Fashion designers generally stay away from geopolitical topics and avoid commenting on the state of the world during fashion week. But these days, news still ends up infusing certain parades. At Milan’s fall-winter 2024-2025 women’s fashion week, which took place from February 20 to 26, some expressed their anxiety.
“I don’t want to send a message”, says Miuccia Prada. However, with his partner Raf Simons, they express in hushed words the anguish that the era gives them “scary” and the need to immerse ourselves in history. “Taking pieces of the past to free them from their cage”declares Miuccia Prada, quoting the philosopher Walter Benjamin. Faithful to Prada’s DNA, their historical approach is more experimental than nostalgic, and the duo with panache subverts sartorial archetypes such as the Perfecto from the 1920s or the varsity jacket from the 1930s. They play on colors, across a twinset where the vermilion under-sweater contrasts with the purple cardigan; he has fun with fabrics, like these 1950s ball gowns cut from a synthetic ski suit material. The wool suit is skillfully deconstructed: classic at the front, its back is cut from light silk, as if the wool part had been removed and only the lining remained. “It was a difficult collection to make. It took a lot of effort, but right now it seems more necessary than ever to do your best. »summarizes Miuccia Prada.
“We need a wardrobe that gives courage in the face of all the horrible things happening right now. I want to send an optimistic message, of unity, to show a strong woman who has a heart”, declares Donatella Versace. An idea close to that of Prada, but a very different execution: Versace merges the English punk aesthetic of the 1980s and Italian glamor in a red and black collection. Sharp jackets with broad shoulders, strapless dresses in sculpted leather around the body, tweed suits weighted down with gold studded belts constitute the basis of this collection which leans less towards stylistic revolution than technical excellence: the clothes hug the body, a certain number of them are in reality Atelier Versace haute couture pieces, which corresponds to the more luxury repositioning of the house in recent seasons.
“We all watch the same information. It’s difficult to be festive at a time like this. But in a world in flames, there is something very human about the simple act of dressing.”, affirms Matthieu Blazy, who offers a stripped-down collection for Bottega Veneta, but transcended by the sense of detail and the work of heated, boiled, molded, torn and cut materials. The chocolate leather of a swing skirt looks so smooth you could stick your hand inside it; in a sky blue version, it is so light that it blends in with cotton. Flames painted on a soft shirt dance to the rhythm of the model’s steps; on another, it is the pleats of a t-shirt that wave, or the fringes of a skirt that shake like leaves whipped by the wind. At Bottega, the fabric seems alive, but the experimental aspect of the garment in no way hinders its power of seduction. “The idea of rebirth is beautiful, continues Matthieu Blazy. Flowers can grow after the earth has burned; they give us hope. They come back stronger than ever. Here, elegance is resilience. »