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The women stalking the catwalks here exuded polish, luxury and confidence, giving retailers plenty of reasons to cheer the Milan season.
Confounding critics who declared Milan Fashion Week dull, buyers said the Italian collections were packed with statement-making outerwear, fabulous furs, form-fitting dresses and fantastic accessories.
"Despite all the grumblings, there are really beautiful clothes here," said Julie Gilhart, senior vice president and fashion director at Barneys New York. "The shows are directed at the press, to make news and inspire editorial. Our job as buyers is to dissect the showroom and come out with interesting and beautiful things that will attract our customers to buy."
Women, tired of girly or overly ornamental frocks, are ready for Milan's clean lines, high-tech fabric innovations and slimmer silhouettes, buyers said. Citing a variety of influences, from film noir to Art Deco, retailers are excited about this season's high-waisted trousers, capes, all manner of coats and voluminous knits.
As Ken Downing, senior vice president and fashion director at Neiman Marcus, summed up the season, "We really feel what's modern is a very polished, dressed-up look."
Stephanie Solomon, vice president and fashion director, women's ready-to-wear and accessories at Bloomingdale's, said she was especially wowed by Milan's high-tech fabrics and seaming techniques. "It's all about linear and graphic shapes," she said. "Everybody has already bought their baby-doll, ruffled, fluffy frou-frou dresses, and now it's time to move on to this new wardrobe building. It's really an architectural shape."
Still, retailers did express some concerns. Color was sparse this season and some worried about the abundance of heavy coats, chunky knits and layered looks given the state of global warming.
"All over the world, the Earth is getting warmer and warmer…we are using less and less clothes," said Akihito Naohara, general manager, Takashimaya Co. Ltd. "Why were almost all the designers insisting on using gloves?"
Here's what buyers had to say about the season:
Linda Fargo, senior vice president, fashion office and store presentation, Bergdorf Goodman: "Being polished and pulled together, from head to hand to toe, is what looks fresh. The dress, while still important, isn't the only option, as modern interpretations of separates and skirt and pants suiting are in better balance. There was a tremendous amount of technical Italian know-how, luxury and innovation in surface treatments. Categories which will hopefully pull for us should be coats and capes, textural knit dressing, exciting new fur, leather as a fabric, any silhouette that emphasizes the waist and, as the new must-have shoe, the oxford high-heeled shoe bootie.
"Collections which stood out here were Jil Sander for its sensuous, clean surface, pristine execution and innovative sculptural shapes; Fendi for the most desirable and innovative mix of textures and a masterful offering of eccentric luxury; Versace for clearly redefining itself as a house that can deliver clean, gleaming polish with a sexy, strong gait, and Marni for continuing to raise its own bar with a collection of one gotta-have-it look after another in an exciting and unexpected range of color blocks."
Ken Downing, fashion director, Neiman Marcus, Dallas: "What's exciting to us in Milan is the great amount of outerwear. Capes have been an important statement here and looked very good to us, and the leathers look particularly outstanding. Definitely, the female form is important here in Milan with clothes closer to the body and wide belts that have the look of corsets. We found some terrific colors here to brighten the moody palette: jade, pine and spruce greens, violets, purple and wine and the surprise of hot pink and orange. Techno fabrics are important, and so is patent leather, trapunto stitching and Art Deco patterns.
"Standout collections included Marni, Jil Sander and 6267. We were also very excited about some of the jacket shapes at Giorgio Armani."
Julie Gilhart, senior vice president and fashion director, Barneys New York: "We thought that Jil Sander and Bottega Veneta had spectacular collections. Jil was the leader in the growing movement of less-is-more, with intense quality. Raf Simons perfectly personified the more masculine aspect of what many designers are trying to address. The cape jackets will be a must-have. Bottega Veneta delivered the quality and craft that our customers are demanding, and Tomas Maier was a master at showing how a woman could be strong and sexy without being too hard-edged. The black jersey dresses trimmed with covered studs will sell out. We will be buying thousands of tights, long gloves and belts. It will be a great accessories season, and the larger-size clutch bag looks great with all the leaner silhouettes. Black patent will drive sales. Although there were lots of great coats and fur, we are predicting a huge sweater season, as the climate crisis will most likely affect the sale of all the outerwear we are seeing on the runways."
Jennifer Wheeler, vice president of designer apparel, Nordstrom, Seattle: "Milan was very strong. Our business is really growing, and we feel very confident about the season. The overriding message is a strong, confident woman, very polished, very empowered. The three main trends were the Forties — reminiscent of film noir and Hollywood icons like Lauren Bacall and Veronica Lake — technical fabrics and men's wear influences. In terms of silhouettes, there were a lot of cropped jackets or bomber jackets, three-quarter-length or short sleeves worn with opera-length gloves, and volumes were more controlled, Marni being a good example of this. Key items include capes, fabulous statement coats and item pants, whether slouchy, jodhpurs, knickers or high-waist styles. There were so many great shapes in outerwear, it made you want to buy a new coat right away. While dresses are still an important category, the ones that looked freshest to us were the Forties style with puffed sleeves and closer to the body. The collections we loved the most were Marni, Burberry Prorsum, Gucci, Jil Sander and Versace."
Janet Brown, owner, Janet Brown, Port Washington, N.Y.: "It's the return of beautiful sportswear. What Milan was always about is back. There is brilliant knitwear, and you can see this sensitivity to tailoring is back. Raf Simons continues to reinvent Jil Sander in his own image. The collection remains modern, clean and very sophisticated. Marni always follows delicate prints, perfectly cut little jackets, innovative knits and must-have fur. My fashion intellectualism is always challenged by Miuccia Prada. There will be the intellectual fashion girl who will buy pieces — it is like buying a piece of art before it becomes popular. Every woman will have to replace her knitwear for fall with these larger, more sumptuous shapes. Large belts are back. Girls, do your waist exercises!"
