Every well-dressed fashion-week attendee who’s been dashing around Milan for the last week may have already packed up their belongings and jetted off to Paris, but one thing’s for sure: They’re still very much thinking about everything they just witnessed in the Italian fashion capital, and they’re not stopping anytime soon. That’s because, despite the fact that Paris is the most lauded of the fashion-month destinations, it’s Milan that, in the eyes of many, hosts today’s most anticipated shows.
Maximilian Davis’s Ferragamo, Matthieu Blazy’s Bottega Veneta, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’s Prada, Luke and Lucie Meier’s Jil Sander… The designers who had a time slot during Milan Fashion Week this season are the ones defining style in 2023. And with that, the trends they send down the runways are important to take note of. This is why I spent the last week studying every inch of every model they each ushered through their runway entrances—be it a fiery B at Blumarine or a working elevator at Gucci—to determine the eight trends that are most necessary to remember for fall. See which ones made the final cut below.
Velvet and winter have always been associated, with the lavish, buttery-soft fabric often being the primary choice for soirées throughout the holiday season. But nothing about the velvety-smooth garments that littered the runways this season in Milan felt festive or obvious. Rather, each design was more alluring than the next, from the knotted, drapey dresses at Sportmax to the rich-purple low-rise trousers at Gucci. In turn, designers took the somewhat cast-off material and transformed it, allowing for a renaissance for velvet that I, for one, wasn’t expecting.
All of what makes it onto the runways during non-couture fashion week is technically considered “ready-to-wear,” but I’d argue that the true percentage is far below 100%. No shame to designers that like to do the most—in fact, it’s one of the most exciting aspects of working in this industry and studying runway shows. At the same time, there’s beauty in simple, wearable ensembles, especially ones that still look utterly intentional and luxurious. Such were the sorts of looks that debuted this week in Milan, with standouts at Bottega Veneta, Gucci, MM6 Maison Margiela, Bally, and Fendi.
Last season, Prada and Ferragamo triggered a significant shift in fashion that many have been dreading for some time now: the return of skinny, fitted pant silhouettes. Yes, that includes leggings. For fall/winter 2023, the latter label continued on with the style and, along the way, was joined by brands such as Ferrari, MSGM, and Blumarine. After reviewing every last legging-like pant option on the Milan runways, I can tell you with complete certainty that none of the pairs that debuted are reminiscent of the past. Rather, they all seem to mark a shift in the style that feels utterly fresh and imaginative.
Animal prints have officially outgrown their cheesy reputation and taken on one that’s surprisingly mature and versatile. The motif was once thought of as far too loud to be considered at all neutral, but the Milan runways proved that even the boldest and most colorful of animal-esque patterns can be casually styled. From big zebra-print bags at Jil Sander to snakeskin trousers paired with trenches at Sportmax, if we learned anything from this week’s shows, it’s that you should never shy away from adding an animal-print piece to your otherwise low-key outfit. Don’t worry—you won’t be overdoing it.
The suiting world has gone through some major shifts in the last two seasons, steering away from massively oversize silhouettes in favor of fitted, tailored ones. But that’s not the only change we’ve noticed, specifically in Milan this season. Suiting and workwear have also begun toeing the line between safe for work and not so safe for work, with Prada styling skinny trousers and blazers with entirely unbuttoned blouses underneath and GCDS and Ferragamo both unveiling suits sans pants. At Gucci, blazers were repurposed into tube tops, and at Fendi, Kim Jones designed something of a waistcoat-blazer hybrid with cutout shoulders. All that’s to say suiting has gone completely rogue, and honestly, it was about time.
Fall and winter—winter especially—are seasons commonly associated with feelings of dullness and dread. In Denmark and Norway, the concept of hygge provides comfort during those long, dark days that coincide with Scandinavian winters. In Milan, apparently, the solution is ASMR textures able to combat even the lowest of cold weather–induced lows. From fuzzy fabrics at GCDS, Diesel, and MSGM to tinsel-like materials at Jil Sander and Missoni, the Milan collections this season certainly had people deep in their feels despite the February climate outside of shows.
With luxury prices skyrocketing of late, the Milan runway collections suggest that designers want you to hold on to your high-end handbags with all your might, clutching them tightly as opposed to, say, letting them casually hang over your shoulder or around your wrist. Either that or they were simply tired of all the handled handbags that have reigned supreme for so long and desired something fresh and new. Whatever the reason, it’s clear that clutches are gearing up for one hell of a comeback, with oversize styles popping up at Jil Sander, N°21, Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Ferragamo, and more throughout the Milan Fashion Week shows.
Perhaps this is a me problem, but every time the weather dips below 50°, I immediately get the urge to enter incognito mode, tossing on any hooded garment in my wardrobe and hoping with all my might that it camouflages me until the first sign of spring’s arrival. Well, the Milan runways suggest that I’m not the only one who’s triggered by chilly weather, with many Italian designers encouraging fall and winter shoppers to add more hooded apparel into their closets later this year. From fur-and-leather hooded jackets at Bally to understated hoodies being layered under outerwear at Ferragamo and MSGM, a chic mode of sartorial hibernation was unlocked in Italy last week that I’m not waiting until the tail end of 2023 to incorporate into my regular rotation.
