Milan Fashion Week Blooms with Meryl Streep's Presence and Designers' Optimism for Spring Summer
A palpable excitement gripped Milan recently, particularly amplified by the presence of Meryl Streep, who paused filming "The Devil Wears Prada 2" to grace the front row at Dolce & Gabbana. Amidst this effervescent atmosphere, Milanese couturiers exuded optimism, anticipating a strong rebound. For the upcoming summer, there's a collective lean towards lightness and a renewed sense of fun, translating into creations brimming with vitality. Women's ready-to-wear collections for Spring/Summer 2026, prominently showcased by designers like Ferragamo, Stella Jean, and MSGM, emphasized fluid, colourful garments, rich in intricate details, diverse textures, and captivating prints.
At Ferragamo, under the aesthetic direction of Maximilian Davis since 2022, the brand continues its sophisticated repositioning, cultivating a distinctive vision of luxury and elegance. Sophisticated silhouettes and exquisite materials remain foundational to its wardrobe. This season, the British designer masterfully experimented with colour and texture, developing two distinct thematic strands: one inherently feminine and the other leaning towards a more masculine sensibility.
The tailoring segment of the collection embraced darker tones and an austere, almost wintry spirit, featuring sweeping coats, classic trench coats, and a series of impeccably crafted suits. Loose, pooling trousers were paired with enveloping tuxedo jackets, subtly cinched at the waist by long, fringed satin scarves, sometimes evoking the comfortable ease of pyjamas and dressing gowns. Leather made notable appearances, such as in a sleek tank top paired with a straight suede skirt, while a short-sleeved little black dress was cut provocatively in vinyl.
Conversely, the collection's second facet exuded refined sensuality through diaphanous, often sheer fabrics. Examples included organza tops vertically split at the front and delicate lace slips inlaid with lustrous satin. Silk dresses, stopping elegantly above the knee, occasionally extended into long, floor-skimming ribbons or fine fringing. This intricate fringed detail also artfully traced the flanks and cuffs, evoking the fluid, swinging aesthetics characteristic of the 1920s.
Marking her return to the Milan catwalks after a three-year hiatus, Stella Jean unveiled a collection rich in colour and profound craftsmanship. Renowned for her cross-cultural fashion narratives, the Italian-Haitian designer transported her audience to Bhutan this season, where various pieces were meticulously produced by local craftswomen employing ancestral techniques. This collaboration resulted in stunning traditional Tego jackets and the iconic kira dress—a rectangular fabric piece wrapped around the body—all crafted on handlooms. Another striking example was sleeveless coats woven from nettle fibres, onto which the designer had the entire production journey, from harvesting to weaving, intricately embroidered in brightly coloured wool yarns.
With its vibrant palette and clever fusion of prints and painted motifs, Stella Jean’s collection skillfully merged classic pieces with unique creations imbued with an ethnic touch. This included intricately woven aprons, tapestries repurposed as bustiers, and rugs artfully wrapped around the waist as skirts. Models, outfitted in tall fishermen's waders worn musketeer-style, showcased multicoloured embroidered dresses, topped with individually unique straw hats and adorned with bold shell necklaces. Stella Jean's high-end women's ready-to-wear line has consistently championed endangered artisanal skills, which she passionately strives to preserve globally.
"I said I'd be back on the catwalks when I had something to say. I'm back with two concrete proposals to safeguard the production chain," the designer explained backstage. "I'm appealing for VAT to be lowered for all craft-fashion products, and for our artisans to be able to benefit from self-certification." At the culmination of her show, Stella Jean emerged brandishing the white T-shirt emblazoned with "Grazie, Mr Armani," a poignant gesture recalling his support in 2013, when he enabled her to stage her debut show in Milan. "I wanted to pay him one last tribute. He did a lot for fashion. It's thanks to him that Made in Italy has become a real passport around the world," she reflected.
At MSGM, Massimo Giorgetti transformed his central Milan boutique, right at the peak of Saturday shopping, into a vast, glass-walled backstage and photo studio. This ingenious setup allowed passers-by to observe, as if through an enormous aquarium, the various phases of putting a fashion show together—from fittings and make-up to the final shoot. "I wanted to open the boutique to everyone's view to celebrate the house and the teams. It's a symbol, too. The place where we work and where we sell fashion," explained Giorgetti, who founded the label approximately fifteen years ago.
The streetwise, carefree girls from MSGM's early days have evolved into young women. They still embody a fresh, joyful style, but with a subtly more refined touch. Their wardrobes now encompass elegant couture-flared dresses crafted from cotton poplin, delicate polka-dot chiffon numbers, chic marled coats, and luxurious floral-printed duchesse satin ones. The essential cardigan was reimagined in vibrant pop pink or orange and studded with metallic accents. Giorgetti proposes a fashion firmly anchored in the present, a vision perfectly actualized by models who, after leaving the boutique, cut through the adjoining street before a delighted audience, bag tucked casually under the arm—mirroring real-life spontaneity. They sported pretty little dresses, playful tartan mini-skirts, and hybrid T-shirts splicing diverse motifs. They masterfully played with Breton stripes, mixing them with metallic silver pieces, while a simple striped cropped jumper tossed over a white maxi shirt and wide-leg trousers was enough to imbue them with instant flair.
