With Milan Fashion Week at a close, Whitewall is taking you on a look back at some of our favorite collections. Here, you’ll find details on the Fall/Winter 2022 designs from Dolce & Gabbana, Salvatore Ferragamo, Plein Sport, and Quira.
Courtesy of Dolce & Gabbana.
Dolce & Gabbana reimagined its own codes for the feminine heroines of the metaverse, taking on a futuristic approach to the garments we all know and love. Modern materializations (like shiny laminates, eco-fur, jersey, and nylons) accompanied metallics, mirrored finishes, and sharp hues like red, pink, yellow, and blue, channeling the aesthetic of a virtual world. Nods to the 1980s were made in styles like blazer dresses, sheer lace bodysuits, strong shoulders, fur coats, and suiting, revolutionized through color, exaggerated forms, and details—like fingerless gloves poking out from under sleeves, VR-reminiscent eyewear, collars that morphed into hoods, and statement zippers. Looks we can’t stop thinking about include a puffy set in red laminate made of sculptural padding; an enormous striped coat and hat in red and black eco-fur; and a silky black quilted coat that has been molded into a dress silhouette with a cinched waistline.
Introduced in Milan’s Sala delle Cariatidi of Palazzo Reale within a landscape of light sculptures, Salvatore Ferragamo’s Fall/Winter 2022 designs embraced the idea that casual garb can be just as special as formalwear. The season’s clean-lined designs were made for versatility and often focused on either color or detail—like a dramatic ruffle, a chunky leather chain-link necklace, or a mixture of solid-colored garments. Silhouettes were simple, flattering, and easily dressed up or down—exemplified through pieces like an open front blouse ruffled blouse in black, a suite of A-line mini-skirts with buttons down the front, leather outerwear perfect for layering, and knit pieces like long skirts, leggings, and turtlenecks. Looks were styled with pragmatic footwear—including a series of zip-detail black leather boots or lace-up loafers—and leather bags made for the everyday, including a larger messenger style and a smaller shoulder bag.
Courtesy of Quira.
Quira’s unique gaze and distorted silhouettes were captured in a lookbook of high-fashion images playing with dramatic lighting and perspective. Textural ensembles highlighted a particular garment or color, each based on wardrobe staples that have been twisted into entirely new entities. Elegant plissé pleats became long layered dresses, cable knits were imagined into tiers of coral-like ruffles (seen on a red turtleneck dress with long folding sleeves), cardigans recalled historic dress with the addition of large shoulder details—like a look that reminded us of a Victorian portrait with its ruched puff sleeves and oversized pants legs that masqueraded as a skirt at first glance. Minimal accessories focused the looks on the thoughtful nature of the garments themselves—including highlights like an oversized furry coat in cornflower blue, styled with a turtleneck, a rippling skirt, fishnets, and thick black boots; or a pair of white parachute pants, buckled down by the ankle straps of platform heels, paired with an asymmetric-fastened jacket with wide sleeves.
Courtesy of Plein Sport.
Philipp Plein introduced the first-ever fashion collection created entirely in the metaverse, closely following its acquisition of the virtual development Plein Plaza from Decentraland. For the occasion of Milan Fashion Week, the designer debuted the first presentation of Plein Sport in collaboration with the NFT auction house, Portion. The show introduced Plein’s virtual M.o.N.A. (MUSEUM of NFT ART) with a presentation of Crypto Kings NFTs (a collaboration between the designer and Antoni Tudisco), along with the debut of the collection, which was launched with the help of the humanoid robot Romeo 0.1. The resulting fashion presentation was a dual digital/physical format, where a buy-as-you-see infrastructure invited viewers to purchase the NFT-based designs, which were accompanied by physical items. The looks themselves were a series of contemporary sports-inspired silhouettes like puffers, pull-overs, joggers, matching activewear sets, and sneakers, imagined in a palette of black, white, orange, and silver.
