Milan Fashion Week SS25, these were your best bits

After a full-throttle London schedule – where we say everything from Aaron Esh’s slaggy return to the start of the lesbian renaissance at fashion week – Milan soon followed with just as much energy. Mrs P and Raf Simons took us on a heady trip into the algorithm for their eccentric SS25 Prada show, while Bottega Veneta unleashed its inner child onto the catwalk, and Moschino also did its very best to Make Camp Chic Again. While it often feels like there’s so many shows you can barely keep up, there’s actually no need to worry, as we’ve always got you covered. Below, we’ve rounded up all the best from Milan Fashion Week that you might’ve missed, so scroll down to see the runway highlights from Versace, Fendi, Marni and more.

Kicking off Milan Fashion Week day one with dropped waistlines and flapper silhouettes, Fendi’s SS25 collection took from the roaring 20s – when structured corsetry was rejected for moveable, breathable, and most importantly, danceable styles instead. Crystal clusters added sparkling detail mesh fabrics, while a beige and pastel colour palette appeared soft against the bright white backdrop. In preparation for the Italian house’s centennial celebrations next year, artistic director Kim Jones transported us back to 1925, when Fendi first opened its doors as a small boutique in Rome. Undoubtedly, the showstopper moment came during the finale, when 40-something models were unveiled from a giant box structure in the centre of the space. If this is just the warm up for Fendi’s 100th birthday, then who knows what’s planned for the big day.

Skinny trousers, skinny straps and skinny brows were among the looks at Francesco Risso’s latest Marni show in Milan. The brows in question stole the show – barely a millimetre thick and drawn high up the forehead, like those of iconic drag performer, Divine. Jack Harlow and Maya Jama were sat front row, while Paloma Elsesser, Irina Shayk and Anok Yai walked in the show. The collection itself was one of Risso’s best yet. Built on strong primary colours – royal blues and deep reds – the collection took inspiration from a poem about a white rabbit, dashing around a forest and disappearing within the blink of an eye. Though the poem was by an unknown writer, the Alice in Wonderland comparisons were obvious, and while Lewis Carroll has been cited on the catwalk time and time again, this collection felt fresh and fun. Mermaid skirts, capes tied in a knot around the neck, bug-eyed aviators, bold rose prints and playful headwear made for a modern and inspired show, that, despite running 90-minutes late, made the waiting game worth it. Of course, a soothing, 15-minute composition by Dev Hynes helped too.

There is a Dries Van Noten shaped hole in our hearts this fashion season, though Lucie and Luke Meier helped along our healing process on Wednesday (September 18) afternoon with their SS25 collection for Jil Sander. Combining impeccable tailoring, the sharpest of lapels and sunset colour palettes that bled delicately into one another, the pairing of vibrant shades felt distinctly Dries. Lifting the neon photographs of Greg Girard and printing fragments of them onto silk throughout the collection, the colourways felt bright, crisp and clean. Fringing swished from cuffs and from earlobes, whilst subtle florals were spattered throughout. Solange’s son Julez J Smith Jr walked the show, while Solange herself watched proudly from the front row. Unlike when the young model walked for Luar last season, aunt Beyoncé, unfortunately, was nowhere to be seen.

Trousers under dresses and hooded, nonchalant evening wear was the vibe of Etro’s SS25 collection. Billowing 70s cover ups, open-toed boots and mesh netting made for a bright and beachy show inspired by the Mediterranean coastline, where creative director Marco De Vincenzo is from (Sicily to be exact). An Italian take on boho, silhouettes were loose, earrings were oversized and jeans were flared. Centre stage were cast-iron and concrete agaves – a botanical wonder that flowers just once before it dies and was recurring in De Vincezo’s childhood memories of Sicily, Andalusia, Greece and Seville. Soundtracking the show was Sardinian singer-songwriter Daniela Pes, as psychedelic prints wafted past. Similarly to London designer Feben’s SS25 show, the clothes were reminiscent of flamenco dancers with plunging v-necks, mermaid hemlines and multi-layered skirts. After walking in Simone Rocha’s ballet-inspired show on Sunday, Alex Consani made her first appearance in Milan walking for Etro, this time swapping pirouettes for flamenco.

