Classic trends are getting a second life at Milan Fashion Week. So far this season, four are leading the charge.
Sheer madness
Sheer looks appeared on several top runways this week.Fendi/Supplied
One of the most visible trends this week was – ironically – invisible. Sheer looks appeared on several of the top runways, proving that some designers were committed to complete transparency. In that effort, a trio of labels distanced themselves from the diaphanous disco blouses of the 1970s, the chain-mail minimalism of the ’90s and the nearly-nude Bob Mackie creations once seen on Cher –looks that keep sneaking back this awards season on such celebrities as Miley Cyrus and Sabrina Carpenter.
At Emporio Armani’s Spring 2026 Ready-to-Wear show, held at Giorgio Armani’s modernist theatre, a wave of emotion swept the audience. Most were undoubtedly aware that the collection might be among the last of Italy’s most decorated maestro of moda. Yet that sense of loss was nowhere to be found in the clothes.
The collection leaned into weightlessness through a striking light blue sheer tank top, violet-grey harem pants and pale purple cocktail dresses with sequins. There were also see-through embroidered tops and pyjama pants in hues and fabrics that evoked the waters of the Mediterranean in peak sunlight. More yacht rock than beach rave, Armani’s summer vision for Emporio showcases the designer’s talent for balancing the delicate with the functional – a skill he also brings to his namesake line, which shows on Sunday.
Floored by florals
Florals popped up in Fendi’s Spring 2026 Ready-to-Wear collection.Fendi/Supplied
Earlier this week in Milan, Gucci’s new creative director, Demna, revisited a bloom design from the label’s archive and used it in two dresses for his debut collection and short film, The Tiger (available to stream now). Once the headlines started to ease off the Demna-fication of Gucci, it was Fendi’s hot take on florals that proved to be the most imaginative rework.
Fendi’s Spring 2026 Ready-to-Wear collection featured men’s shirts embroidered with sharply cut-out daisies, their petals – revealing the skin underneath – evoking Spock and Captain Kirk’s iconic Star Trek insignias.
In women’s wear, a remarkably diverse cast of models donned soft grey dresses overlaid with electric bursts of fuchsia, azure and ivory blossoms; as well as Grecian, sea-blue knits and vibrant blush tones. The collection was like a Technicolor garden of unearthly delights, with a verdant green cable knit sweater, amped-up shirt jackets in bold shades and a daffodil dress with mini pleats.
With models wearing sunglasses reminiscent of X-Men‘s Cyclops (whose gaze emits optic blasts that can kill), MM6 Maison Margiela’s message to Milan was severe and clear: Keep your eyes in check. Those who heeded the advice would have seen that the line pulled together some of the best shirt work (medium fit, saturated colour) of the season thus far. The best of the batch were a two-pocket, sky-blue button-up; and an oversized, collared acid lemon-lime top with flowers that looked as if they were stickered on.
Reborn slippy
Armani debuted a bedazzled purple slip dress.Emporio Armani/Supplied
The industrial clang of Underworld’s Born Slippy – the defining anthem of the 1996 film Trainspotting – seemed to reverberate across Milan, heralding the unexpected return of the slip dress.
Fendi offered a forward-looking leather reinterpretation, its buttery surface punctuated with retro daisies. Alberta Ferretti offered a peach-champagne version that caught every flash of light in the designer’s Milan showroom. Armani showed a pale gold slip glazed with pearl and cream translucence, rendering it almost liquid-looking on the runway.
Prada, ever the hit disturber, presented the anti-slip: slouching, oversized forms layered over sweaters and military shirting. Spaghetti straps became drooping tagliatelle ribbons and bias cuts were deliberately distorted to make the label’s slip-like pieces feel more like a layering accessory.
Brown-ish is the new black-ish
A long beige trench coat from Hugo Boss underscored the brand’s craftsmanship and heritage.Hugo Boss/Supplied
MM6 Maison Margiela’s dark tan leather aviator jacket – reminiscent of the one Belinda Carlisle popularized during her Heaven Is a Place on Earth chart reign in the ’80s – is just one of several pieces that earned the brand serious brownie points. A head-to-toe, chestnut-hued denim look has the potential to kickstart a new wave of coloured denim in a market still dominated by blue. The look, along with a pair of light brown, straight-leg dress pants styled with sock-less loafers, felt distinctly modern.
Also on the runway yesterday, Boss unveiled a restrained palette philosophy. The collection played out in razor-sharp tailoring and chocolate-toned suits – observed intently by David Beckham and Aaron Pierre in the front row. A long, impeccably cut beige trench underscored the brand’s craftsmanship and heritage, while floor-length, metallic panels decorating the runway delivered a sharp jolt of modernity.
The effect was quintessentially Boss – Matrix-adjacent yet softened, free of severity. Warmer beiges and browns in relaxed silhouettes affirmed the house’s commitment to enduring style over fleeting trends.
