Welcome to Milan Fashion Week S/S 2026
Milan Fashion Week arrives in the Italian fashion capital this week with plenty of intrigue: opening collections from Louise Trotter at Bottega Veneta, Simone Bellotti at Jil Sander and Dario Vitale at Versace begin the over-dozen creative director debuts which will unfold over the coming weeks (at the end of the month in Paris, there will be Jonathan Anderson’s first womenswear collection for Dior, as well as debuts from Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, Duran Lantink at Jean Paul Gaultier and Pierpaolo Piccioli at Balenciaga). Also in Milan, new Gucci creative director Demna will host an intimate screening of ‘The Tiger’, a film by Spike Jonze and Halina Reijn, which reveals his vision for Italian mega-house ahead of his runway debut in February. He’s promised a vision that’s ‘unapologetically sexy, extravagant, and daring’ – the fashion world awaits.
Elsewhere, a poignant Giorgio Armani runway show on Sunday evening will pay tribute to the house’s namesake designer, who passed away earlier this month, aged 91. Taking place at the Pinacoteca di Brera, the black-tie event will no doubt celebrate his unique place in Italian culture – a designer with an unerring eye for beauty, who built a fashion empire. Other notable moments include a Milan debut from London-based label KNWLS, as well as shows from the city’s design heavyweights – among them Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Missoni, Ferragamo and Fendi.
Alongside our daily report on the shows, to bring Milan Fashion Week to life this season, the Wallpaper* editors on the ground will be offering a real-time look at the weekend’s happenings – from behind-the-scenes glimpses to access to the shows, presentations and parties. Stay tuned.
Jack Moss is Wallpaper’s fashion features editor, reporting for the magazine’s digital and print editions – from international runway shows to profiling the style world’s leading figures.
Jason Hughes is Wallpaper’s fashion and creative director, overseeing all style content – from fashion and beauty to watches and jewellery – as well as leading the visual direction of the magazine.
Orla Brennan is a London-based fashion and culture writer. At Wallpaper*, her ‘Uprising’ column is a monthly profile of the style world’s rising stars.
Demna introduces his new chapter of Gucci with a screening of a new Spike Jonze and Halina Reijn-directed short
The film poster for ‘The Tiger’, a film by Spike Jonze and Halina Reijn for Gucci
Yesterday, Georgian designer Demna (previously of Balenciaga) revealed an opening glimpse of his tenure as creative director of Gucci with a collection titled ‘La Famiglia’ presented via a Catherine Opie-shot lookbook. Conjuring a series of Gucci archetypes, from the bombshell ‘La Bomba’ to ‘La Principessa’, he promised a vision that’s ‘unapologetically sexy, extravagant, and daring’. This evening in Milan at the Palazzo Mezzanotte, guests gathered for part two of the reveal: an intimate screening of ‘The Tiger’, a short film by Spike Jonze and Halina Reijn which celebrates the collection in lieu of a runway show (his first show will take place next February). Starring Demi Moore, Edward Norton, Keke Palmer, Alia Shawkat and Kendall Jenner, among others, the glossy melodrama features the fictional Barbara Gucci (Moore) ‘head of Gucci international and chairman of California’ coming unspun after an ‘unexpected turn’ at a family gathering for her birthday. We won’t give any more spoilers – you can watch from 12am CEST, or for now, watch the trailer below. Jack Moss
Simone Bellotti’s new dawn at Jil Sander
For his Jil Sander debut, Simone Bellotti took it home: the Italian designer, previously of Bally, chose the brand’s Milanese headquarters to stage his S/S 2026 collection, looping a ramped black runway through the modernist, white-walled interiors (prior to Lucie and Luke Meier, his predecessors, the Piazza Castello address was home to all of the brand’s runway presentations). Opening with Guinevere Van Seenus – a model long associated with Jil Sander, having appeared in some of its most memorable campaigns – the collection was an exercise in clarity and reduction, stripping away the extraneous in the way that the brand’s namesake founder was so adept.
