The Best FW 2023 Collections During Milan Fashion Week

Discover below the most memorable looks from the Italian runways.

Being officially present for Fashion Month, Milan Fashion Week was finally underway, with a long list of major fashion houses such as Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Ferragamo, Gucci, Diesel, and Roberto Cavalli, among others, giving way to the emerging trends we will see this Fall 2023 season. More than 50 shows were held in Italy’s fashion capital during the event that concluded on Monday, February 27, although there were some notable absences, such as Marni and Versace. “This season, once again, we offer a rich program of activities that confirm Milan’s leading role on the world fashion scene,” said Carlo Capasa, president of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana.

Dozens of labels created their own interpretations of luxury, from the House of Gucci’s homage to Ferragamo’s sartorial masterclass. Several trends jumped from runway to runway, as Gucci’s animal variations on its classic leather sandals, as well as Roberto Cavalli’s animal print collection and oversized fur coats, proved to be a staple for the season. On the other hand, Glenn Martens continued to push the boundaries at Diesel, with the fall/winter 2023 collection as a look at individualism and sexual exploration. A mountain of 200,000 boxes of Durex condoms appeared centre stage as a representation of freedom while chemically processed denim, moto jackets and silk dresses paraded down the runway. Brands such as Prada and Moschino featured rounded layered details that inflated as models walked down the runway, creating a protective cocoon look. Dolce Gabbana opted for sensuality combined with beautiful tailoring. “Sensuality is an important aspect of femininity that has nothing to do with being sexy,” conveyed the Italian designers.

Here are the key points of the Milan fashion week.

PRADA

Beauty defined as care, love and reality formed Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’ collection that exalted the humble uniforms of nurses, military and ceremonial occasions. “The uniforms are sartorial representations of care and responsibility, transformed using the aesthetic language of evening gowns,” he says in the show notes. “Wedding dresses, symbols of love, become everyday attire, their skirts proposed with sweaters as a new form of everyday dress. This exchange, between the notion of the everyday and the occasion dress, the familiar and the exceptional, gives a different importance to both.” – De Prada.

DIESEL

The Italian brand unveiled its Fall-Winter 2023 collection with more than 200,000 boxes of Durex as a backdrop, alluding to both sex positivity and an upcoming collaboration with the contraceptive company. “At Diesel we like to play, and we mean it,” Martens said in a statement. “Have fun, respect yourself and be safe.” Indeed, the entire collection explored themes of freedom, pleasure and experimentation, with models strutting around the avalanche of condoms in very low-slung jeans, denim garments with sheer mesh lace panels and ripped silk dresses held together by precarious-looking chains. Denim continued to take center stage, but was transformed. The collection also included remnants of plastic-coated and heated nylon, second-hand painted faux fur, open-torsoed biker jackets, etc.

ROBERTO CAVALLI

For the Fall 2023 season, the designer presented his latest ready-to-wear collection, transporting the Cavalli woman to the American Southwest. Between lace, faux fur, gothic charm and boundless sensuality, this collection seemed to be an exploration and revision of the archives of the historic Italian fashion house.  A palette of warm and earthy colors was the protagonist, while denim blues and blacks were seen throughout the show. Turquoise stones were seen as opulent jewelry pieces. On the runway, the fabrics moved like water: shirts were open to the hilt and kimonos slipped down the back. Floor-length dresses flew, and wool coats also flooded the runway. “It’s my first real Cavalli collection,” declared creative director Fausto Puglisi.

DOLCE & GABBANA

“Sensuality is an important aspect of femininity that has nothing to do with being sexy,” the two designers said in show notes. “Sensuality is intrinsically connected to an inner experience that makes women spontaneous and natural. Free of any fabrication.” They continued. These were some of the statements the duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana said about their fall 2023 runway show. The latest collection showcased trouser suits, coats, sheer black dresses, cropped lack jackets, and shiny gold and silver designs, including draped dressed and belted macs. The Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2023 collection also featured red looks, tights and shoes, white satin, chiffon dresses, trouser suits, and coats.

GUCCI

Marking the Gucci’s final runway collection ahead of Sabato De Sarno’s debut as creative director, the Fall 2023 collection unfolded within the anatomy of the House and a new concept of heritage, which took shape in the latest collection. Evocative silhouettes, the era, attitudes and the reintroduction of the archival trapezoid-shaped chain “maxi Horsebit” bag added a new dimension to the House’s heritage. The collection featured relaxed suiting, slashed trousers, faux fur ensembles, trench coats, stripped shirting, baggy jeans, and more. Leather co-ords, rhinestones-encrusted mesh dresses, and the iconic Jackie Bag also were central to the collection.

MOSCHINO

Creative director, Jeremy Scott, unveiled his latest Moschino Fall 2023 collection inspired by Salvador Dali’s iconic painting, “The Persistence of Memory”, which served as the inspiring muse for Scott’s Surrealism-inspired collection. Jeremy Scott also merged Salvador Dalí-esque surrealism inspirations with aristo-punk. The season was all about drama with distortion with a touch of luxury, of course, from oversized spikes to allover bijoux to morphing hem linen. “These (literally) twisted codes are creative director Jeremy Scott’s way of toying with convention and setting the stage for what follows: An insouciant punk spirit, dripping with decadence. As the collection progresses, this revolutionary verve surfaces, with spikes, for example, set along shoulder seams and skirt hems. A boxed-and-cropped blazer features the studs on its pronounced lapel, while a veritable jewel box is flung open across a satin evening bolero, down the cascade of a tulle ballgown or onto a sparkling tasselled 1920’s-era dress. It’s a surrealism-tinged rebellion – and one that’s doused with a spritz of nonconforming royalty.” – from Moschino.