Key trends to takeaway from Milan Fashion Week

Style with longevity is what everybody's talking about 
Milan Fashion Week
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Emma McCarthy24 September 2019

If proof was needed that a look with longevity is the hot takeaway from Milan Fashion Week, JLo’s surprise appearance at Versace — re-wearing a dress that was 20 years old — was surely it.

Of course this wasn’t just any old dress. This was the legendary jungle dress. Plunged precariously to the navel and immortalised by the popstar’s appearance at the Grammy Awards in 2000, it’s the reason Google Images was invented.

“The whole world wanted to see the dress,” said Donatella Versace, speaking at a press conference ahead of Friday night’s show. But among the evening’s most extraordinary revelations — including Anna Wintour’s standing ovation and Versace’s admission that she has never Googled herself (“I’m too scared to!” she disclosed) — was the fact that both Jennifer Lopez and the dress had only improved with age.

The former — buffed, bronzed and recently turned 50 — sashayed out an even skimpier version of the original, sleeveless and slashed at the sides, as evidence that recycling has never been more on trend. The collection which preceded it saw Versace’s back catalogue reinterpreted with slinky numbers in the same palm-print to little black cocktail dresses, with sharp shoulders the order of the day.

JLo’s cameo wasn’t the only example of fashion designed to stand the test of time showcased in Milan.

JLo breaking the internet for the second time
AFP/Getty Images

“It’s more about style than it is about clothes,” said Miuccia Prada after a show which opened and closed with the very essence of simplicity — a grey knitted polo top. Other polished staples which could belong to every wardrobe and any season followed suit, from double-breasted wool coats to butter-soft leather skirts. It was a collection devoid of gimmicks but, crucially, not of personality.

“It’s simpler but it’s more meaningful to the person,” Prada confirmed, “(these are) timeless clothes you don’t throw away.”

A sense of personal attachment to what we wear was also nurtured by Margherita Missoni. “This is about real clothes for real people,” she said of her collection, which included items crafted from deadstock fabric upcycled from the family archive. The designer also traded the catwalk for a tram, which zipped through the city centre collecting street-cast models from all walks of life. Hers echoed the sentiment of Mrs Prada: “Each ensemble becomes a portrait of each woman”. Even, it seems, if that woman is JLo and the ensemble is the jungle dress. This notion of a more considered approach to consumption also manifested itself with a renewed appetite for staple buys.

Prada SS20 Milan Fashion Week
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At Jil Sander, Luke and Lucie Meier relied on hyper-minimalist tailoring to balance statement marbled motifs and create an aesthetic which was at once modern and timeless. When it came to Bottega Veneta and the sophomore showcase of British designer Daniel Lee, his early signatures were cemented into new house codes. The collection was a continuation of the must-haves which have lined front rows this show season — Bottega Veneta is fashion editor catnip — from squishy weave sandals to leather coats. His message: the new breed of It-item has a shelf-life to outlast one season.

Bottega Veneta SS20 Milan Fashion Week
Getty Images

This approach is one that has long resonated with Milanese designers — certainly it’s one that began decades before the current conversation surrounding sustainability gained pace. Giorgio Armani’s ever-evolving and consistent supply of suits is a fine example. As is Tod’s dedication to supremely luxurious leather. The Fendi show — the first solely designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi since the passing of Karl Lagerfeld — brimmed with psychedelic florals and the brand’s signature caramels. Here, instead of deviating from the classics, the designer set out to celebrate them.

At Gucci’s first carbon-neutral show, achieved by offsetting attendants’ emissions and re-using the set in shops, the accompanying collection was a pared-back — at least by Alessandro Michele’s standards — with an aesthetic intended to let the star attractions shine. For SS20, he builds on his catalogue with monogrammed suiting and luxury interpretations of a classic workman’s jacket among the latest items to be added to his legacy for the house.

Will his vision for SS20 have the same appeal as JLo’s jungle dress 20 years from now? Only time will tell.

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