Slips, salt and stripes

Milan Fashion Week wrapped up on Sunday after another season that mixed knock-out dresses, precise tailoring, leather coats and luxurious handbags. The spring-summer 2026 women's collections revealed designers digging into history, reshaping classics, and adding sparkle to modern wardrobes.

Ferragamo's Maximilian Davis revisited the roaring twenties with a colourful lineup of speakeasy-inspired suits and dresses. Dropped waists, long tassels, low backs and flashes of animal print defined the looks.

Antonio Marras evoked the same era with a Sardinian holiday scene featuring Virginia Woolf, DH Lawrence and Katherine Mansfield as imagined travellers. Models paraded across piles of salt—Sardinia's famed produce—dressed in patterned frocks and suits, sketchbooks and violins in hand.

Uniform-inspired designs dominated Prada's collection, where military jumpsuits and layered shirts met cinched waists and full skirts, offset with long gloves. At Fendi, button-down shirt dresses and sheer blouses with tight collars created a "boyish yet ladylike" mix.

Tod's offered oversized striped shirts over leather minis and diagonally striped dresses with matching handbags in warm tones. Versace's new creative director Dario Vitale debuted bright striped trousers, garish prints and neon shirts beneath dark suits, calling it "outrageous and uncomplicated elegance designed for a life led by feeling."

Dolce & Gabbana reimagined men's striped pyjamas with jewel accents, styled with lingerie for a "boudoir-to-city" look. In the front row sat Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci—channelling their Devil Wears Prada personas.

Silhouettes were softened with wide shoulders and fluid skirts but cinched with elastics and drawstrings. At Max Mara, elastic detailed floral coats, organza gowns and even bare midriffs above pencil skirts.

Designer Ian Griffiths described it as "a modern, twangy, snappy element" with hints of fetishism. Emporio Armani used kimono fastenings on floaty dresses and trousers, while Boss lowered leather belts and cummerbunds over jackets, their ends left loose.

Roberto Cavalli doubled down on glamour with its "Gold Obsession" collection. On a shimmering catwalk, Fausto Puglisi cited Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra, showcasing liquid jersey, coated lace and figure-hugging gowns in rippling gold.

Missoni declared "everything gets shortened," rolling up shorts, trimming dresses into backless t-shirts, and sending models in slips beneath jackets despite the rain. Fendi paired slips with floral embellishments and sports bombers, while Tod's matched orange underwear with jerseys and printed scarves.

Gucci, under Demna, unveiled cinematic red-carpet excess in a short film starring Demi Moore and featuring Serena Williams in extravagant gowns, faux-fur coats and metallic bodies. As Milan closed its shows, the message was clear: spring 2026 will be daring, nostalgic, and unafraid of excess.