Surprise ! The 2000s are back again. Two seasons already that Milan gave pride of place to this decade all in low waists, cargo pants and crop tops… With astonishing consistency, the Italian fashion capital continued its work of reminiscence during this spring-summer 2023 fashion week, which took place from September 20 to 26.
He started with Diesel, a brand founded in 1978 in Veneto but which really took off internationally in the 2000s. Glenn Martens, the artistic director appointed in 2020, saw things big: 4,800 guests at the Allianz Cloud Arena stadium , including 1,600 fashion students. In the center of the space, the largest inflatable sculpture ever made (already a Guinness World Record), representing entangled naked bodies. Around her, models in jeans, since it is the specialty of the house. The denim is laced, embroidered, washed out, decorated and serves as a canvas for a sexy-trash look that is reminiscent of the total denim looks sported by Britney Spears in 2001.
Fendi, the crazy logo
For Fendi, Kim Jones went directly to the brand’s archives, between 1996 and 2003: “I’m interested in immersing myself in the work of Karl [Lagerfeld, directeur artistique de la maison romaine de 1965 à 2019] and to look at how we can deepen it, from a visual and technical point of view », explains the English designer. The turn-of-the-millennium version of 2022 is a mix of a minimalism inherited from the 1990s and the pop sensuality that dominated the following decade. We thus find on one side marvelously sober pearl gray cashmere sweaters, cream knit dresses that wrap the body perfectly; on the other, cargo pants in fuchsia satin, openwork dresses that reveal the skin.
In this flashback which goes back twenty-five years, we also find the Kim Jones touch, through nods to Japan (a floral pattern or a kimono-style flat knot), very constructed suits made of patchworks of materials, and an incessant play on the logo. The “double F” acts as a clasp button on the pockets of trousers or jackets, it is also printed on the platform soles of shoes, Fendi is written in full on the leather of a crescent-shaped bag or on the lining (apparent) of a sweater. After all, the madness of the logo is also what characterizes the 2000s.
At the house of Andreadamo, here is the hair sculpted into spikes with gel, low waist cargo pants, and even cropped pants that we thought were buried. This nostalgia of a designer in his thirties for his teenage years does not prevent him from presenting a very accomplished collection. On a small cobbled square with shallow pools, the models splashed their wedge sandals on the guests in the front row. Water is a central element this season, inspired by Famara beach in the Canary Islands, a strip of sand and volcanic pebbles facing the Atlantic. The surf culture shines through in tight openwork suits and bright colors. The movement of the waves is suggested by the work on the frayed, torn, unfinished knit, with long threads that undulate around the body. Very beautiful knitted pieces, which should retain its clientele of influential stars such as Dua Lipa or Julia Fox.
Paris Hilton in Barbie at Versace
For MM6, Maison Margiela’s second line, the studio did not seek inspiration from the brand’s abundant archives, which, in the 2000s, was still managed by its brilliant founder Martin Margiela. But we find in the clothing experiments dear to the house some little touches of the time: abused/faded/ripped jeans, low waist, visible lingerie. The whole, presented in an auditorium where the guests are installed on the stage and the musicians on the seats, is not lacking in poetry.
Poetry is out of the question at Blumarine, where designer Nicola Brognano imagines a “gothic mermaid” which seems straight out of a period Christina Aguilera music video Dirty (2002). This amazing creature wears craspec bell-bottom pants, goggle sunglasses, rhinestone logo tees, low waists so low pubic hair shows, micro pigtails and glitter in her hair.
At the house of Versace, house which knew the heyday of the 2000s, Donatella Versace also drew on the Gothic side of this period, offering black lace babydolls, leather miniskirts, purple latex jumpsuits, cargo pants and big boots. Choker necklaces, platform shoes, low-rise pants and zebra prints complete the range. The highlight of the show: the American heiress Paris Hilton, a key figure of the 2000s, closed the parade, dressed like a Barbie in a rhinestone pink minidress.
Way of Thinking, a series of great interviews with creators