Stephanie Solomon, vice president and fashion director, women's rtw and accessories, Bloomingdale's: "Milan is exciting and it really comes down to the technical advances in fabrics. It's the season of the coat. Armani had an awesome one with layers and a stand-up collar. Burberry had another version in the same kind of silhouette. Both of them were awesome shows, I thought. I loved Jil Sander. There's an example of incredible seaming and with all the black, gray and shiny high-tech fabrics, there are bold strokes of color that are incredible and so refreshing to see in a fall season: hot pink, kelly green and bright magenta. It's a flash."
Carla Sozzani, owner of 10 Corso Como, Milan: "There was a lot of research at Prada, it was sartorial, I loved the proportions, the cuts, the modern couture. She [Miuccia Prada] never did it so well, this was her best. I also loved Marni, the combination of accessories, colors and materials and the shoes."
Michael Fink, vice president and women's fashion director, Saks Fifth Avenue: "Frantically racing from one remote venue to another — do the Milan show organizers ever look at a map? — it often seems that Milan has become overly infatuated with spectacle and not content. How exciting it was this week to at last find the heart and soul of Milanese fashion: expert and luxurious tailoring, alive and well, albeit in small doses. Nuanced detail, exacting silhouettes and confident attitude were the benchmarks of the week. Amid all the talk of fabric innovation this season, the luxuriously sleek Jil Sander collection showed how fabric research can resonate with today's customer. Simple and clean lines at Versace projected a strong, but never vulgar, personality. Gucci showed how sophisticated sportswear could be, especially when glamour hair, makeup and jewelry are part of the picture. Dropped shoulders, cocoon shapes, fur and feathers, these were the elements at 6267 that captured Milan's fascination with the Twenties and Eighties. The coats were a standout."
Sarah Rutson, fashion director, Lane Crawford, Hong Kong: "We are certainly going to be buying into the new fabrications such as neoprene, metallic finishes and coated materials to give newness to the season. The cape certainly is the new coat of the season — perfect over all the chunky knits we have seen. Corset belts were everywhere — corset-detail tops with knits worn underneath, inspired by last fall's Prada. Burberry Prorsum was fabulous. I loved the strength of it, and it hits the note of how the season needs to look with parkas, metallic finishes, miniskirts with knits and belts, and the all-important laced-up, high-fronted shoe. I also loved Marni for her use of color and mixing in PVC and neoprene, making it slicker and with an edge that follows up very well on last season. Prada's shoes were a fantastic mix of colored satins with an elastic strap. We will certainly be using the neon-bright color blocks to add a newer dimension to wear with black, as we cannot do another season of black on black. Jil Sander was a master class of design. It stands as the benchmark for a clear vision of what the season should be representing: strength, impeccable cut and faultless fabrications."
Akihito Naohara, general manager, Takashimaya Co. Ltd.: "Even though the [yen-to-euro] exchange rate is very, very tough, I think I can [maintain sales levels this season]. I find some of the trends to be very classic and very commercial, like Marni for example. Fendi has been getting better over the last few seasons. I personally liked Dolce & Gabbana very much. It looked really expensive, very shiny, gorgeous, dressy and sexy. Although we are expanding business with Dolce & Gabbana, I have a few doubts [about the Japanese woman embracing those looks]. I suppose I just need some time."
Barbara Atkin, fashion director, Holt Renfrew, Canada: "It was a gutsy season, and it proved to us why the made-in-Italy label is so coveted in the world of luxury. It's really about the dress and the coat. Milan turned out to be polished, sleek and sexy. The season is all about fabric innovation, and it felt very refreshing: the abstract prints with the feeling of contemporary art, like the bands of color evoking Mark Rothko at Prada. We love the comeback of the suit but done in a new way. Furs and leathers are very important, and we're really going deep into those categories.
"Our top five are Prada, which we found brilliant; Marni, for the techno fabrics mixed with luxury; Fendi, which reeks of luxury, just beautiful; Giorgio Armani, who had beautiful new suits and coats, and 6267, which had sartorial tailoring for a younger customer. And the sleeper item of the season is the glove."
Sheikh Majed Al-Sabah, president of Villa Moda: "Milan is all about the dress and the coat. I've seen the strongest eveningwear — amazing — and it's one of the strongest accessories seasons so far. Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Marni, Prada and Bottega Veneta were fabulous. I really loved the futuristic trend and approach at Marni, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana. This season, I was extremely pleased that designers took global warming into consideration. I've seen the lightest weight in fabrics ever, which makes it easier for me to sell them. There is a lot of research that has gone into fabrics. The best evening-wear was at Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana. Other hits were the Bottega Veneta dresses, Prada's shoes and Fendi's furs. This was one of the strongest Missoni collections. I loved the silhouettes and the color palette."
Cedric Charbit, general merchandise manager, women's fashion, Printemps: "We'll probably be cutting our budgets for Milan about 15 percent. Productwise, I think it's been a so-so season. Some options are too radical in Milan. It's been all about coats, and unless customers are going to buy five or six coats next season, we have a problem. Winters are really warm now. Everything I liked in Milan could be called 'new basics.' Jil Sander was good, as was Moschino and Burberry Prorsum. Marni was one of my favorites in Milan, with new, easy shapes, new volumes and colors. Prada was interesting, and its ne w colors — the pale greens, oranges and yellow — were very directional. Gucci was strong: easy to wear, easy to sell and very new, in the 'Black Dahlia' mood."
