Fendi, Prada, Armani! All the best looks from Milan Fashion Week

BRIGHT HEELS and bold prints have once again graced the cobblestoned streets of Italy’s sartorial capital as the catwalks of London are packed down for the season, and Milan Fashion Week 2022 begins.

Running from Tuesday, September 21 to Monday, September 27, the Spring/Summer iteration of Milan Fashion Week 2022 is back in full force following a digital event in 2020. With live runway shows, viewings and presentations, and of course, exclusive, invite-only parties, all the glitz and glamour that Milan Fashion Week is famous for will once again decorate the city. 

“We’re inverting the trend compared to the last couple of [mainly digital] editions, which is something that gives us a powerful injection of energy in this moment,” said Carlo Capasa — the President of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, the governing body of Italian fashion — at a press conference earlier this month.

We’re INVERTING the TREND…which is something that gives us a POWERFUL INJECTION of ENERGY in this moment.

Among the elite Italian fashion houses set to dazzle us this week are Fendi, Missoni, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana and Roberto Cavalli. Notably absent is Gucci, following the brand’s move from five annual collections to two ‘seasonless’ collections last year.

While most of this year’s shows will be conducted in person, many will continue to follow last year’s digital-first approach. Emilio Pucci, Philipp Plein, Antonio Marras and ANNAKIKI are among the brands that will broadcast live digital presentations.

Some big names debuted more ambitious shows, blending the best of both real-life and online experiences. Prada hosted dual runway presentations next week, simultaneously executing shows in Milan and Shanghai, and Moncler’s Mondogenius show saw 11 designers execute presentations across five different cities.

Follow along online and on socials as we keep you up-to-date with Milan Fashion Week 2022 as it unfolds.

Versace by Fendi

Stop everything: The Internet is officially broken, and we are living in a parallel fashion universe. Donatella Versace, Kim Jones, and Silvia Venturini Fendi switched places tonight for an epic fashion event that was something far fresher than the industry’s collaborations of yore.

Fendace, a 50-look Frankenstein collection composed of Jones’s and Venturini Fend’s riff on Versace and Versace’s take on Fendi was conceived as a “celebration of Italian fashion and a to-hell-with-it disruption of the established order of things.”

This merging of competitors, particularly two iconic houses not under the same ownership, just “isn’t done” in fashion—until now. Fendi, Versace, and Jones are friends and colleagues, and after a tough year, they crossed party lines to have a little fun. The creative directors invited one another into their family archives for inspiration and designed their take on the other’s DNA, honoring the work of Gianni Versace and Karl Lagerfeld in turn.

Versace for Fendi melded the Fendi double-F monogram with its own Grecian key motif, while Fendi for Versace used the brand’s signature safety pins and sexiness with more of a punk rock edge. The event of Milan Fashion Week 2022 (which will no doubt be followed by an all-nighter after-party) was, refreshingly, about fashion for style’s sake: “It’s about the need for sincerity in fashion today rather than strategy.” 
—CARRIE GOLDBERG

Dolce & Gabbana

After a year of laying low, fashion lovers are finally turning their attention to post-lockdown glam—which couldn’t be better news for maximalists Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.

The duo has never stopped being inspired by a more is more aesthetic. This collection was packed with the brand’s sexy energy, cheeky touches, and signature whimsy, but it was also decidedly more edgy and youthful than ever before—keeping Gen Z in mind. The designers dove into the past to look forward, studying their collections from the year 2000, when Y2K mania ushered in all things over the top. The result? Lace, camo, leopard prints, and crystal covered everything.

After a spectacle after the Venice Film Festival for Alta Moda, and a collaboration with Harris Reed and Iman on the Met Gala red carpet, Dolce & Gabbana just proved once more that they have no issue keeping their clothes focused on the future — targeting a younger customer than ever before while still giving their hardcore fanbase what they crave.
—CARRIE GOLDBERG

Emilio Pucci

Most can spot a Pucci print from across the room—or the beach. That’s what the design team was musing on when they went back to the resort-forward way of thinking exemplified by founder Emilio Pucci for spring 2022. The spirit of kaleidoscopic beachwear goes hand in hand with a certain sort of bold freedom, especially when those signature swirls come embroidered.