Particularly strong was tailoring – jackets and overcoats were gently nipped at the waist or came with shortened lapels – while moments of vivid colour came in shrunken knitwear, some slashed away at the back (slashes also appeared on skirts, reminiscent of the work of Argentinian-Italian artist Lucio Fontana). Accessories were also a highlight: ladylike handbags in metallic silver, and colourful lace-up shoes – intriguingly sculpted at the front – with tiny in-set kitten heels. The mood in the room was buoyant: post-show chatter was emphatic in praise for the designer, who presented a collection at once palette cleansing and highly desirable (several editors were already making shopping lists). Jack Moss
Loro Piana stages presentation in the art-filled Palazzo Citteri
This past December, the 18th-century Palazzo Citteri in Brera reopened as a museum of contemporary art in a renovation by Mario Cucinella Architects (MCA). Today, its art-covered walls – including works by Boccioni, Modigliani, Morandi, and Picasso – provided the backdrop to an intimate presentation of Loro Piana’s S/S 2026 collection. Conceived as an interplay between the space and garment, the collection was inflected with a broad use of colour and amalgam of prints, rendered using Loro Piana’s superlative fabrics (the Italian house is best known for its ultra-fine cashmeres and merino wools). Accessories, which were a highlight, felt like objets d’arts in themselves – from necklaces hung with silver charms or giant shells, to sculptural millinery in boldly coloured hues. Jack Moss
Fendi has fun with accessories in vividly-hued new collection
A closer look at the bags from Fendi’s S/S 2026 show, which creative director Silvia Venturini Fendi – in her second season designing both the house’s men’s and womenswear collections – said was about imagining a ‘future summer’ (befitting the uplifting mood, the set was a series of colourful blocks conceived by the artist Marc Newson). Presented as part of a S/S 2026 collection comprising floral motifs, vivid collages of paillettes and candy-hued knit two sets, this season’s bags were equally as playful, from primary-colour woven tote bags to version of the Peekaboo which flipped open to reveal a lining made entirely of sequins. ‘Our aim is to innovate and maintain the Fendi vision while at the same time preserving our unique traditions and craftsmanship – always adding a fun touch,’ said Venturini Fendi. Jack Moss
Max Mara sees Ian Griffiths look towards ‘queen of Rococo’ Madame de Pompadour
In the bright morning light of the Palazzo del Ghiaccio, Ian Griffiths presented a Max Mara collection titled ‘Rococo Modern’, melding his streamlined vision of femininity with more dramatic flourishes – from organza petals to trench coats with ruffled ‘corona’ shoulders. As ever, Griffiths looked to a notable woman from history for inspiration (as he deems it, the ‘pantheon’ of Max Mara women) – this season, Madame de Pompadour, who the designer praised for her ‘power, influence and intellect’, as well as her purported wit. In the collection, she was conjured not only in the clothing – its ’barely-there’ palette was inspired by those favoured by the so-called ‘Queen of Rococo’ – but also a riff on her famed hairstyle, here held in place with a black hair band. Jack Moss
A first look at the Prada show set
Back in June, Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada uncovered the windows of the Deposito space at Fondazione Prada, where the house always stages its fashion shows, for the very first time (previously, the hangar-like building had only been artificially-lit). Closely echoing the airy feeling of its men’s show in the summer, sunlight streams through the building once again – though rather than an empty space covered with white fluffy flower rugs, as it was in June, this time the floor is painted in a lacquered sea of orange. Last season executing a ‘light, fresh’ and ‘human’ collection that the pair described as their ‘easiest’ to date, if the sister set is anything to go by, their women’s offering will likely be as instinctive and free. Stay tuned. Orla Brennan
Freedom, lightness and transformation at Prada
Clothes that can ‘shift, change [and] adapt’ described Miuccia Prada of Prada’s S/S 2026 collection, co-created with Raf Simons and shown on a glossy orange runway this afternoon at Fondazione Prada in Milan. As such it was a bold and colourful amalgam of elements, contrasting elements of the Prada uniform – from military shirts to boiler suits – with flourishes of glamour, often in a single look. Elsewhere, there was a re-exploration of the classic elements of a wardrobe – skirts were held up with straps that looped over the shoulder, while draped bra tops ‘had shape without structure’. ‘We started from a sense of freedom – of expressing this through clothes,’ said Simons. ‘There is the license to combine different elements, to compose, and there is also a physical liberation, moving away from fashion as a sculptural imposition on the body of a woman.’ Jack Moss
