Escapist Digital Fashion Continues at Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2021
This Fall/Winter 2021 season, Milan, the Italian capital of fashion and center of luxury fabrics and refined tailoring, was determined to overcome the pandemic with a digitally focused schedule tightly packed with veteran Milan Fashion Week brands like Moschino and Marni, alongside new talents such as former Gucci designer Daniel Del Core and recently appointed Fendi Creative Director Kim Jones.
Much like its New York and London counterparts, MFW saw a dramatic shift in its usual structure. While only a small audience, comprised of coronavirus-tested Milanese magazine editors and buyers, could attend the shows and view the collections up close in appointments, the rest of the fashion community had to make do with watching from home.
With beautifully decorated personal invites to the digital presentations—like the fluffy, opulent Prada Fall/Winter 2021 invitation box with candy treats from the historic pastry shop Marchesi—designers made sure to indulge their guests in these difficult times while still trying to get their point across with films, livestreams, look books, and more. A few major players sat this season out, with Donatella Versace doing a post-MFW launch on March 5, Jil Sander’s Luke and Lucie Meier showing their collection on March 7, and Bottega Veneta and Gucci with showcasing dates yet to be defined.
The first collection to get the ball rolling this MFW was Missoni, with Creative Director Angela Missoni amplifying the brand’s new youth-inspired attitude with a collection of versatile knitwear, loose trouser suits, and long ribbed dresses oozing comfort and casual vibes. Since COVID-19 prevented Missoni from putting on a real fashion show, this Fall/Winter 2021 lineup was introduced in a short film, titled “Look Right Through Me,” which celebrated the return to a normal life of activities with friends without social distancing restrictions.
Alberta Ferretti kept everything realistic in a staged runway show video with no artsy virtual experimentations, almost suggesting a hopeful attitude towards returning to some state of normalcy. The collection also stayed faithful to that same sense of possible realness with luxurious, no-fuss daywear in dark palettes and classic silhouettes.
Highly anticipated designers Kim Jones for Fendi and Daniel Del Core for his new eponymous label debuted their first ready-to-wear collections. Jones’ live-streamed show proved the British designer as the best fit for the fashion house with a pleasant follow-up to his debut Haute Couture show that paid homage to the Roman label’s noted history while also adding his signature street-smart edge to the label’s neutral tones.
Later in the day, the young Gucci alumnus Daniel Del Core became the talk of MFW. His show was the only one physically staged during this predominantly digital Milan season. Del Core’s unprecedented show location at Cittadella degli Archivi made for the perfect contrast with the collection’s theatrical and couture-inspired creations.
Themes of escapism and optimism for a brighter future permeated the remaining days of the shows with digital installments by Prada and Moschino that induced thoughts of a better world. Following the brand's Fall/Winter 2021 Men’s show last month, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons teamed up again for Prada's womenswear collection to recreate a sensorial experience set within plush, fur-covered rooms designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. More extravagant and cheerful than the Spring/Summer 2021, the collection begs to be touched thanks to its play on various textures like faux furs and sparkling sequins.
Moschino revived spirits with a lineup inspired by Old Hollywood glam in the short film “Jungle Red,” which pays tribute to George Cukor's 1939 film The Women starring Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer as romantic rivals. Creative Director Jeremy Scott delivered a colorful feast for the eyes in true Moschino fashion with the help of big-name models like Hailey Bieber, Winnie Harlow, and Dita Von Teese adorned in tailored pinstripes and sophisticated gowns with satin, long-length opera gloves.
Creative Director Francesco Risso’s latest collection for Marni offered a series of videos where he tries to recreate intimacy in what is a romantic portrait of our pre-pandemic life, merging the fantastical with the everyday through clothes, from colorful crochet knit sets and puffer coat material capes to lace-up sneakers with pointed toes.
Looking to the future, Paul Andrew from Salvatore Ferragamo did some cinematic research when crafting the Fall/Winter 2021 collection, referencing movies such as The Matrix and Gattaca for his sporty and bold-colored military-inspired uniforms.
To top off this Milan Fashion Week season, Valentino concluded the jam-packed six days of digital shows on a more somber note, with a collection showcasing both menswear and womenswear almost exclusively in black-and-white, ranging from matching materials and silhouettes to exciting looks focused on layering and mixing. Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli ultimately showed the audience how to wear seemingly similar items in a totally different way, effortlessly turning a conventional and pandemic-appropriate white shirt into an elegant outfit.
