Milan Fashion Week opened with a blast. Etro and Roberto Cavalli showed just how different the uniforms of modern bohemians can get, while Diesel took us on a journey of provocative extremes. Keep reading to discover more and check out our London Fashion Week picks here
Here are our picks of the most memorable shows from Milan Fashion Week Day 1:
Fendi
Every Kim Jones collection for Fendi is a doctoral thesis on colour and texture – autumn 2023 is no exception. We started with an alluring mixture of light blues, blacks and greys, with a smidgeon of muted ochre. The collarbone-bearing knits made way to a curious waistcoat that’s not a waistcoat but a “jacket” with shoulder cut-outs. Then came the ecrus in the shape of pleated maxi and miniskirts styled over pleated pants and shoulders-bearing blouses. Then we graduate to a range of jewel navy blue, which could be a thoughtful homage to the house’s magical spring 2022 couture collection. As always, there was a big finish – a flock of magentas and reds coated satin skirts and bodycon knit dresses.
Diesel
It was a big day for Julia Fox apologists and Y2K style sirens, for Glenn Martens, the closest fashion designer this generation has to the grunge cohort of decades past, showed his autumn 2023 collection for Diesel. Before every one of his shows, the public awaits with bated breath how he would reinvent denim. This time, it was the mind-haunting gowns and overalls in which denim was “washed” into sheer and – of course – the gargantuan padded denim coats. If the last couple of seasons for Martens were about the minis and the tinies and the micros and nanos and all such fun little things, autumn 2023 is time to go big – more trains, more hoods, more volume, more Diesel.
Roberto Cavalli
One can always count on Roberto Cavalli’s Fausto Puglisi to deliver a precisely calibrated, enticingly entertaining repose from minimalism. His autumn 2023 collection was pure hedonism – in the best sense. Volante dresses dipped into animal prints, of course, were front and centre, however, this time styled with fur-panelled leather jackets and coats that built positively extraordinary silhouettes. There was a bohemian facet to the collection as well – Puglisi’s masterful denim patchwork upon flared pants and – surprise, surprise – more gowns, along with low-waisted lace trousers with fur trims instilled an insatiable longing for the days when parties lasted for days, each one more extravagant than the last.
Etro
The chief bohemian of Milan Fashion Week, Etro’s Marco De Vincenzo dove into the house’s 1970s archives to devise his spellbinding autumn 2023 collection. The staple of the range were shawls – plaid, striped and windowpane-checked. This season De Vincenzo also reigned the grandeur of his paisley prints back to accommodate the dainty atmosphere of the show, as seen upon the pyjama-like pantsuit with a striped collar. The appearance of a new, extremely low, scooped neckline also could not be ignored, as it was incorporated into everything from wool cardigans to oversized tweed jackets and colourful sweater vests.
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Gennady Oreshkin
Journalist, writer, reader, talker and, sometimes, eater, Gennady is the only fashion writer with a degree in Chemical Engineering in his building – a title that he wears with, perhaps, too much pride. If he is not tweeting about HBO’s newest prestige drama, he can be spotted helping his friends with a piece of fashion advice by ignoring their messages. Gennady’s aspirations include being the most glamorous person on the bus at any given time and being called “ditzy and vapid” on a straight man’s podcast.
