Whereas New York Fashion Week saw very few in-person shows, almost no street style, and nearly as many films as runway collections, Milan Fashion Week was about as close to “normal” as it gets mid-pandemic. Show-goers wore face masks, as did Pierpaolo Piccioli while he waved arrivederci at the end of the Valentino show, and collections included 2020-appropriate items like face coverings at Marni and elbow-length rubber gloves at Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini.
When it came to spring ‘21 clothes, Italy’s top designers were in the mood for romance — reimagined for today's lifestyle. At Fendi, pieces printed with photographs taken by creative director Silvia Venturini Fendi during quarantine were presented on models including Paloma Elsesser, Mona Tougaard, and Jill Kortleve. At Valentino, co-ords crocheted with flowers warmed our hearts, while bags looked big enough to fit a blanket, gourmet snacks, and natural wine, for a day spent lounging at the park with your “quarantine crew.” Undergarments made an appearance in the form of bloomers (at Etro) and bra-like crop tops (No. 21), and everything was slightly sheer, sending the message: We’re indoors most of the time now anyway, so why shouldn’t we spend our days in high-fashion lingerie? And of course, there was the coming together of Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada, who presented their first collection as co-creative directors at Prada at the beginning of the week. As expected, it was swoon-worthy, with fashion’s version of a hazard blanket paired with the brand’s signature nylon backpacks and kitten heels.
Click ahead for eight trends that’ll have you falling hopelessly in love with Milan Fashion Week.
Clashing Prints
Just as they were in New York two weeks prior, clashing prints were a top performer in Milan. At Pucci, the brand’s signature mod prints came together in the form of a teal-and-yellow ribbed bodysuit paired with pink-, orange-, and-yellow tights. Meanwhile, at Sunnei, four different plaid patterns met on an oversized shirt dress, and, at Arthur Arbesser, a checkerboard layering piece was styled underneath a red-and-white vest.
Emilio PucciNo. 21SunneiPhoto: Giovanni Giannoni.
Monochrome
To balance out the clashing prints, many designers incorporated tonal looks that were equally wow-worthy in their simplicity. At Fendi, a sea of all-white ensembles, Venturini Fendi broke up the 67-look collection with a handful of red monochrome ensembles. In MM6 Maison Margiela’s spring lookbook, head-to-toe putty-colored looks appear against a backdrop of the same oddly satisfying shade, while, at Salvatore Ferragamo, creative director Paul Andrew used soft shades of purple, yellow, green, and blue to craft tailored looks.
FendiSalvatore FerragamoMM6 Maison Margiela
Gloves
No collection was complete this season without a pair of gloves, be they the protective sort or decorative. At Fendi, bodysuits with attached gloves were worn underneath sheer, printed dresses, thus proving that PPE can look elegant and sophisticated. On the other end of the spectrum, the gloves at Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini were all about utility — just maybe not the kind you’d expect during a pandemic. There, in a makeshift garden, models wore elbow-length rubber gloves paired with rubber boots, paint-stained jeans, and crochet sun hats.
Philosophy di Lorenzo SerafiniPhoto: Estrop/Getty Images.FendiMM6 Maison Margiela
Big Bags
Across the board, designers showcased massive bags, from cross-bodies to totes, all of which could fit the contents of your entire life and then some. It's no surprise that bags are getting bigger this season— between a dozen different face masks, gloves, hand sanitizers, and more, ever since the pandemic started, we’ve taken to needing so many more things. So rather than carrying two canvas tote bags and a tiny purse like we used to, now, we can get style and utility with this season’s selection of gargantuan bags.
SunneiPhoto: Giovanni Giannoni.SportmaxPhoto: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images.Tod's
Exposed Undergarments
Since we spend most of our time indoors these days, it’s no wonder that lingerie and other undergarments reigned supreme on the catwalk. Across Milan Fashion Week, bloomers were layered underneath sheer, slip-like dresses, making it clear that underwear isn’t to be hidden any longer. Midriffs were aplenty with ultra-short crop tops making their way down runways at No. 21, Fendi, and Alberta Ferretti. To round out the contents of your underwear drawer, statement tights and socks also made appearances at Pucci and Sportmax.
EtroPhoto: Daniele Venturelli/WireImage.No. 21Alberta FerrettiPhoto: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images.
Warm-Weather Layering
One of the best parts of cool temperatures is the ability to once again introduce layering into our wardrobes. This season's designers got creative with their layering tactics, bringing about lightweight pieces that allow us to pile on as much as we want in the spring, without overheating. At Valentino, that meant layering a short-sleeved crochet button-down over a white T-shirt and suit shorts, while at Sportmax, long, airy trench coats were paired with micro-shorts and a breezy tank top.
