Milan Fashion Week: Versace tries her hand at minimalism for Spring/Summer 2015 show

 
Stripped back maximalism: the Versace show as a part of Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2015 (Photo by Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images)
Karen Dacre22 September 2014

"Strong, stripped back and playful" were just a few of the words Donatella Versace used to describe her latest spring/summer collection ahead her show in Milan last night. It was a message that left a few scratching their heads. After all, there is little about the planet's leading maximalist that suggests that a stripped back breed of fashion might figure in her stream of consciousness - never mind her clothing line.

It came as little surprise then, to see that the final result fell far from Ms Versace's original description. This may have been minimalism - but it was Versace minimalism (which, if you think about, equates to a slightly watered down version of maximalism. I digress...)

Taking a sporty silhouette as her starting point - "the clothes are looser, more forgiving" said Versace - the Italian heavy-weight presented a collection of sharp corners and clean lines. Tailored jackets, worn with slash-to-the thigh wool skirts, served as punctuation in a collection that fused mesh details and technical fabrics with elements from the world of supreme luxury. Versace boxer shorts, worn under trousers and sheer skirts, continued the sense of ease within this collection and lent it a playful edge - has Versace been hanging with the skater crew?

Versace Spring/Summer 2015 catwalk show at Milan Fashion Week

1/9

Toying with less structured shapes than the ones for which she is best known, Versace went big on trapeze dresses in this offering. But she still managed to inject this show with a healthy dose of sex appeal throughout thanks to sheer chiffon panels which revealed the models waistlines.

Juxtaposing a straight-forward candy colour palette with the toughness of leather, Versace presented laser-cut box jackets alongside knitwear that teetered on the verge of sweetness. A series of mesh leather boots in red and sugar pink continued the strong sense of opposition at work within this collection as did the brand's new box bag handbag which according to its designer, is inspired by a woman's need for practicality. "it even has a pen holder and space for your iPhone" said Versace.

I've heard it all now.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in