Milan Fashion Week opens with art installations giant eggs and Hollywood stars
Milan Fashion Week recently commenced with an innovative departure from its traditional catwalk-centric schedule, setting a new precedent for fashion presentations. The opening day showcased a magnificent exhibition dedicated to Giorgio Armani's archival creations at the prestigious Pinacoteca di Brera, while concurrently, Diesel offered an unusual, immersive experience amidst a field of giant eggs. Not to be overlooked, Demna's film for Gucci, featuring an array of Hollywood stars, further underscored the week's diverse and star-studded start.
A highlight of the opening was the "Giorgio Armani: Milano, Per Amore" exhibition, conceived a year prior when the Pinacoteca di Brera approached the designer to mark the 50th anniversary of his fashion house. The concept was to seamlessly integrate Armani's creations within the historic museum, resulting in an exhibition of remarkable finesse that perfectly reflects his signature quietly elegant, fluid fashion. Opting against haute couture, Armani chose a discreet and respectful approach to showcase 129 silhouettes—a collection of women's and men's everyday wear—drawn from his archives, spanning from the 1980s to the present day. Each piece resonates with striking modernity, creating a stimulating dialogue between fashion and art, reminiscent of Paris' "Louvre Couture" but with a more pertinent premise in this context.
The exhibition reimagines the visitor journey, much like attending a dynamic catwalk show. Clothes appear to take shape before one's eyes, presented on floating, transparent mannequins that sway and whirl through the rooms. These are often grouped on central islands in small clusters, ensuring unimpeded circulation while delicately enlivening the space like fleeting shadows. The meticulous placement of each garment considers its colours, materials, specific details, and its interaction with the surrounding artworks. For instance, a series of light-grey suits and trouser suits with fluid cuts echo the pale drapery of veiled women in Gentile and Giovanni Bellini’s "Saint Mark Preaching in Alexandria." A recreated chapel featuring Quattrocento frescoes houses a 1989 black silk velvet jacket-and-trouser ensemble, its collar extending into a white square adorned with Maltese crosses. Elsewhere, a 1997 Prussian-blue velvet shawl look turns its back to visitors, seemingly absorbed by the paintings it faces, while the Caravaggio room with the legendary "Supper at Emmaus" plays on chiaroscuro with black outfits illuminated by rhinestone and pearl embroidery. An unexpected turn in a corridor reveals Richard Gere’s iconic seducer look from the 1980 film "American Gigolo," seemingly incognito amidst paintings by Bernardino Luini and Vincenzo Foppa.
A stark contrast in presentation came from Diesel, which traded its traditional catwalk for a playful, galactic spectacle to unveil its Spring-Summer 2026 collection. In the expansive courtyard of its Milan headquarters, the flagship brand of Renzo Rosso’s OTB group installed 55 giant plastic eggs. Each egg contained a look from the new collection, worn by flesh-and-blood models, forming the core components of a life-size interactive urban game set to commence immediately after the presentation. Lorries waited outside, ready to transport these eggs and models to various unexpected locations across the city—from bars and churches to sex shops and hotels—initiating a gigantic treasure hunt dubbed the "Diesel Egg Hunt," for which over 4,000 participants had already registered.
Equipped with a dynamic map, participants were guided across the Lombard capital throughout the evening, culminating at a rendezvous point in Piazza Beccaria, featuring live music, a bar, and entertainment. The first five arrivals were offered a custom-tailored look from the collection, with additional prizes awaiting the next twenty or so winners. Creative director Glenn Martens, smiling while hiding between two eggs, confessed, "We’ve staged some fairly spectacular shows in recent seasons; this time we wanted to surprise our audience with something new that really involves the whole city and our fans. It’s also a way of making fashion more democratic. In fact, it was so stressful to organise that next time we’re going back to the catwalk format!"
Despite the organizational complexities, Martens continued his deep exploration of denim for the collection. Innovative treatments were evident, such as a process applied to the inside of blue denim garments to create tie-dye flame effects on the outside. Another denim fabric was woven with a double viscose-satin thread, lending it a unique prominence, while laser-cut pockets accentuated the garments’ deconstruction. Many outfits embraced a deliberately crumpled and worn aesthetic, achieving an overall distressed effect. Floral motifs appeared on tights pulled over pumps, on draped skirts and tops, and on light chiffon dresses layered one over the other. The collection maintained Diesel's characteristic wild streak, highlighted by panels of imaginary animal skins used as patches, strategically placed at chest level or over briefs, connecting the top and bottom of dresses, Bermuda shorts, or T-shirts. This animalistic theme also extended to the jewellery, with ominous salamanders climbing up ears and snake skeletons coiling around the neck as striking necklaces.
