MILAN FASHION WEEK

I thought that Milan was a fantastic season which was full of ideas, colours and escapism. Maybe because we are so focused on the big names like Gucci or Prada, it was great to almost push the reset button and look at other designers such as Etro or Missoni who both did fantastic collections and really captured the mood of the moment; which is very much a rejection of urban life and street life and more a sense of caring about where you are physically and emotionally alongside the idea of craft and things that are made which have personal and emotional ties to you. I think the phrase which was being circulated around the runways was ´considered casual´ and I think that really did sum up the mood of so many of the collections. To me, they were very happy, very joyous and very wearable.

Etro really was the ode to the culture of a surfer and I believe in fact that they had two of the world’s top surfers in the show. Over at Prada, which seemed to me to be divided between a sense of conservative dressing and something that was so much more free, open and young and again with its thoughts set on coastal California. Listening to Miuccia Prada, it seemed to me that what she was trying to talk about in the show was the division that she has seen politically.

¨This is one vision which we are all seeing right now. An aesthetic which is very free and very, democratic and open; something which is coming up against a mood which was so much more rigid. The idea of clothing which is overly sexy or overly clingy, screaming ´look at me´ has simply gone out of the window.¨ – Charles Daniel McDonald

It was interesting notion which I saw in the young designer Paul Andrew, who I think has been at Salvatore Ferragamo for about a year and is clearly going from strength to strength. This is also an aesthetic that Riccardo Tisci embraced at Burberry – which was very much an ode to a grown up woman who has a career, goes to the office and goes to work. She is not looking for ´look at me clothes´, she is looking for something which is much more refined and civilised.

I was thrilled to see on the runways of Milan the celebrations of diversity and body image. These were super strong at Dolce & Gabbana and also at Marni. There was hand painted, full on originality and bold colour fixes that left me feeling that Francesco Risso had really came into his own as well as showing women of different sizes and different proportions.

With regards to fashion design, Milan is synonymous with Giorgio Armani and as always Giorgio trod his own path. He knows exactly who he is and who his customer is. Within his show, there was an amazing palette which reminded me so much of the sea; but you are always very conscious that you are looking at an elegant, refined chic performer –  that’s who he is, who he dresses and who he will always be.

Over at Versace, Donatella never ceases to surprise and amaze us. Her collection was perfect and there was so much colour and print concurrent of a gypsy feel. She presented some beautiful slim columns and extraordinary colours (like an amazing orange and a very peculiar shade of green) that really worked. The week as a while was a total joy to watch. Roll on spring.

Article: Charles Daniel McDonald

Photography: Each Prospective Fashion House