At Milan Fashion Week: Fabulous Scientists and Paper Doll Dressing
Roberto Cavalli made his name with so-right-it’s-wrong maximalism and unabashed sex appeal. He passed away in April, but his presence was still felt at his Milan show, where an old recording of his voice saying that he “was the party” played over the first runway show since his death.
Cavalli’s dresses were for women who could also be described as the life of the party, with floor-length gowns covered in snakes, seashells, and leopard print. Creative director Fausto Puglisi had no easy feat in designing a collection in the wake of his passing, but managed to do so in a way that felt less like an imitation than an homage.
A series of all-white looks opened the show, inspired by the white houses that line Puglisi’s birthplace of Messina in Sicily. These were relatively subtle, although in typical Roberto Cavalli fashion there were plenty of skin-baring cut-outs. Overall, the collection felt chilled out, like it was for the people at the party who know how to have fun, but also know when it’s time to go home.
The Jil Sander spring collection too felt firmly planted in reality. Designers Lucie and Luke Meier wanted to create a reaction to the world we currently live in, where it sometimes feels like the party is long over. Canadian photographer Greg Giard was a prime inspiration, with prints of his imagery of 20th century cars and motels appearing across the clothes. Giard’s work is defined by its neon lighting, and that specific kind of dark-but-bright color palette could be seen in the gloss and iridescence throughout the collection. The pastel midi dresses, double pleated pants, and tall boots in yellow, leather felt made not for a main character but for someone who is slinking around in the shadows, watching the world burn from a distance.
Jil Sander Spring/Summer 2025 Ready-to-Wear
Francesco Risso’s collection for Marni was titled “Essential Beauty Routine: and explored the beauty of getting all done up. Models had pencil-thin Marlene Dietrich eyebrows and worewonky hats that appeared to be constructed out of paper. Backstage, like the Meiers, Risso too admitted to thinking about the cruelty of the world and how beauty can not just serve as an armor but also as a reminder that there are still pockets of purity and innocence if you know where to look (in your closet, perhaps?)
Often, when designers speak of the harshness of the world, they create collections that feel like armor, as if people need protection instead of glamor. But Risso’s clothing this season—like a green-blue trench worn falling off the shoulders, a bold black-and-white blazer covered in roses, or a white top with excess fabric jetting out of the collar like the tab of a paper doll—didn’t imply aggressive strength. Instead, they seemed made for those of us who played with dolls, only to throw them away years ago without realizing we too could become them (if we have the right pieces for an “essential beauty routine,” of course.)
Marni Spring/Summer 2025 Ready-to-Wear
This season, Kim Jones was inspired by Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. Jones said he was envisioning her picking out a new dress. And while the novel famously features her stream of consciousness over one day, this season’s Fendi felt like it was more about the flow of life as a whole. There was a sheer white skirt worn with slouchy boots and a tank top, like the essential uniform of a cool Italian teen, but there were also plenty of silk robe dresses and delicious white coats for her mother. It felt like a collection not just for Mrs. Dalloway herself, but for the generations before her and those that will follow.
Fendi Spring/Summer 2025 Ready-to-Wear
At Del Core, the story was more wonky than something out of Woolf—and more literal. Daniel Del Core’s spring collection was about a scientist who, after working in a sterile laboratory all day, blossoms into a fashion fanatic who goes out all night. The first two looks featured sheer white lab-like coats accessorized with white pumps and a vintage copy of Frankenstein. As the collection went on, the scientist shed her nerdy layers—although only occasionally trading her copy of Hannah Arendt’s The Human Condition for a fabulous leather handbag. Del Core designs for the likes of Florence Welch and Björk, who are known to transform themselves with fashion, so it felt only right that this collection would be all about a kind of metamorphosis.
Del Core Spring/Summer 2025 Ready-to-Wear
At Etro, the Spring 2025 collection wasn’t about becoming someone else but being reborn as a more fabulous version of yourself. Agave plants, which were rendered in concrete and lined the stage, were a prominent part of designer Marco De Vincenzo’s childhood, and here he used them as a symbol of rebirth. Explosive floral prints engulfed flamenco-esque skirts with neon lace trimming, and high-cut slit gowns showing more leg than anything else, as if they were casting a cocoon of glamor so that the wearer could stop into the world as her most colorful self.
Etro Spring/Summer 2025 Ready-to-Wear
Boss brought things back to reality a bit, with a reminder that even if we could be reborn into a new world, it would probably still be one that has an office. The Spring 2025 collection was titled “Out of Office,” with a moodboard that featured old Hugo by Hugo Boss campaign images by Peter Lindbergh and JFK Jr. wearing a head-to-toe tailored Boss look with his signature nonchalance.
The collection, with its wrap-blazers, silk robes, and button-down shirts—all in an earthy color palette—certainly still felt very executive, as Boss always does, but in a way that was less stuffy than it has been in the past. While the clothes didn’t quite feel like something you’d wear while OOO, you could definitely wear them to an office where your attitude exudes a sort of always-on-vacation vibe.
Boss Spring/Summer 2025 Ready-to-Wear
Tara Gonzalez is the Senior Fashion Editor at Harper’s Bazaar. Previously, she was the style writer at InStyle, founding commerce editor at Glamour, and fashion editor at Coveteur.
