Kicking off our look at Milan Fashion Week for the Fall/Winter 2019 collections, we’re spotlighting presentations by MM6 Margiela, Gucci, Fendi, and Prada.

Puffed staples, padded shapes, and a new type of representation for the house is what MM6 Margiela is all about for Fall/Winter 2019. Presented in an immersive experience at the brand’s store in Milan were new silhouettes, materials, colors, and accessories that were both humble and evolutionary. Alongside a techno soundtrack by Fréderic Sanchez, we saw an inclusive wardrobe of pleated skirts, oversized cardigans, and dresses—all puffed-up and puffed-out, evoking a magic of sorts in details like buttons and pockets in new forms, front-slits, and anagrams like “THAT IRIS SUITS YOU” (a nod to the historical print of the past, “THAT SUIT IS YOU SIR.”)

Gucci‘s show, inspired by creative director Alessandro Michelle‘s passion for the ancient and androgynous, was an existence between the visible and invisible—a tension between impulses. Kicking off the show, models took over a 100-meter mirrored runway outfitted with a backdrop of 120,000 LED lights. Throughout, some wore leather and plastic masks—some with spikes around the eyes of below the chin—to express the idea of a disguise as a means to find authenticity.

A preppy and preen Fendi show tugged on historic pieces, but still offered new must-haves. We saw a reworked FF logo appear on new favorite coats and tights, and dropped double-breasted blazers with large side pockets were complemented by oversized bowties. New accessories like boots and bags paraded the runway too, but the true takeaway was the finale. Not an eye missed the brand’s special tribute to Karl Lagerfeld, which was epitomized at the end through a projected signature of his above the runway entrance.

For its new collection, Prada provided romance as an artistic pursuit. Emphasized through an ideological and emotional show full of new materials and approaches, we saw it conveyed as art. Lace veiling and bows were simple and sweet details that reoccurred, but we also saw the underbelly of romance. Military clothing from the past was mixed between references from science-fiction films, and sentiments of contemporary romances created a fantasy landscape. For the season ahead, Prada poses the question: Is romance the antidote to the brutality of our time?

MM6 Margiela

MFW FW19: MM6 Margiela, Gucci, Fendi, and Prada