An emotional Emporio Armani show marks Giorgio Armani’s swansong for the label
Held at the Tadao Ando-designed Teatro/Armani, this afternoon’s Emporio Armani show marked the final collection from the label designed by Giorgio Armani before his death earlier this month, aged 91. Continuing a vision of louche elegance with references to world dressing which would define his career – like a series of obi-style belts which wrapped around dresses cut with his typically sinuous line – it marked the first of a pair of emotional farewells to the designer taking place this Milan Fashion Week (the second will take place on Sunday with the presentation of his final Giorgio Armani collection, a black-tie affair held at Pinacoteca di Brera art gallery). At the end of the show, instead of the usual runway bow, the runway exit was left empty – a poignant moment which prompted a standing ovation and rousing applause. Jack Moss
Catch up on the best shows of Milan Fashion Week S/S 2026 so far
It’s been a week of fresh ideas in Milan, with shows from fashion’s heavy hitters and a smattering of younger names unfolding across the city. So far, Simone Bellotti’s debut at Jil Sander stands as a resounding highlight, seeing him stamp down a sharp and highly desirable new era for the brand following Luke and Lucie Meier’s departure this year. Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, meanwhile, presented a liberated S/S 2026 collection yesterday afternoon, positing a ‘new elegance’ for a world in flux. In between, Silvia Venturini Fendi had her fun with textures and colour in a playful S/S 2026 outing for Fendi, and London-based KNWLS launched a collaboration with Nike in its first display in Milan. The arrival of the weekend brings yet more debuts, including Louise Trotter at Bottega Veneta and Dario Vitale at Versace. More to follow as Milan unfolds. Orla Brennan
Sportmax S/S 2026: ‘a fantasy grounded in the practical’
For over a century, the Frigoriferi Milanesi has been a storage place for precious objects in need of preservation: from foodstuffs before the advent of electricity to fur coats, fabrics and carpets to ward away mildew and moths. Staging its S/S 2026 show in the formerly industrial space – now a multi-disciplinary arts and culture centre – Sportmax attempted to capture a similar act of preservation, seeking what the collection notes called a ‘lasting beauty’. Earrings and bracelets adorned with tinkling bells captured the feeling of treasured heirlooms, while diaphanous organza tailoring, hazy floral prints (taken from paintings created using Japanese cosmetics) and architectural riffs on bomber and biker jackets were what the anonymous design team called ‘a fantasy grounded in the practical realities of urban life’. Jack Moss
Santoni sails to Adriatic Sea with artist Lorenzo Vitturi
This morning in Milan’s Galleria Meravigli, Santoni presented an S/S 2026 collection inspired by the shores of the Adriatic sea. The brand enlisted artist Lorenzo Vitturi – who lives on the Adriatic coast – to craft a series of colourful sculptures for the occasion, which were made from textures of Murano glass, Venetian beads, and Peruvian wool yarn. Some of these creations occupied the carpeted space, while shots of others photographed out at sea hung on walls. The collection itself continued this story in noble leathers and with artisanal techniques, from knotted intrecci knee-high boots to shimmering pointed mules, adorned with hundreds of hand-stitched metallic paillettes. Orla Brennan
Amber Valletta and Mariacarla Boscono walk for Tod’s
With a line-up of supers including Amber Valletta, Mariacarla Boscono, and Selina Forrest, Tod’s runway presentation in Milan this afternoon leaned into a certain kind of star power. The collection itself explored the idea of ‘making your mark’, with creative director Matteo Tamburini cutting shapes that draped around his models without restricting them. Classic cabans, trench coats, and nappa jackets appeared in springtime tones, shifting from crisp white to saffron yellow, while a storyline of stripes came in a series of 1970s-inflected, asymmetrically cut dresses and sets. As ever, a love letter to leather – Tod’s signature material – ran throughout, from boxy burgundy jackets finished with hand-stitched seams to supple, slouchy shoulder bags in neutral shades. Altogether, it was an easy display rooted in Italian style and the brand’s long-standing commitment to craft. Orla Brennan
