To build a narrative around clothes, a designer could consider different routes. These could include meticulous styling that blends all the elements of an idea, prints, embroideries, and applications that more literally bring the vision onto the clothes or a hyper-staged fashion show that reveals the universe of a collection with theatricality.
In Milan, however, brands are communicating their intentions for the Spring/Summer 2025 season with much less artifice, showmanship, or complex styling configurations. At Dolce & Gabbana, where embellishments often don’t fall short, Domenico and Stefano leaned towards concentrating on the purity and richness of craftsmanship, letting the artisanal work put into the collection do all the talking. The opening looks of the show set the tone for the collection––all first exits involved artful open-work crochet in raffia, coming in the shape of a cardigan, a four-buttons blazer, or a structured jacket; all paired with more relaxed silhouettes of short-shorts or pin-tucked trousers.
Dolce did not relinquish decoration entirely. Amidst a sober array of blacks and beiges, there were also embroideries of sea motifs, some shaped and colored as red coral, while high-waisted trousers carried floral designs. Titled Italian Beauty, this collection spoke successfully and sophisticatedly about the foundations of Italian style—its technical complexity and inherent romanticism. More than clothes, Dolce & Gabbana sent down the runway a mood for the summer, a storyboard reminiscent of a beautiful and melancholic Fellini movie.
In a similar ode to sobriety and a focus on tailoring, Emporio Armani showed its own interpretation of the western style, yet appealing more to the tones, materials and styling, rather than the full-on ornamentation that distinguishes this aesthetic. Inside the brutalist Armani offices in the Navigli district, the runway was enveloped by screen panels displaying white horses galloping freely on a seashore––powerful yet serene imagery that matched the overall sentiment of the collection: fabrics that flowed without constraint, yet accompanied by vigorous tailoring.
The liquidy Armani suit made its presence known. In some looks, it was cinched at the waist by thin belts, while in others, straps emerged from the inner lapels to secure the blazer to the body. Floral embroidery entered the collection with subtlety, featuring leaves and branches in origami silk attached to one-button suits. As seen in many other collections, at Armani, the waistbands on high-waisted trousers were exposed, oversized, and exaggerated, falling like flaps that sprung from the waist.
Milan’s darling emerging designer Luca Magliano presented his own take on austerity via innocuous silhouettes subverted by transgressive details: belts over casual sweatpants, for starters. The collection held a somewhat uncanny valley effect, at first glance, it was seemingly ordinary, yet a closer look revealed details that unsettled the eye.
Although solid muted tones reigned in the collection, prints and subtle embroideries drove the Queer narrative that the designer wanted to convey with his SS25. Patches read “Magliano Care Club” while bongs, dildos, and cracked iPhones starred in graphic prints.
