Milan designers, steering away from their signature minimalist look, chose to modernize classics and adapt them through layering and mixing and matching old and new styles. The future is a blend of tradition and high-tech, a way of making use of the best of both worlds. Fabrics are rich and sensuous with lots of knits in all qualities of wool, flannel, felt, velvet, velour, chiffon, tulle and fur, often teamed with the most high- tech fabrics.
Tradition meets techno.
Marni designer Consuelo Castiglioni, who was the first to revive the style at the beginning of the '90s, believes it answers women's desire to discover other cultures. For those more inclined toward utilitarian chic, Miu Miu, Prada and Jil Sander's collections each maintained their minimalist style. The slightly casual elegance of Milan style is thriving at Max Mara, Salvatore Ferragamo and Genny, where Josephus Thimister showed his first collection featuring an intriguing androgynous, monochromatic look. On the other hand, Tom Ford's Gucci collection was dedicated to a deluxe Bohemian. The Versace powerhouse kept a polite distance from the hippie look and showed a very feminine collection with looser and more fluid shapes.