REPORTAGE: Trends from the Milan Spring/Summer 2022 Fashion shows by Cristina Morozzi

The Milan Fashion Week held in September has dictated the new trends and the new must-have items for the Spring/Summer 2022.

Fashion from the early 2000s with all its contradictions is the inspiration behind the Dolce&Gabbana collection: slim silhouettes and sassy sensuality are reinterpreted with a contemporary flare. Prada instead combines the biker-style leather jacket with various outfits, including mini dresses and the pleated micro skirt. Fendi offers women’s suits where only a bra is worn under the jacket. And crochet makes a big return for mermaid dresses on the Jil Sander catwalk. Then there’s Versace, which combines high slits with strategic cuts on tops, skirts and trousers. A journey back to the ‘20s brings us the fringes that we see from Fendi and Tod’s and which at N.21 are made with long rows of sequins.

Miniskirts and micro shorts return to many shows. Alberta Ferretti presents the miniskirt together with a jacket in matching fabric. We see flowing silhouettes and oversized shapes that indulge the desire for comfort. Among the most original are those of Jil Sander, who offers draped tops and egg-shaped outerwear. Foulards are still trending as headdresses to wear matched – according to Blumarine – to the fabric of your outfit. Slave bracelets also are making a comeback and are decorated with stones and pendants, like those by Etro, to adorn wrists and forearms in combination with slip dresses with thin shoulder straps and vest jackets.

And then there’s a big comeback for platform shoes. For Philosophy, Lorenzo Serafini has created them with heels in painted wood and leather platforms. Maria Grazia Chiuri, for the Dior catwalk, put on a show that paid homage to the slim look, created by Marc Bohan, director of the fashion house from 1960 to 1989 and who ushered in ready-to-wear with the Miss Dior line.

So what does all of this mean for style? It means clean lines, short hems, no embroidery, deep shades, and geometrical silhouettes that seem to have been drawn with a ruler. Basically a nod to the youthfulness of the ‘60s. Pier Paolo Piccioli for Spring/Summer 2022 launches the Valentino Archive project, with five Valentino Garavani pieces faithfully recreated and marked with a label bearing the photographic shot that made them famous. “They’re not Valentino-inspired clothes”, he affirms, “I respect his work too much for that. These are exact replicas, intended for youth, because I want to bring high fashion back to the streets”. 

Armani celebrated Emporio’s 40th birthday by going onto the catwalk with his niece, Silvana, his go-to person for the women’s collections. Max Mara at Bocconi University mentions the anti-conformist teenager from the book “Bonjour Tristesse” and rejuvenates classic offerings. And for Missoni, Angelo Caliri makes his debut as the right arm of Angela Missoni, president of the brand, who translates Missoni into a more youthful version.

Cristina Morozzi