Also on the label’s mind? The iconic shape of the silk scarf, which has become synonymous with Pucci for decades. We saw its core shape reappear in the form of halter-neck cutout dresses and maxi gowns constructed of wide swaths of flowing fabric.

The difference between the Pucci of your mother’s closet and today, however, is a newly sharpened and structured impact that’s graphically intriguing. Patterned minidresses may seem like they’re for maximalists only, but when they’re cut so cleanly, they have a wide appeal even for the print-averse minimalist. 
—KRISTEN BATEMAN

Salvatore Ferragamo

Salvatore Ferragamo offered for spring 2022 what the Florentine label called an “Italianate rainbow,” which translated to soothing shades of ochre, rust, mustard, cream, and peony — rather than the traditional ROYGBIV spectrum the founder once famously put on a pair of suede platforms he designed for Judy Garland.

The excitement came through unexpected details and styling, like a dramatic asymmetrical side cutout on a Grecian dress or a double-breasted blazer tucked into high waisted shorts. A repurposed 1970s Ferragamo floral foulard overprinted on a loose-yarn, tiger-striped jacquard, created in collaboration with Parisian artist, Julien Colombier, was another key motif. 
—ALISON S. COHN

Moncler

Perhaps the most grandiose of this year’s presentations at Milan Fashion Week 2022 was Moncler’s Mondogenius, which took place across five cities — Milan, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul. 11 designers on Moncler’s Genius roster — including JW Anderson, Veronica Leoni, Sergio Zambon, Sandro Mandrino and Craig Green — presented individual collections, which were livestreamed simultaneously, creating something of a new, digital world.

Mixing runway shows, installations and live musical performances, the show saw musician Alicia Keys host the event from Milan, and singer and actress Victoria Song host from Shanghai. Among other notable performers on the roster include Solange Knowles, who blessed us with a live performance in New York, as an integral part of Moncler Woman’s presentation.

While every designer brought their own point of view to Moncler’s staple quilted down jacket, some of the most interesting takes include Francesco Ragazzi’s western-inspired Palm Angels collection; Gentle Monster’s exploration of human connections in an evolving digital landscape; and Dingyun Zhang’s avant garde take on dressing for the frost.
—NATALIA KRSLOVIC

Prada

Leave to Prada to make sex intellectual. Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’s Spring 2022 collection may be titled “Seduction, Stripped Down,” but there were none of the bra tops and naked dresses seen on other runways in this show simulcast from Milan and Shanghai. In the Prada-verse, the heels are always kitten height and sex appeal is all about suggestion. The co-creative directors reduced tropes of classical femininity like lingerie and corsetry to their most pure form and recontextualized them. So the curve of an underwire was applied to a polo-collar sweater, while graphic tees and jackets came embellished with corset laces. Many of the aforementioned looks trailed anomalous strips of couture silk, which the show notes poetically called “the memory of a train.” 
—ALISON S. COHN

Versace

Dua Lipa opened and closed the Versace show, which this season took inspiration from the transformative powers of the house’s iconic silk foulard, or scarves, taking pieces of fabric and “haphazardly” fastening and embellishing with another recognisable brand signature; the safety pin.

“The foulard is a fundamental component of Versace’s heritage and character,” said Donatella Versace. “It’s acted as a canvas for our iconic prints and is worn in multiple ways from knotted tops to headscarves to bag accessories – it’s a way of adding Versace attitude to any look. The foulard has been with us since the very beginning of the brand, but this season turns everything on its head, it is no longer fluid or dreamy, the scarf is provocative, sexy, wound tight.”
-AMY DE KLERK

Giorgio Armani

Seafoam green, oceanic blue and calming shades of cloudy white: these are just a few of the hues Giorgio Armani delved into for the spring 2022 show. As a fixture of the Italian fashion world for decades, the label has become known for its singular shapes and streamlined aesthetic. Set against the backdrop of an endless ocean with a runway that mimicked the color of a sandy beach, the label showed all of the signatures of its household codes, from oversized suiting to immaculately tailored, embellished gowns in frothy fabrics that seemed to float down the catwalk. Armani’s most surprising takeaway this season? Harem pants are back. But this time around, they come in delicious silk and chiffon fabrications, with dreamlike prints on jewel tones.
—KRISTEN BATEMAN

Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini

We can always count on Philosophy for a few things each season—an unbridled dedication to romanticism, a heavy dose of femininity, and an unwavering and unexpected punch of prep. For spring 2022, creative director Lorenzo Serafini took us on a trip to the ‘70s, as he envisioned it. Models wore plush leather fringed jackets in shades of periwinkle and cognac, alongside flared floral sets, lamé button-down dresses, and easy deep-neck tops with simple bikinis peeking out. Vibrant hues like carnelian, emerald and royal purple were a nod to the loud and individualistic style of the ‘70s, but for the dedicated Philosophy fan there was no shortage of ruffled dresses, romantic frills and all, in subtle shades of lace-y white. 
—KRISTEN BATEMAN

Sportmax

For every instance of cottagecore romance spotted on the Sportmax runway there was a dose of unapologetic, here-to-take-up-space attitude for counterbalance. Corsetry, scooped-out necklines, raw-edged tulle, and dainty florals are the stuff of sublime sweetness—and best taken in small doses. The presence of that tougher stuff is what adds interest and intrigue, making you wonder what the woman behind the clothes is all about. Wide-leg trousers and oversized jackets are ready to work, though the softness that’s inherent with such a slouchy fit doesn’t ape at menswear. Rather, it’s sensual and soft, clearly for her and not stolen from the boys. Paired together, both sides of the coin present an interesting take on modern femininity. 
—LEAH MELBY CLINTON

Blumarine

The Y2K style renaissance was out in full force for Blumarine’s Spring 2022 collection. Butterfly motifs emerged on necklaces, supersize belts and tie-on tops while a symphony of pastels were revealed through gossamer-thin V-cut gowns in buttercup yellow or rendered in bubblegum pink halterneck dresses printed with roses. Nicola Brognano’s creations look a lot like something the pop stars of the early ‘00s would easily gravitate to—Britney and J. Lo included—but we think Gen Z would be equally enchanted by a pair of chiffon low-waist cargo pants and a baby crop top. You only have to scroll through TikTok to see that. With the transparent oversized glasses, silk head scarves, big hoop earrings and low-slung belts against patchwork denim and shrunken bomber jackets, there was proof too that styling has a lot to do with Blumarine’s early aughts aesthetic. Lotta Volkova, the stylist behind Vetements fast rise, was behind it. Slap on one of the brand’s bedazzled logo belts and consider it a celebration of more is more. 
—KRISTEN BATEMAN

BOSS x Russell Athletic

HUGO BOSS hit a fashion home run as the brand launched its baseball-inspired capsule collection with Russell Athletic in Milan yesterday. Gigi Hadid and Irina Shayk led an all-star cast on the field at the Kennedy Sport Center, accompanied by a live marching band and entourage of cheerleaders. This latest collection champions team spirit and the energy of game day in New York City, the vibrant home of baseball.

The collection saw classic sportswear and letterman jackets given a more refined twist, with tailored two pieces elevating the looks. And the models weren’t the only ones in team colours — the crowd of 1300 were all very much in theme, with influencers and industry leaders donning the new collection.

With leather boots and sneakers, as well as a mélange of BOSS paraphernalia to finish each look, this show was a fusion of the hallmarks of European and American fashion.
—NATALIA KRSLOVIC

Max Mara

We didn’t quite get a “revenge summer” of carefree travel to far-flung holiday destinations thanks to Delta, and what next summer will look like is anyone’s guess at this point. But Max Mara makes a very chic case for escape being a state of mind.

The brand took cues from author Françoise Sagan’s uniform of workwear classics like fisherman smocks, labourer’s jackets, mechanic’s overalls, and carpenter pants, which were given the runway treatment in gabardine, canvas, poplin, and indigo denim with contrast top stitching.

You may recall her novel, Bonjour Tristesse, from college French. But did you know that Sagan wrote the existentialist masterpiece as a 17-year-old forced to spend the summer of 1953 at home in Paris while her family went away on holiday, after failing her year-end exams? Time to start preparing our writer’s wardrobe for summer 2022. 
—ALISON S. COHN

Etro

Say “magic carpet ride” and you either get Disney’s Aladdin (1992) or Steppenwolf’s hit song (1968). Both apply to Etro’s newest collection, which sews its signature textile mix onto hippie-approved rainbow crochet and rave-worthy vinyl jackets alike.

