Milan Fashion Week has just ended and taking stock this year requires an extra effort. The questions are many: Was it right to do it? Do the designers still have something to say? Does prêt-à-porter fashion still play a central role? Finding an answer is even more complicated. Undoubtedly, the brands had to reinvent themselves, find a trick that would allow them to be attractive on a market that is objectively frozen, but above all to face a reality made up of distance, without an audience and with the help of digital technology in all its forms. We saw avatars, dolls, virtual paths and someone came out the winner. Strange but true, it seems to have been precisely those brands that perhaps seemed very far from such a modern and avant-garde approach, one of them being Emporio Armani and the video made at Silos for the new collection (see here). Others have reconfirmed, like GCDS, their disruptive soul and in step with the times, others however have suffered. We are at the beginning and the attempts always foresee a possibility of failure, but have we really seen any news on the catwalk? The attention from the garments has been diverted, they have taken a back seat to emphasize communication and let the public breathe the same new air that brands breathe. In general, if we were to draw a line and reveal the result of this unusual equation, it is difficult to choose a brand that has taken advantage of the period of stop imposed by the lockdown from a stylistic point of view, but certainly many are those who have finally decided to open up to a new, different and technologically advanced world. Technology, sustainability, longevity, return to origins are the themes at the center of this new fashionable prospect that, for better or worse, have all been generically probed during this MFW, but of all the news that the world of fashion is facing, which will become a trend ?
PHILOSOPHY BY LORENZO SERAFINI
Ode to simple fabrics, silhouettes and patterns just mentioned. Rubber rain boots and maxi clutch bags are the protagonists of the accessories line, while ready-to-wear focuses on corsets and lines stolen from lingerie, but revisited in an absolutely casual and never vulgar key. Masculine maxi shirts are combined with micro and enveloping skirts and maxi collars become the perfect background for wearing oversized vests with a rural mood. For the prints, the focus is on splashes of paint that return from the early 2000s to be the official trend on pastel colors and neutral tones.
MSGM
Perfectly matched colors and casual matches to lose your head. MSGM focuses on vivacity that does not exaggerate, baby blue, wisteria and lime green are the protagonists of causal outfits made of denim or tweed playsuits, sailor pants and cropped jackets. The patterns are new and perfectly match with bold but decidedly cool accessories. Spoiler Chelsea boots like rain.
MOSCHINO
Baroque allure and Haute Couture lines are the fil rouge of the new Moschino SS21 collection. The mood is romantic, the shirts have rouge and extra large collars and here too the corsets are a must-have. We play with contrasts: color block and bootcut denims match with chiffon tops, kimonos with fur and jacquard coats.
VALENTINO
Pier Paolo Piccioli’s return to Milan was inaugurated with a linear, coherent but not effective collection. The stylistic codes of the brand can all be seen: wisteria-colored maxi dresses, transparencies, capes, oversized lace shirts on biker shorts. There is one thing to say though: if it is true that Pierpaolo educated us to the wow effect, this time perhaps deliberately, the latter like the public, did not appear on the guest list.
VERSACE
Versace’s SS 21 fashion show was certainly of great effect and in a particularly evocative location. The theme of Medusa, an icon of the brand, is central and becomes the protagonist of a collection that, as a winner, exploits the Greco-Roman heritage of the brand. The patterns are all dedicated to the world of the sea, taking up archive fantasies but also introducing new icons such as the starfish, recurring in this latest collection. The silhouettes are hyper feminine: oversized blazers match with biker shorts, low-waisted skirts (yes, let’s face it, it’s trendy) become coord sets together with patterned bralette-shaped crop tops.