Dolce & Gabbana Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear SS2019

The Dolce & Gabbana show on Sunday was about OK-ness. Which lead to the most diverse Dolce & Gabbana show to date. They casted catwalk icons like Helena Christensen, Eva Herzigova and Marpessa. Monica Bellucci and Carla Bruni walked the runway. The designers did quite some street casting too hiring people from all ages, gender, sizes, skin tone and sexual preferences (lesbian girls walking hand in hand, grandmothers and grand daughters side by side). They were all smiling and very much in a celebratory mood. And who wouldn’t start smiling by the looks of these people in these clothes? Fashion wise it was a true Dolce & Gabbana collection. With jacquard suits, printed (we spotted one farm animal printed dress, lots of floral prints and cathalic references too) maxi dresses and tight little black lace dresses. It was as over the top as always with lots of volume, lots of accessories and a lottt of looks (total of 153). It wasn’t so much a show about new styles or trends. The Dolce & Gabbana shows have been portraying more or less the same style variantions for seasons now. Domenico and Stefano wanted to deliver there message of love. They wanted to show everyone matters and – more importantly – everyone can wear Dolce & Gabbana and look like a star.

Marni Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear SS2019

Francesco Risso thought of this collection as a painter’s canvas. A canvas he painted with vivid prints and experimental fits. Models appeared a bit absent, with their futuristic glasses on their heads, simplistic slippers on their feet. They sported loose fitting tea dresses and sturdy coats, side draped skirts, cropped tops, bra lets and deconstructed leather corsets. A leading role of course for boxy bags and arty, chunky and gold colored jewelry. Some say it was too much of an Prada (Risso’s former job) inspired collection. Perhaps some looks lacked the feel of effortlessness the fashion house is so popular for. Yet all the Marni ingredients were there, plus an extra colorful dose of SS2019 inspiration.

Roberto Cavalli Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear SS2019

We kind of went back and forth with Paul Surridge collection for Roberto Cavalli on Saturday shown at a former railway depot. We didn’t really know what to expect of course, other than perfect tailoring. Yet this wasn’t what we had in mind. With Roberto Cavalli’s sexy, animal printed glamazons in mind you’d think Surridge would either completely step away from it or fully exploit that signature. With this collection he did neither of those things. Yes there were skimpy, sensual, abstract animal printed pieces. But there were also fully printed and fully covered looks, like the dress Liu Chunjie wore or the quite masculine fit she sported earlier. The color palette wasn’t as cohesive as one would like it to be and those neutrals didn’t appear to convincing. Surridge wants us to rock biker shorts, cropped blouses, embroidered evening gowns and simple one shouldered summer dresses next summer. Pieces that, according to him, give power to the body and strength to its movement. His sequined sweater Luna Bijl might be one of the strongest statement pieces. Roberto Cavalli launched it’s brand new online platform earlier this month. New designer, new website; all out to revive the Cavalli brand.

Stella Jean Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear SS2019

Summer’s only just officially over for two days but why not already dream of what next year’s summer getaway destination will be? And when picturing yourself at that tropical destination you might just imagine the outfits that go with it too. Like a printed blue and white dress with a colourful, sleeveless striped coat over it. Like an off shoulder blue and white printed midi dress with a strap of tiger print at the bottom. Like a white branded tee paired with some high waisted striped shorts. Like a bikini top worn with a midi printed skirt. Or a bright red dress with African inspired prints on the skirt. It was the ultimate holiday wardrobe, filled with prints and color. Nothing too out of the box, nothing we’ve never seen before really, yet every look was highly likable and wearable. And that’s just the conclusion after seeing all the designs. Learning about Stella Jean’s inspiration for this collection made it all the more beautiful and interesting. The Haitian-Italian designer collaborated with the organic cotton industry and artisans in the Republic of Benin in West Africa. She traced the cotton route (full of slavery influences) from Benin to Brazil to Italy. It’s never just about the pretty clothes for Stella Jean. More so it’s about promoting and supporting the African culture and Africa’s potential. Now guess where she’d like you to go to on your next holiday?

Versace Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear SS2019

The most colorful looks opened tonight’s show and determined the Versace image for SS2019. Shades of red, blue, orange and yellow popped up in striped pieces, checks and snake prints. Quite unusual Versace looks at first with boxy jackets, suits and woolen cardigans. Yet it wasn’t long until the first girl appeared in a red leather mini skirt and blue leather one shoulder top. There it was, the Versace sexiness. What followed was a mix of body hugging dresses and fully dressed looks (skirt, shirt, coat). If the fabrics (leather and heavy wool) were quite sturdy and stiff at first things changed about halfway the show when floral prints were introduced and materials became airy and sheer. Donatella suggests a mix of floral prints for upcoming summer. With not just a clash of prints on the dress, but on the tights, the shoes and the earrings and bags as well. Might you think that would be busy enough, just click on highly accessorized outfits #30 en #31. Maximum color, maximum amount of prints and maxessorized! To tone things done there was a series of silk black evening dresses worn by the likes of Kendall and Emrata. Clean dresses with funny details like belts with a clothespin, a charger or a cat bell as a charm. In order to make things less sexy there were sporty trainers, like the pair Bella Hadid sported with her bright yellow dress. To top it all off, Donatella had Shalom Harlow, one of the nineties supermodels who hasn’t been walking any runway shows over the past six years, close the show in a floral printed & sheer evening dress.