Veronica Etro did some denim-and-track-pant fusions, too, which will hopefully inspire DIY fashion fans worldwide to remix their old clothes instead of chucking them entirely. A whole new world? Not exactly; Etro’s sticking pretty close to its DNA.

And with both runway newbies and megastars like Joan Smalls on the catwalk, the brand makes the case that boho chic isn’t going anywhere, and that it’s just as appropriate on a new mUm (we see you, Grace Elizabeth!) as a teen starlet whose wish is every fashion brand’s command.
—FARAN KRENTCIL

Jil Sander

Lucie and Luke Meier are designing clothing that women want to wear—intellectual women, chic women, choose your elevated adjective.

The palette for Spring 2022 is soft, as if filtered, pale greens, peach, buttercup yellow, ivory. There are strong jackets layered over trousers or jeans, oversized pieces, nipped and tailored pieces, a perfect sweetheart neckline white dress, knitted separates, and a crochet series. Blouses are wrapped and textural—nothing is as expected. To wit, there’s even a zebra print and some sequins.

In accessories, the brand’s new Cannolo bag is cylindrical, mirroring jewellery that leverages circles in gold and geometric patterns. Mule boots will be a winner this season, they look cool and are easy to wear.

The message is this: what appears simple, probably isn’t. Still waters run deep, as they say.
—KERRY PIERI

Roberto Cavalli

Today was a big one for the Roberto Cavalli label— it marks the first runway collection under the creative direction of Fausto Puglisi.

Puglisi is a dream fit for the brand—an Italian designer who embraces sensuality in clothing—and clearly appreciates an animal print. Puglisi dug into the extensive Cavalli archives, and came up with many references to the ’70s—dresses are slim and cut on the bias, with cut-outs and one-shoulders. All ripe for after-dark.

If the Cavalli girl needs a break from the dance floor, boxy suits look just as cool. As the show notes say, the collection, “shouts ‘I’m the party.’” There’s never been a better time to bring back some fun and remember you had it in you all the time.
—KERRY PIERI

Brunello Cucinelli

For many women, the current vibe is “love thy loungewear as thyself.” Brunello Cucinelli is cool with that—but he’s going to give you a major upgrade.

The Italian label went into full slouch mode with his latest collection, which mixes slinky metallic knitwear and silky pleated separates that feel like PJs, but look like you’ve consulted a famous Italian tailor. (Maybe because one made these clothes…) And though some models did wear sweatbands and tube socks as part of their looks, these pieces are made to be so easily cool, you can get dressed for work without breaking a sweat.

Pay special attention to the suiting and square-toed ballet flats, along with a red embroidered varsity sweater that’s truly game for anything.
—FARAN KRENTCIL

Fendi

Kim Jones had nearly zero ramp up to creating his own Fendi ethos. His Fendi woman has been unabashedly glamorous and achingly cool since he debuted his first collection in the depths of the pandemic. While she has an appreciation for the past, she most certainly doesn’t live there.

That throwback mentality showed up for Spring 2022 with a collaboration with the estate of illustrators Antonio Lopez and Juan Ramos. The ’70s have been enjoying a bit of a renaissance, and Studio 54-worthy dresses that leverage Lopez’s iconic drawings feel right on time.

“While I’ve been looking at Karl’s legacy at the house, I’ve also been looking around him, at his contemporaries – at who he was interested in,” explained Jones. “Lopez was a friend of Karl’s, and has always been someone who inspired me. He was forward thinking; inclusive; looked up to by everyone from Andy Warhol to Steven Meisel and David Hockney. I wanted to introduce him to a new generation.”

In keeping with the era (through a modern lens), there are also fringe dresses, suiting with bikini inspired tops layered underneath, bold patterned furs with matching bags, and sheer black lace gowns. It’s smart dressing that makes a statement—and it’s the perfect start to a week in Milano. 
-KERRY PIERI

Natalia Krslovic is a Sydney-based lifestyle journalist and model. You can find more from her on Instagram.