Soundtracked by intense trance music and held in an industrial warehouse space that could easily double-up as a rave venue, MM6 Maison Margiela showed its SS25 womenswear collection on Thursday afternoon. Finnish creative director Heikki Salonen took us to the club with styling that oozed smokey basement bar, circa 2007 (pre-smoking ban). Models wore white tuxedo jackets with nothing underneath, nipples peeking from behind draped crystal necklaces. In typical Margiela fashion, the main colourway was white, with touches of silver, gold and black. Sunglasses and belts both came dramatically oversized, whereas shorts and hemlines were of the itty bitty variety. Ripped skinny jeans transported us straight back to 2013 and shoes came in every variety: court, cowboy, flip-flops (that’s right) and open-toes. Providing stark contrast to the blaring trance synths, models came strutting down the catwalk to the folk-rock sounds of Big Blood’s “1000 Times” for the finale.

“Are you a wild animal or a dainty flower?” was the question posed by GCDS, 24 hours before Thursday evening’s show in Milan. Held inside La Borsa Italiana (the Italian stock exchange), Giuliano Calza’s SS25 offering Flowers of the Concrete used the image of delicate flowers blooming in harsh conditions as a metaphor for strong women who inspire him. One of Calza’s inspirational women, Charli xcx, was not only present in the catwalk’s soundtrack – a special reworking of her song “Everything is romantic” – but also in the actual clothes, when the opening seven looks all appeared doused in acidic, Brat green. Maybe somewhat surprisingly, Calza seemed to be the only designer to tie his runway to our current xcx-overload, and it seemed to work out for him, as various guests feverishly posted about MFW’s “Brat collection” before the runway had even ended. Elsewhere on the catwalk, Calza juxtaposed satin evening wear, like minidresses and tailored trousers, with club ready ensembles, such as sheer body stockings and ostentatious pink faux-fur. To answer his earlier question, it seems that, yes, you can be both a wild animal and a dainty flower – but only if you invest in some GCDS clothes.

For SS25, Donatella Versace revisited her SS97 collection for Versus, the diffusion line that she took care of while her brother Gianni was in charge of Versace. As soon as the first model stepped out, you could tell that Donatella’s point of reference was the younger sister line – this was the brand’s most youthful collection in years. Gone was the imposing punk attitude of AW24, and in its place a fresh set of young fashionistas, in pastels, florals and undulating squiggly lines. Baby blue ran throughout the entire collection, on cardigans, coats and shirts, while another pastel purple popped up to take its place towards the end of the show. Brown leather also featured heavily throughout, which seemed to be a nod towards the collection’s vintage leanings, while florals adorned dresses and skirts worn by the likes of supermodel Gigi Hadid. And while the collection was generally a lot looser-spirited then we’ve seen from Donatella before, there were some classic hallmarks, like gilded corsets and Barocco print shirts, that firmly placed the collection in the Versace canon.

After her meltdown-causing appearance at Luar’s SS25 show in New York, it seemed that Madonna might have been done for fashion week – but then came the Dolce & Gabbana SS25 show, which was obviously too exciting a prospect to miss. How could the Queen of Pop shy away from an entire show dedicated to her?

On the runway, every model appeared in blonde curls just like Madge’s 90s ‘do, and many of them also sported her famous cone bra from her Blonde Ambition tour, originally designed by Jean Paul Gaultier. There was the classic nude corset version of the cone bra, a black lace dress version of the cone bra, a trench coat with a cone bra sticking out from underneath, and some very Dolce florals that had been layered over some more cone bras. Though Gaultier made the shape famous, the protruding busts also seemed to reference Marilyn Monroe, especially in the pink and powder blue satin dresses, which were very reminiscent of her Gentlemen Prefer Blondes era.