The Best Of Milan Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2025

Following London Fashion Week, which is characterized by its innovative energy and quintessential tradition, Milan Fashion Week dazzled audiences this season with a return to elegance and glamour. The schedule, which included several of the most storied fashion brands of all time, presented some of the season’s strongest shows to date. Trends that emerged were the return of fur (predominantly shearling) and faux fur, the use of sheer fabrics such as lace, and relaxed silhouettes.

This season, Gucci and Fendi showed collections with no creative director currently at the helm, and both drew on their brand codes and archives to project a strong identity. There was also ongoing speculation that Prada may be in a position to acquire Versace from Capri Holdings amid turmoil in the luxury fashion section. Will this be Donatella’s last show at Versace as creative director?

According to Euronews, reporting on March 5 2025, Prada Group posted double-digit growth for the fourth consecutive year, bucking the luxury sector slide amid talk of a possible Versace acquisition. “The group, which owns the Prada and Miu Miu fashion brands along with Church’s footwear, reported a 17% revenue boost to €5.4 billion last year—from €4.7 billion in 2023. Retail sales rose 18% to €4.6 billion in the period”.

VERSACE

This season, Versace did what it does best: create glamorous, sexy clothes worthy of red-carpet events. The show opened with a series of sculptural outfits made from Versace Home duvets with classic Versace signature prints. Gianni Versace (Donatella’s late brother and the company’s founder) originally produced these prints in the 1990s, mostly screen-printed, combining classical themes with unlikely patterns—op art and geometry, animal prints with baroque volutes, neoclassical geometrical forms, and meander shapes.

Classic tailoring, silk shirts, skirts, micro mini-skirts, and micro mini-dresses followed these. There were also denim looks, belted coats and fitted blazers. The menswear, which was included in the presentation, sported tailoring, leather and silk in patterns reminiscent of Gianni’s creations. The essence of the brand was truly captured in the silhouettes and the intricate prints that were unmistakably Versace and fully projected the brand’s DNA and energy.

FENDI

Following the departure of creative director Kim Jones in October last year, Silvia Venturini designed Fendi’s centenary collection. It was a tribute to the brand’s origins, combining silhouettes from the 1920s, 1950s, and 1970s in a very modern presentation.

There were some fur and superb leather creations in a nod to its origins (Fendi began as a fur and leather atelier in 1825), plenty of elegance in the tailoring and beautiful accessories. A play on textures was also a running theme. As usual, the accessories were key: satin shoes, leather boots, variations on their existing handbags (Spy Bag, Peekaboo and Baguette) and new releases: the FENDI Giano and FENDI Lui bags. The delicate jewelry was designed by Delfina Delettrez Fendi, Silvia’s daughter and artistic director of jewelry at Fendi. There were also influences from Karl Lagerfeld’s work, who was Fendi’s creative director for 54 years until his death in 2019, including ladylike silhouettes and some of the patterns on the leather. The collection was a contemporary ode to classic elegance and a tribute to a storied brand.

PRADA

Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’ latest collection, Raw Glamour, strategically used dresses, separates, and outerwear to capture the brand’s core identity.

Prada, whose revenue has recently skyrocketed, presented their latest collection at the same venue as the menswear show, which took place earlier this year. Using the same set, a scaffolding construction with soft plush carpets, it conveyed a transient mood. With a focus on individuality, the clothes came together seamlessly, like an intricate mosaic. There were floral smocks, strapless dresses, oversized jackets and a grunge overtone with messy ‘just got out of bed’ hair. Highlights included some shaped black smock dresses, a modern version of the LBD, a lime green and yellow dress with a bow on the front, oversized coats and a collection of delicate handbags. Prada’s casting was, as usual, quirky, reflecting strong personalities, which made the outfits all the more believable.

Above all, this collection reflected a sense of imperfect perfection, a constant thread for the brand and something that many can identify with. It reflects the general move we are experiencing towards natural beauty and more relaxed styling, away from the impeccably polished look. Perhaps this is the secret of their success.

GUCCI

Gucci’s Autumn/Winter 2025 fashion show featured a mirrored runway shaped like the interlocking G logo, originally designed by Aldo Gucci as a tribute to his father, Guccio Gucci, who founded the company in 1921.

Due to Sabato De Sarno’s exit as creative director in February this year, the studio team designed the show and collectively came out to take a bow at the end of it. It was a co-ed presentation that featured many of the brand’s triumphs. Quiet luxury was injected with sexy glamour, hinting at Tom Ford’s tenure at Gucci (1994-2004). Women’s bright-colored lace vests were worn under jackets, and a silver jumpsuit encapsulated elegance and disco glamour (the Gucci way). Menswear was classic and tailored, with double and single-breasted suits, matching shirts or turtlenecks, and strong outerwear, including tweed jackets. The accessories were also very eye-catching, with beautiful handbags and a statement gold horse-bit necklace that has become a strong talking point and is no doubt on many fashionista’s wish lists.

DOLCE & GABBANA

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana presented a show called Cool Girls in a departure from their classic tailoring. This collection came across as spontaneous and off-duty and included a lot of lace reminiscent of the 1980s and 1990s, when underwear was worn as outerwear. Cargo pants and jeans, leopard print, fringing, and oversized coats were also integral to the show, as were fur (shearling treated as luxury fur, a theme at Milan Fashion Week), and embellished garments. Their eveningwear was dazzling, sexy and daring, presented in short lengths and striking colors. It encapsulated the brand’s codes in a unique blend of glamour, romantic luxury and a touch of bohemian nostalgia. The show was presented in their Milanese headquarters with an outside construction for the catwalk. Below it, Måneskin bassist Victoria De Angelis played an upbeat DJ set, wearing a silver party dress from the collection, attracting as much attention as the cool girls who joined her at the end for a dance finale.