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MFW SS20: top 10 shows
24th September 2019 - Aina Matamoros
Oh, Milano! Third major Fashion Week is done and it was as good as Milan always is. Italian fashion is about tradition, tailoring, quality, details… everything has to be perfect. All Italian brands share these principles, although some of them have very different styles from each other.
While Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Moschino or Attico are all about extravaganza, glamour, color explosion and sexiness, other brands such as Prada, Alberta Ferretti, Fendi, Max Mara or Bottega Venetta are classic, detail-oriented and refined. And then there is Gucci by Alessandro Michele, who does his own thing mixing the best of both worlds.
Here are my top 10 shows from Milan Fashion Week SS20:
My lovely friend Núria Pujol (@nuriarandomthings) picked her favorite look from Gucci and made this amazing drawing representing the creation of the whole outfit and idea behind Gucci's fashion.
1. Versace
We have to start by the end here and with the big name of the night: Jennifer Lopez closed the show wearing a reinvention of the legendary green jungle dress she wore at the 2000 Grammys. It was so revolutionary back then that it inspired Google to create Google Images because everybody was searching for a picture of that dress. 20 years later, Donatella decided to pay tribute to that dress at the Versace SS20 show, getting to go globally viral again: when I opened my Instagram after the show, I started scrolling down and every single post on my feed was a picture of J.Lo wearing THE DRESS. It was madness.
The collection also paid tribute to the dress by presenting some looks including the famous jungle print, not only for dresses but also for suits, coats, and skirts. A variation of the print in warmer colors like pink and orange was also used in some looks. These three colors (green, pink and orange) in neon shades were also the star of some outfits in the middle section of the show, coloring shirts, coats, skirts or dresses in combination with black garments. Black, was, as always, used for the most daring looks. Very short mini dresses inspired by the late 90’s style opened and closed the show, presenting different neckline styles and sleeves lengths and adorned by the Versace signature golden details (buttons, belts…) or wearing a shirt underneath.
This collection was one of the sexiest and sharpest Donatella has created in the last few years, not only because of the daring pieces and the jungle print reference, but also for the models’ beauty look, with all their hair back wet and messy and the golden makeup shades.
2. Prada
Prada is all about elegance and simplicity. Its SS20 collection presented timeless combinations mixing working girl outfits with beach-ready dresses and some nighttime approved shiny looks. Prada is classic and sometimes looks old-fashioned but the truth is that Miuccia always gets to make the clothes trendy and modern. However, she says that it is really one person’s style that makes the clothes feel and look one way or another. Even though she may be right, the clothes have a lot to do in that statement, and even more if they are Prada clothes.
This collection showed a variety of tailored coats and jackets, some in only one classy color like brown, black or gray, and some others including abstract bright colored prints. On a more relaxed part, the collection presented beach-ready fluid midi dresses and summer knit pieces, as well as casual office looks that combined midi not-so-tight pencil skirts with blouses and shirts. See-through shirts appeared more than once in the show, confirming the combination between classic and trendy styles.
3. Max Mara
I chose this show because it was simple yet very powerful and it transmitted me a very strong women's confidence. Max Mara SS20 show started with top models Candice Swanepoel, Gigi Hadid, and Doutzen Kroes wearing matching outfits: variations of a military-style grey suit. The three of them walking together side by side made a whole statement just at the beginning of the show: we are women, we are here and we are warriors. It ended very fiercely too, with Joan Smalls, the Hadid sisters and Kaia Gerber leading the finale also wearing matching outfits.
The rest of the collection followed the same line: variations of the same kind of military-style suit, working girl looks mixing skirts, trenches, dresses, and pants, and, in the end, some more formal bodycon long dresses. Accessorizes like ties, knee socks, and caps adorned some of the looks. The color palette was simple: camel, black, grey, white and pastel colors (pink, yellow, green and blue), that paired with only two prints: mini polka dots and Prince of Wales check.
The beauty look is also worth mentioning: models wore boxing braids and black lipstick, which reinforced the women empowerment message behind the collection.
4. Gucci
As I said in the introduction of this post, Gucci and his creative director Alessandro Michele do their own thing. As one of the most (of maybe THE most) influential (and recognizable) brands and lead designers of the industry right now, Michele always creates a collection and a setting that is different from all the rest of the brands and designers. For the SS20 show, he presented the first section of 21 models wearing all-white outfits descending through a moving walkway, without walking.
The collection featured women’s and men’s looks and some others that seemed genderless. While he continued showing some of his signature 70’s inspired looks like tailored suits and turtleneck dresses, paired with the already typical big squared Gucci sunglasses, the surprise at this show was than Michele explored the sexiness of the women including some bold and more uncovered looks: cutout dresses, see-through pieces, plunging necklines, leather chokers and high-waist skirts paired with tight bodysuits that sharply marked the woman’s silhouette.
