-speed fashion revolution which means clothes are available to consumers immediately after they are unveiled on the runway may have revved up in New York and hit optimum speed in London but in Milan it ground to a searing halt with the Milanese happy to keep their own pace.

Determined to ignore the movement altogether - and perhaps even obstruct it - Gucci’s Alessandro Michele quite literally relied on smoke and mirrors to ensure his latest collection was kept away from the copycats for as long as possible.

Gucci SS17 at Milan Fashion Week

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His message: real luxury takes time.

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