Milan Fashion Week Spring 2016: Our highlights

The Italians sure know how to up their fashion game. We saw how Milan Fashion Week’s designers were in tune more than ever as the trends spread across multiple collections, yet reinvented into each label’s own signature style. We bring you the highlights below.

LIGHTWEIGHT LEATHER

Leather isn’t a stranger to Spring, albeit sparingly worn and in the right texture for warmer temperatures. Salvatore Ferragamo and Jil Sander seemed to have been using the exact lightness in their high-sheen, almost plastic bag-like fabrics, seen on paper bag skirts, ruched tops and even a coat that looked perfect for the rain.

CLASSIC ANIMAL PRINTS

Despite usually being a staple in Fall wardrobes, Versace and Bottega Veneta pulled out all the stops in sneaking leopard and zebra prints in their summer-ready collections. Donatella didn’t hesitate to clash the two in more than one outfit, tactfully hued in brooding eggplant and green, while Tomas Maier kept a safari theme under white ranger vests and slim sweater tops at Bottega.

SWIM IS IN SESSION

Following the beachside, pool-ready themes at Tommy Hilfiger and Anna Sui, Dsquared2 and Missoni were already looking forward to letting their models take a dip in the water with sports-inspired swimsuits. Onesies, bikinis and modest tankinis were styled with sequin pants, matching cover-ups, heavy jewellery and sky-high stilettos, making us want to spending our weekends by the beach in these exact outfits from now on.

STRIPES GALORE

We would have thought Paris would be the one to be painted stripes all throughout fashion week, but to our surprise Milan has already snapped up the trend. Vertical, horizontal, diagonal – they went in all directions and in all colours. Here we zoom in on the looks from Prada, Gucci and Alberta Ferreti, to name a few.

COLOUR-BLOCKING IS BACK

That’s not to say it was never not ‘in’ for Spring, but the solid colour-blocking trend is back in a big way, specialising solely on primary colours of flat yellow, fire-engine red, true blue and green against black separates. It brings us back to the De Stijl movement in the early 1900s – minimal yet subtly loud.

A-LINE SLEEVES

Nothing excites us more than a detail that’s possibly flattering on every body type. The mid-length A-line sleeve is a statement-making accent that keeps you looking put-together even without trying. Take note from the runways of Dolce & Gabbana, Moschino and Sportmax by pairing a boxy top with everything from pencil skirts to straight-leg trousers and maybe even layered over a mini dress.

Nur Syazana H.