Golden Milan
Graphic patterns, rich textures and a covered-up look emerge as fall trends
MILAN – Even before she grabbed her Oscar, Meryl Streep was in the groove with her gold Lanvin gown. The Milan fall shows, which ended Monday, were loaded with gold – the baroque essence of the Dolce & Gabbana show, but also abundant in the lace-edged skirts at Salvatore Ferragamo, the small details at Aquilano Rimondi. Trends from Milan include graphic patterns in prints and jacquards, slim trousers, velvet, narrow jacket shoulders and multi-dimensional effects with colours or embroidery.
Milan designers still love those boy-girl contrasts, like those at Giorgio Armani, with great-looking pants in a muted Prince of Wales check worn with lipstick-bright jackets, and lots of splashy prints for girlish dresses and blouses with collars spilling around the neck.
Apart from the elegant black-andgrey velvet gowns at Bottega, the delicately finessed slips at Jil Sander – whose talented designer Raf Simons is leaving the house – and the silvery mesh columns at Versace, Milan didn’t make a bold statement for evening.
Clothes tend to be covered up this season. At Pucci, Peter Dundas offered flattering long-sleeve dresses in black or deep purple wool, with chiffon-backed vents. He also had a fresh-looking print in deep blues and lavender, lovely evening outfits based on pyjamas, and embroidery and knits that subtly referred to fisherman sweaters from his native Norway.
Giorgio Armani was in step with the covered-up mood, opening with a jolt of neon-bright jackets over slim grey tweed pants, and other jackets in a vibrant broken-stripe pattern. The collection was loaded with guy-girl contrasts; note the pointy rockabilly shoes.
Although the military tailoring at Ferragamo looked great, the show hit the repeat button with goldflecked peasant dresses meant to capture a woman’s fragility, a poky idea in 2012. Marni was simply overpowered by too many solid-coloured, boxy coats and nurse tights with Kabuki shoes. Angela Missoni kept her best designs – gorgeous knit dresses combined with suede or fur and heated at the edges for an organic texture – under wraps. One felt that the styling crowded the designs.
Christopher Kane and Donatella Versace gave Versus lots of cute dresses and tops in dusty blue or bright orange, some in a graphic print or laced-together panels, and worn with black boots or shoes vented with coloured mesh. The streaky jeans were all about the cool fit. Sometimes that’s all you want from Milan.