From Madonna to Marvel, fashion under pop influence

Naomi Campbell, Julianne Moore, Carey Mulligan, Korean pop stars… A motley crew of celebrities walked the Milanese cobblestones during the spring-summer 2025 women’s fashion week, sometimes generating human tides in front of the shows. Undeniably, the big Italian houses have pulled out all the stops to ensure their visibility. An investment intended to counteract the gloomy economic outlook? Without a doubt. Because transalpine fashion is not immune to the overall slowdown in the sector.

Its turnover fell by 6.1% in the first half of the year and forecasts a 3.5% decline for the whole year compared to 2023, according to the National Chamber of Italian Fashion. To compensate for this lack of dynamism, the latter has made some strategic changes to the calendar of its fashion week: instead of grouping the big brands in the middle of the week, it has spread them out from September 17 to 23, encouraging guests to stay longer (and spend their money) in the Lombard capital.

The heavyweight in charge of getting the professionals to arrive at the opening is Fendi. And as the inaugurating brand of fashion week, the LVMH label has spared no expense. Outside the Maxi studio, a noisy crowd scrutinizes the arrival of the “friends of the house” – from the contemporary artist Marina Abramovic to the singer Jade Thirlwall. Inside, the space is occupied by a gigantic pale pink box towards which the models converge and which will eventually open up to offer a very Instagrammable tableau of all the young women gathered. The Roman house will celebrate its centenary in 2025, and this collection, which will be in stores next year, is inspired by its founding years.

“The year 1925 was also that of the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris, the publication of Mrs Dalloway [de Virginia Woolf] and of The Great Gatsby [de F. Scott Fitzgerald] »enthuses designer Kim Jones, who was inspired by “modernity then reigning over clothing, decoration and minds”. Sequined dresses with geometric or fringed patterns fit into a more modern wardrobe, in powdery shades, where a transparent skirt embroidered with flowers is paired with hiking boots. A friendly collection, intended for a clientele already fond of the brand.

In front of the Prada Foundation, the K-pop group Enhypen is treated to enamored banners from fans chanting the names of the seven ephebes. Inside, the atmosphere is more austere. The decor is limited to a sky-blue fabric that spills over the stools. The collection, however, seems to be a hodgepodge: leather dresses invaded by metal rings, trompe-l’oeil jackets of fur drawn on the fabric, chic sheath dresses in butter-yellow silk, crumpled shirts, stiff metallic skirts pierced with holes… Each silhouette tells a different story, sometimes seductive, but more often disconcerting, and this oddity is reinforced by the accessories, like these oversized sunglasses evoking a Spider-Man mask.

“We live in a period of information overload, dominated by algorithms that give everyone the opportunity to create their own version of reality. We wanted to build on this idea.”, deciphers the co-designer Miuccia Prada. “And that each silhouette represents a superhero. With social networks, everyone turns into a superhero.”completes his partner, Raf Simons. The duo achieves its goal because the collection gives off this impression of a random association of clothes mixed with Marvel sauce. But the stylistic dispersion leads to the same pitfalls as the avalanche of photos on Instagram: in the end, it is difficult to remember one silhouette rather than another.

Draped dresses and iridescent palette

No Milan Fashion Week without Giorgio Armani! But, in this season with its disrupted calendar, even he is breaking his habits. The patriarch, who celebrated his 90th birthday in July, presented only one collection instead of two. His main line, Giorgio Armani, will show in New York on October 17, for the opening of a new Armani building on Madison Avenue, which will bring together several boutiques and a restaurant. In Milan, he was content to stage his Emporio Armani collection, as always in his brand’s minimalist premises, on Via Bergognone.

Style-wise, the permanence is also there: a mix of soft suits, riding pants, jackets, parkas and trench coats alternated with little draped dresses and long skirts in an iridescent palette. Aware that concessions must still be made to a changing world, the veteran of Italian fashion is evolving his boutiques and inaugurated the renovation of his flagship on Via Alessandro Manzoni during fashion week. Now very much in tune with the times, with its eco-resin floor and its ceiling covered in screens.

The biggest brand at Milan Fashion Week remains without a doubt Gucci, which, at the height of its glory in 2022, had managed to surpass the symbolic threshold of 10 billion euros in turnover. But this prosperous era is over. In addition to the tense economic context, Gucci has struggled to regain its panache since the arrival in 2023 of artistic director Sabato de Sarno. To return to growth, the Kering Group, to which the brand belongs, continues to invest: the show takes place at La Triennale, a palazzo where the presence of Hollywood stars but especially of the K-pop singer Jin justifies the installation of a vast fan zone facing the red carpet. Without a doubt, Gucci knows how to promote itself. The central point remains: the collection.

Until now, Sabato de Sarno had not really proven himself, offering clothes that were too simple or disparate to really define a style. In his note of intent, the Italian explains that he was inspired this time by “the moment when the sun sinks into the sea at the end of an August day”and the decor, in a gradient of twilight lights, materializes this idea well. But if we are supposed to have our feet in the sand, why does the majority of the collection called “Casual Grandeur” consist of a city and dressed-up wardrobe?

Sabato de Sarno goes from wool trousers to long draped dresses closed with a jewel, then double-breasted leather coats, then very fine lace nighties, all in a black and burgundy palette and worn with knee-high boots. The second part of the collection, with its touches of neon yellow and embroidered bubble miniskirts, evokes summer a little more, but struggles to seduce. The nods to the archives and the overuse of the house codes (the horsebit and bamboo present on shoes, bags, jewelry, in prints, etc.) are not enough to give coherence or a long-awaited new momentum. However rich the Gucci heritage may be, it must be nourished with new ideas to keep it shining.

In front of the Dolce & Gabbana show, the crowd of onlookers is always impressive. This season is no exception since Madonna is among the guests, her face hidden by a veil of black lace; she is also the source of inspiration for the collection. “Madonna has always been our icon. It is thanks to her that many things in our lives have changed”say designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. Dolce & Gabbana began dressing the singer in 1991, designed the wardrobe for several of her tours, chose her for its advertising campaigns… In 2000, The duo had already dedicated the collection “Madonna, the 1980s” to her. This time, they are turning to Madonna ninetiesat the risk of evoking the work of Jean Paul Gaultier, who, in 1990, designed the costumes for his “Blond Ambition” tour.

It’s hard not to see a quote when the models arrive in their pale pink corsets with conical chests. Even if all the outfits display Jean Paul Gaultier’s iconic pointed breasts, the rest of the wardrobe tends more towards Dolce-Gabbana folklore, with its panoply of tight dresses: floral, laced in the back, lace, fringed… The staging, where the models slowly descend a mirrored staircase on their vertiginous pumps, gives them the appearance of characters from a film or music video. After greeting and kissing Madonna, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana leave backstage with moist eyes and burning cheeks. Fashion has become big business but, fortunately, it also remains a matter of feelings.