Dario Vitale’s first Versace show was one of liberated dressing and raw sexuality
A secretive Versace show, held in Milan’s Pinacoteca Ambrosiana last night, marked the opening chapter of Dario Vitale’s tenure at the Italian house. Formerly design director of Miu Miu and the successor to Donatella Versace, the Italian designer mined signature Versace prints and motifs for a men’s and women’s collection which sought to capture the essence of the house – one of liberated dressing and raw sensuality. ‘When I went to Gianni Versace’s archive, it was more about the feeling of Gianni, the feeling of this company, the feeling of the legacy of Versace, more than the pieces themselves,’ he said backstage after the show. ‘There are so many layers to celebrate, that’s what I wanted to do here.’ Jack Moss
Maximilian Davis looks to silent movies of the 1920s at Ferragamo
A ‘liberated elegance’ is how Maximilian Davis described his S/S 2026 collection for Ferragamo, which saw the British designer look once again to the 1920s for inspiration, beginning with a 1925 photograph of silent movie star silent movie star Lola Todd dressed in head-to-toe leopard print. ‘I was interested in how certain materials, prints and textiles were imported from across Africa and the Caribbean into America and Europe to become a sign of status,’ said the designer, who imagined devoré animal prints across sinuous, 1920s-inspired dresses, while fringing and leather jewellery featured throughout the colour-saturated collection. His men, meanwhile, were dressed in louche, expressive tailoring inspired by Harlem Renaissance zoot suits that proposed a wardrobe for the modern dandy. ‘[It is] the Roaring Twenties, refigured.’ Jack Moss
Louise Trotter makes a bold debut for Bottega Veneta
Louise Trotter’s debut collection for Bottega Veneta made for one of the most anticipated moments of Milan Fashion Week thus far. Soundtracked by an ‘audio artwork’ by Steve McQueen that spliced together two versions of ‘Wild is The Wind’ – one by David Bowie, the other Nina Simone – Trotter said the collection is designed to capture ‘the extravagance of Venice; the energy of New York; the essentialism of Milan’. Ultimately, though, this was a collection about craft, utilising the house’s intrecciato leather weaving technique and vivid, tactile fabrications. ‘Bottega Veneta involves the collective effort of craft; with craftsmanship, the people who make it, and the people who wear it matter,’ she said. ‘It’s where the hand and the heart become one.’ Jack Moss
At Durazzi Milano, a ‘contemporary nymph’ inspired by neoclassical paintings
Despite having been founded just four years ago in 2021, Ilenia Durazzi’s eponymous label, Durazzi Milano, has the feel and polish of a far more established brand (as evidenced by its impressive studio space-cum-gallery on Via Rosolino Pilo, which was built entirely to her exacting design). With a background working at Maison Margiela, Balenciaga and Tod’s, Durazzi’s collections have become a quiet Milan Fashion Week highlight, presented via a series of intimate showcases with clever mise-en-scène.
Yesterday, she staged a S/S 2026 presentation in her Porta Venezia studio, where models stood amid a series of hanging neoclassical paintings, designed to contrast with the otherwise industrial space. Titled ‘The Nymphs’, the collection imagined the women from the paintings coming to life: ‘they step out of the painting and rewrite history... the contemplated object becomes an active subject – a free spirit.’ Reimagining this ‘strength and grace’ of a nymph in contemporary fashion, tailoring was adorned with trails of metal trinkets, while clever twisted silhouettes had a painterly flourish. Jack Moss
Giorgio Armani’s 50th anniversary show marks the designer’s swansong
Taking place this evening in the cloistered courtyard of Pinacoteca di Brera art gallery, a special runway show marked 50 years since the founding of Giorgio Armani. It would also be the last from the legendary Italian designer, who passed away earlier this month aged 91. Watched on by guests including Richard Gere and Cate Blanchett, as well as designers Dries Van Noten and Sir Paul Smith, the poignant show was lit by hundreds of lanterns and accompanied by a live piano soundtrack. Afterwards, guests entered the museum for a career-spanning retrospective, which was meticulously curated by Mr Armani before his death. Placing his work against that of Italy’s great Renaissance masters, it was the first time the institution has hosted a fashion exhibition – a testament to half a century of shaping Italian style. Jack Moss