Heritage and Experimentation at Milan Fashion Week: Diesel, Gucci, and more

Fashion month moves into its Milan chapter, just past the halfway mark, as editors and buyers weave through cobblestone streets hoping for a glimpse of the Duomo between shows. The week balances continuity with fresh voices: Simone Bellotti takes his first bow at Jil Sander, while Demna ushers in a daring new era at Gucci. Missoni offers bare-legged ease for everyday wear, Loro Piana leans into its fabric mastery, and Diesel delivers the most disruptive moment with 55 looks scattered inside transparent eggs across the city. Milan reaffirms its identity as the stage where tradition and reinvention collide.

Missoni Everyday Glamour

For Spring/Summer 2026, Alberto Caliri redefines Missoni for daily life—errands, encounters, real moments—rather than saving pieces for elusive “special occasions.” The collection shifts seamlessly from city to seaside, not beachwear but attire for the in-between days spent moving between both worlds. Spontaneity rules, as Caliri encourages mixing new garments with heirlooms and closet discoveries, creating an individual look that cannot be replicated.

Caliri revisits past Missoni silhouettes, transforming them into voluminous shorts, abbreviated hems, and ultimately bare legs—trousers yield to swim briefs, while rolled shorts suggest effortless transition. Sweaters and blazers expand outward at the shoulders before contracting at the hem, balancing proportion. Mini dresses, once reserved for events, become casual when replaced with T-shirts. Accessories add texture and ease: relaxed boots, small berets, flat shoes, oversized jewelry, and versatile bags—each piece adaptable to the demands of a busy day. The result is a collection rooted in freedom, wearable, confident, and unmistakably personal. 

DSQUARED2 Power Dressing Reloaded

Dean and Dan Caten dive headfirst into the cultural memory of the 1980s, 90s, and 2000s for DSQUARED2—eras that shaped their vision of fashion through magazine pages brimming with audacity. Power shoulders, animal prints, and volume resurface, but with fresh precision, leather, studs, and beading transform nostalgia into couture-charged drama. Mini beaded skirts swing with motion, while button flies give way to elastic waistbands that riff on the exposed-underwear trend. The standout, a reengineered dress shirt with an open back and tapered front, a piece that redefines sensual tailoring.

On the accessories front, high-heeled flip flops remain, now joined by the DC 642 sneaker, a sleek retro-inspired silhouette. The men’s collection echoes the women’s, doubling down on chunky jewelry, built-in backpack straps, and cargo belts that enhance silhouette and structure. Photographed in a studio-sharp style, the campaign channels 90s supermodel energy, amplifying presence and attitude. DSQUARED2 embraces boldness, reviving iconic archetypes for a generation eager to flaunt fearless glamour.

Jil Sander Belotti’s Bold Debut

For his first outing as creative director, Simone Bellotti stages Jil Sander’s return to Piazza Castello, its last runway there in 2017. The stark set—whitewashed space, a single black arc tracing the runway—matched by Bochum Welt’s electronic score, sets the tone, discipline against lightness. The inspiration came from Bellotti’s own studio window overlooking the piazza, sparking a collection of opposites.

Tailoring defines the vertical silhouette, with high buttoning, precise folds, and raw hems lending quiet subversion. Silk plays a starring role for its fluid adaptability, echoing the body’s movement through cutouts and slits. Accessories sharpen the dialogue: square-toe lace-ups, kitten-heeled brogues, ballerinas with cut-outs, and structured handbags. This debut asserts Belotti’s signature—rigorous yet pliant, restrained yet playful. In bringing Jil Sander home, he reestablishes the brand’s codes while opening them up to interpretation. 

Loro Piana The Art of Transition

Loro Piana’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection is an ode to transition—the soft glide from winter’s chill to summer’s scorch, from urban intensity to languid resorts. Known as the “Master of Fibres,” the house asserts its craftsmanship through fabric innovation. A palette of sandy neutrals, creams, and tans anchors the line, accented with marigold, turquoise, pale pink, and rich reds. The tonal shifts embody change, muted grounding punctuated by vivid bursts of summer light.

Textures remain Loro Piana’s hallmark—cashmere, silk, Merino wool—spun into elongated silhouettes that move fluidly with the body. Flats anchor the looks, while wide felt hats crown them, sculptural and commanding. Volumes are loose but precise, garments that adapt with the wearer’s rhythm. The collection is precise, balancing timeless fabrics with silhouettes that follow the body’s rhythm. Rather than reaching for spectacle, Loro Piana builds on its mastery of material and form.

Gucci “La Famiglia”

Demna’s debut at Gucci is nothing short of theatrical. Titled “La Famiglia,” the collection reframes the house around unapologetic glamour, familial eccentricity, and maximalist storytelling. Portraits by Catherine Opie anchor the campaign, capturing a sprawling “Gucci family,” each character embodying a facet of the brand’s heritage and future.

The narrative unfurls like a play: Miss Aperitivo revels in leisure, L’Influencer thrives on social spectacle, Principino and La Principessa steal the scene, while La Cattiva embodies femme-fatale seduction. Wardrobe codes follow suit, slingback kitten heels and soft leather mules offer effortlessness, while extreme silhouettes—feathered opera coats, high jewelry, nocturnal florals—push into spectacle. The Archetipo travel trunk, monogrammed in red, nods to Gucci’s origins in valigeria while anchoring the collection’s mythmaking. Dressing here is unapologetically for pleasure, bold in scale yet intimate in detail. With “La Famiglia,” Gucci asserts fashion as narrative excess, made to be lived like legend.

Antonio Marras Sardinia Reimagined

Antonio Marras transports his audience to Sardinia, specifically the salt flats of Alghero, where models wander a dreamscape that looks like snow-capped mountains. The collection is inspired by D.H. Lawrence’s 1921 journey across the island with Frieda von Richthofen—a tale Marras reshapes, inviting viewers to rewrite its ending. It’s both history and imagination, childhood play and adult longing.

Traditional Sardinian garments appear in their original forms, presented unaltered for raw impact. Around them swirls a kaleidoscope of fabrics and colors—lilac, cadmium, plum, cream, bronze, and faded black—rendered in tartan, lace, faux fur, damask, stripes, pleats, and patchwork. Contrasts abound, shifting between structured and flowing, seductive and demure. Despite the disparate elements, the pieces coalesce into a poetic whole. Marras achieves cohesion through deliberate clash, a visual mosaic as layered as Sardinia itself. The result is a collection both folkloric and avant-garde, deeply personal yet universally enchanting.

Diesel Democratizing Fashion

Diesel’s Spring/Summer 2026 show is not confined to the runway but spilled across Milan’s streets in the form of 55 looks displayed inside massive transparent eggs. The installation, staged with support from the Municipality of Milan, is part performance, part democratic experiment: passersby become front-row guests. The free “egg hunt” even rewards the quickest participants, turning fashion into a game for all.

Creative director Glenn Martens explains, “This is Diesel for the people, discovered by the public at the same time as everyone else. Fashion is a game, and we’re playing it.” The collection reflects this ethos with slouchy Load-D bags, apron dresses in lasered distressed satin denim, and vibrant hues crafted from recycled polyester. Double-layered garments exaggerate shape and movement, mimicking the layered geometry of an egg. Sleeveless bikers, apron tops, dresses, and coats push color and form, while familiar silhouettes gain playful distortion. Diesel collapses barriers, proving high fashion can be bold, irreverent, and accessible all at once.