MILAN — While the fashion industry discusses size diversity from time to time, there was little evidence of real evolution on the Milan runway this season.
On Saturday, Paloma Elsasser walked Ferragamo in a satin plunge-neck cocktail dress, and Dolce&Gabbana included models of normal size. But the thinness of some models was a topic of pre-show chatter.
Ashley Graham, who sat in the front row of Dolce&Gabbana, as recently as the September shows, lamented how often she is the only larger model on runways.
Some highlights from the fourth day of Milan Fashion Week, mostly womenswear previews for fall-winter 2024-25.
Maximilian Davis’ Ferragamo collection both conceals and reveals, with oversized masculine woolen overcoats covering wispy, transparent embroidered dresses. It is the freedom to choose who sees what.
The designer, in his third winter seasons at the Florence-based family-run fashion house, took inspiration from the 1920s Prohibition era, when a U.S. booze ban drove revelers underground.
“People were using clothing as a way to kind of hide what they were doing, as a massive celebration of freedom,” Davis said backstage. “They were going to speakeasies and they didn’t want (anyone) to be seeing what they were wearing.’’
Wool coats have broad shoulders and masculine silhouettes in the style of Joan Crawford and Greta Garbo. Underneath, dresses of scalloped sequins and draped fringe recall flapper looks with contemporary discipline. Looks without pants were paired with woolen tights for full-cover, while hip boots rose the hemline of knit mini-dresses. Footwear included heels fully concealed beneath a flurry of feathers.
Davis covered men head to toe in leather, from thigh-high fishermen boots to gloves, or freed them to reveal a leg in flat-pocket shorts with thick cropped knitwear.
“People need to let go, and just be free,” he said, as Ferragamo declared “an era of emancipation.”
Eva Mendes and Ashley Graham sizzled in the Dolce & Gabbana front row — the actor wrapped in a leopard coat over leather, neckline glistening with a lariat necklace to matching dangly earrings, and the model mirroring the tuxedo runway with a white tuxedo jacket and black trousers.
On the runway, the collection oozed sexiness, as designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana combined tuxedo tailoring with their lingerie mastery for looks that were more, or less, revealing, with an array of garments to adjust the temperature up or down.
Cropped tuxedo jackets revealed lacy bras, while sheer sarong skirts tied in a satin bow showed off lace panties. Looks finished mostly with stiletto heels and felt berets with netting. More modestly, full tuxedos were formfitting with cigarette trouser or short shorts and cropped jackets that allowed peek-a-boo moments. The collection was rigorously black, with a few liquid gold and silver moments.
Naomi Campbell closed the show in a layered lace bras, front-slit sarong and fetish leather gloves, giving a slight wiggle as she exited the runway to the delight of the fashion crowd.