SportmaxPhoto: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images.EtroPhoto: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images.Philosophy di Lorenzo SerafiniPhoto: Estrop/Getty Images.
Baggy Suits
Now that we’re at home, probably working from the sofa, restrictive suits are the last thing we’re looking for, making the recent trend of suits that are slouchy and baggy perfect for WFH life. In Milan, this untailored trend showed face at Sportmax, MaxMara, and Sunnei, as well as at Hugo Boss, MM6 Maison Margiela, and Alberta Ferretti.
SportmaxPhoto: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images.Max MaraPhoto: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images.Fendi
Crochet
And the crochet trend continues… Just as we saw an influx of DIY trends during New York Fashion Week, so, too, did we see them in Milan. Alongside sheer, flowing gowns in fuchsia and fire-engine red at Valentino, were crochet shorts-and-polo sets on the menswear side and mini dresses for women. At Alberta Ferretti, crochet cross-body totes reminiscent of beach days in the ‘00s were carried by models wearing satin bra tops and eyelet micro-minis.
Alberta FerrettiPhoto: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images.Salvatore FerragamoFendi
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A post shared by éliou (@eliou__) on Sep 25, 2020 at 7:29am PDT
Upon taking a closer look, you’ll find that the Harry Necklace is made up of Millefiori beads — which have blue-and-yellow flowers on them — and small saltwater pearls. The $85 necklace also has the option to add a customizable message, which opens up all sorts of (up-to-eight-letter) possibilities for Styles’ massive fanbase. (The brand’s iteration is threaded with the word “VOTE.”)
The last time an at-home challenge involving Harry Styles launched, it got 23.6 million hits on TikTok. The #HarryStylesCardigan hashtag was so popular, in fact, that the designer behind the original knit, Jonathan Anderson, released the pattern to the entire internet. “I am so impressed and incredibly humbled by this trend and everyone knitting the cardigan,” he wrote on Instagram. “I really wanted to show our appreciation so we are sharing the pattern with everyone. Keep it up!”
If DIY isn’t your thing, though, support a female-owned, small business and pick up your own Harry Necklace on eliou-eliou.com. Whatever you do, think long and hard about what yours is going to say. After all, you never know who you’ll run into at the airport.
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Over the weekend, photos of a backyard movie night in the gardens of Kensington Palace were released, showing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with their three children and historian Sir David Attenborough, enjoying Attenborough’s new environmental documentary David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet. For the occasion, the royal family came dressed in varying shades of blue, as did the guest of honor. To add to the night’s theme, Kate Middleton wore a collared chambray shirt dress made of repurposed denim.
Middleton’s dress, called the Marley dress, is the product of New York sustainable designer Gabriela Hearst. The Uruguay-born designer founded her namesake label in 2015 and quickly made a name for herself for using previously existing materials and unused factory stock for her collections. Earlier this month, she won the CFDA Award for American Womenswear Designer of the Year, beating out past winners Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, and Brandon Maxwell. Since Hearst first showcased the Marley dress in her pre-fall ‘20 lookbook, it’s gone on to sell out almost everywhere, with a few sizes still available at Neiman Marcus.
A post shared by Gabriela Hearst (@gabrielahearst) on Sep 27, 2020 at 2:00am PDT
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have long been supporters of protecting the environment, so Middleton’s choice of sustainable garb is hardly a surprise. In January, the couple announced the launch of The Earthshot Prize, a multimillion-dollar prize that will be awarded to five winners per year for the next decade in the hopes of solving problems ranging from climate change to air pollution, according to Time. In a display of sustainability, Middleton often repeats outfits and has admitted to owning some wardrobe items for over 15 years. Most recently, she wore not one, but two recycled fashion items: a red-and-white Beulah London dress, that she previously wore during a Zoom call in May, and a floral face mask from Amaia, which she first showcased in August.
Alongside the photos posted by Kensington Royal, the caption read, “With a shared passion for protecting the natural world, [The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Sir David Attenborough] continue to support one another in their missions to tackle some of the biggest environmental challenges our planet faces.” For Middleton, that mission continues in her closet.
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Despite being the biggest e-tailer known to man (with something like 300 million users), Amazon isn't exactly easy to navigate. Anyone who's spent hours scouring pages of padded headbands can attest to that. We get it, there's no simple way to organize 3 billion products on a single website. But c'mon, Bezos. Help a girl (and her search for the perfect $3 headband) out.
Since we might be waiting a while for the tech team over at Amazon to solve our shopping woes, a temporary solution will have to do — that solution being us scrolling through a blinding number of product pages until we find a treasure trove of stylish, affordable gems. Ahead, check out 48 of this season's biggest trends, from mock croc baguette bags to the under-$30 version of that leopard print skirt, that you can score on Amazon for next to nothing.
At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy something we link to on our site, Refinery29 may earn commission.
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