Prada Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear SS2019

A series of shiny satin outfits, sporty open shoes and spiked headpieces formed the opening of today’s Prada show at the Fondazione Prada. A youthful introduction to a collection aimed at a young, fun, sophisticated and intelligent target audience. Miuccia pictures them in a bunge of outspoken SS2019 looks filled with contradictions. Like those extremely low necklines vs. knee high socks. The midi skirts vs. cashmere sweaters with a cut-out at the chest. The simplest LBD’s vs. bright colored, printed, embroidered circle skirts. Spiked and studded gloves and bags to match. Out of all the items we saw the white branded (with Prada’s triangular logo) T-shirts and knee highs might make up for the biggest part of Prada’s sales, yet what girl wouldn’t dream of going out in that XL sequined dress Kristen Paige was wearing?

Fendi Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear SS2019

Today Silvia Venturini Fendi and Karl Lagerfeld proved just how chic utility wear can be. Their models had lots of luggage to carry down the Fendi runway, but they did so with the utmost class. Their jackets had the largest pockets (and pockets on top of those pockets). Tool kit bets all had a variety of bags attached to them. And if the models didn’t hold an extra bag in their hand they were probably wearing a Baguette (Fendi’s first it-bag from 1977) cross body. And still, with all this luggage the models looked as chic as can be. Their hair tied in a bum on their heads and an earpiece in just one ear. In fact all these functional additions gave their looks an extra boost of coolness. Kendall sported an oversized white bomber jacket with nothing underneath it. Gigi Hadid sported a pair of camo colored cargo pants and a cropped top (Tomb Raider style). There were cropped fur jackets and transparent raincoats. There were heavy leather skirts and light pleated ones. We saw busy nature inspired/exotic parrot prints and of course the FF logo (which is all the rage right now) popped up a few times. But in stead of the easy score of exploiting the logomania trend just a bit more while it’s hot, Fendi has moved on. From logo to luggage; utility mode ON!

Max Mara Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear SS2019

It’s been season after season that Max Mara has opened it’s shows with a camel coat. Today was no exception. A smart move, cause if it aint broke don’t fix it. The camel coat is as popular (perhaps even more so) as it was five years ago. Plus Max Mara is smart enough to tweak proportions, details and materials just enough to keep us interested. It also fits in with designer Ian Griffiths vision on sustainability in fashion. Once you’ve invested in a good fashion piece you hold on to it for years or even pass it on to a new generation. Max Mara is about classic, qualitative, timeless investment pieces.
Today they had an eighties touch to them. Besides strong shouldered pantsuits there were one shouldered jumpsuits. Buttons and ruffled gave the looks something extra. Lots of layering too. Suit jackets on top of dresses worn over pants in the same color palette (shades of camel, beige, yellow, white, navy) or with a polka dot print. A show filled with pieces that will last more than just one season. Nothing too trendy, yet looks fresh enough to end up straight on our SS2019 wishlist.

Jil Sander Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear SS2019

For the presentation of Luke and Lucie Meier’s third collection for Jil Sander we gathered in an old panettone factory in Milan. An industrial backdrop to a sophisticated, simple yet utterly interesting collection. This was workwear with a chic twist. Like uniform inspired pantsuits, three button blazers, an oversized striped caftan and stiff fully buttoned shirts. And we’re still trying to wrap our heads around the see through denim sections. Remarkable were there chunky slippers and tiny duffel bags. Fabrics were sturdy, the color palette of blues and beiges often monochrome, the silhouette loose and easy going. In fact every single design that came down the runway carried the ‘effortless’ label as the fresh faced models looked cool, calm & collected.

Alberta Ferretti Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear SS2019

There’s certainly been blowing a fresh wind through the Alberta Ferretti workspace. Within a few season the Italian label has been changing things up a bit aiming at a younger audience. And so overalls and oversized denim inter played with the delicacy Ferretti is known for for 35 years. Like the statement, oversized overall Kaia Gerber sported with just the right touch of lace popping up from underneath the sleeves and neck. Or the shiny silk top Kendall Jenner paired with some roomy shorts. Stiff denim vs ruffled lace. Kaki vs pastel shades. Maxi dresses vs boxy blazers. A show filled with contradictions, a collection that was perfectly balanced out. A new Alberta Ferretti show walked by all of today’s it-girls. Question is: will they wear these pieces when they’re not on the runway? Is the SS2019 collection model off duty proof? Does it appeal to today’s cool kids? And what does the future look like for Alberta Ferretti and her signature style?

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