5. Fendi
After Karl Lagerfeld’s death, Silvia Venturini Fendi is now the brand’s creative director on her own. Fendi is historically known for its leather and fur coats and they are present in every collection, even the ones for spring-summer, like this one.
The SS20 collection was a literal sunrise (or sunset depending on the way you see it). After a quick initial section of looks with green details, brown and yellow were the stars of the show, especially brown in many different shades (beige, camel, wood, dark, ochre). Fur and non-fur coats, trenches, and jackets dominated the middle section of the show, appearing in looks together with mini skirts, wide-leg long pants or matching sets. There were also some see-through dresses perfect for the beach. The final section was about floral prints and kind of hippie-inspired outfits in pale pink and green shades. The first and last looks included some padding jackets and matching pieces in pastel pink.
6. Bottega Venetta
Bottega Venetta is now widely known for its IT accessories: the pouch clutch and square-toe sandals that every fashionista owns. But, how about its ready-to-wear pieces?
The Bottega Vennetta SS20 collection was simple, sober, elegant and trendy. Midi dresses, some tighter some wider, and leather maxi coats were the stars of the show. The majority of the looks were relaxed, casual, but there were also some office-ready options. The color palette was short: black, white, orange, reddish-brown and some light blue. Daniel Lee, the designer, finished the looks with some of his already recognizable leather bags and clutches, which are set to become another IT item for the next spring.
7. Moschino
Pablo Picasso was the inspiration of the Moschino’s SS20 collection. Always irreverent and extravagant, creative director Jeremy Scott chose the Spanish painter's work to be the center of every look, each one representing one of his famous paintings or muses. The show also included some Spanish-inspired looks like flamenco or toreador dresses. He used the models as a canvas (one of them was literally coming out of a framed painting). The collection was, as all Moschino’s collections, very colorful and full of prints (each one hand-painted in the workshop before being digitalized). The show ended with Gigi Hadid as a bride.
8. Alberta Ferretti
Alberta Ferretti’s SS20 show was the perfect transition from day to night.
The collection started with the sunrise of a hot summer day, featuring warm colored looks with a first hippie then safari-style inspiration. Orange was the main color for the first looks, combined with beige and brown shades and with hippie touches such as tie-dye details, fringes, and wavy prints. Then pink took the lead in similar styles until the safari looks. These made way to the sunset and the beginning of a beautiful night. There was a first part of total black looks and pieces mixed with black and white animal print pieces. The final section included fluid eveningwear long dresses in degrade shades of black and blue, some of them including sequins, which really represented the night.
9. Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini
There are three main elements to highlight form Philosophy’s SS20 show: striped pieces with rounded shoulders, denim, and romantic dresses. Lorenzo Serafini presented a collection inspired by the way Princess Stephanie of Monaco and her sister Caroline dressed in the 80’s.
Stripped dresses and jackets, in a white background and red or blue stripes, with rounded shoulders and sleeves, were the piece where this inspiration can mostly be seen at the beginning of the show. Then denim appeared in all kinds of pieces and total looks: jumpsuits, jackets, skirts, pants, and dresses in very different styles: midi, mini, corseted, paired with plain white T-shirts or with different kinds of shoes (cowboy boots for the informal looks and heeled sandals for the formal ones). During the whole show and especially at the end, we could see Philosophy’s romantic dresses and suits. White and pale pink were the main colors used in these pieces and skirts that were short at the front and long at the back were the preferred style. It is also worth mentioning a little section included in the middle of the show that presented bolder looks, with black leather mini dresses and a matching set of high waist pants and a bralette.
10. Attico
Attico does not present its collection on a show, but they are awesome. Giorgia Tordini and Gilda Ambrosio are the two influencers behind this cult brand amongst young fashionistas all over the world. It is one of my favorite brands because it seems to show me exactly the pieces I would love to wear. They do not do a show because they prefer to present every collection with a set of pictures that describe the inspiration of that proposal and put it into her point of view.
For Attico’s SS20 collection, a working girl by day and party girl by night presents the pieces in different locations: ones are on a shooting set with a navy background and some others are taken at night in the middle of the street or inside what looks like an old-style house. Feathers, sequins and bright colors are The Attico’s signature elements that adorn its daring outfits like very short dresses, small tops, statement bright colored suits or extravagant dresses combining feathers and sequins.
This collection is defined by I WANT (AND NEED) TO WEAR EVERYTHING