Milan is Fashion and Fashion is Milan
But before diving into the rankings, let’s see through the first superficial layer of the appearance of fashion weeks. Apart from the beauty and creativity that intrinsically they bring to a community, there is also a strong economic rationale behind them. Here's a breakdown of what’s behind a fashion week.
Economic Insight of Fashion Weeks
Fashion weeks are prime marketing opportunities for designers to showcase their latest collections, attracting attention from consumers, retailers, and the media. This exposure boosts brand recognition and drives sales and offers great opportunities to secure orders for upcoming seasons. These orders are vital for revenue generation, making fashion weeks crucial for business success. Moreover, fashion weeks dictate upcoming trends, influencing consumer preferences. Retailers and influencers closely follow these events to incorporate emerging styles into their collections. But one thing that they do greatly is to generate anticipation and excitement among consumers, fueling the desire for the latest designs. Finally, these weeks provide platforms for various industry professionals to showcase their talent and find collaborators so that the fashion ecosystem grows and expands homogeneously. They also boost local economies by attracting visitors and promoting cities as fashion hubs.
What is Fashion Week then?
For sure it’s not just a big show of extravagance, it’s the key to a successful fashion business and by proxy to create a perfect environment for a circular economy.
Our official rankings
It is the first year of Chiconomix and we inaugurate the magazine with our exclusive comment on our favorite collections of the Milan Fashion Week 2024/2025.
Number 10: Prada
Theme: History
Let’s start from the bottom. Unfortunately, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons's collection didn’t convince the team of Chiconomix. The hardness of keeping up with the past of the brand and the theme chosen for the runway created a cocktail of discontent both in public opinion and in the press. History is a great idea to start from, but it’s also very tricky. The shapes are off, the contrast is unjustified and the mixture of serious topics makes the outfits inharmonious.
Number 9: Giorgio Armani
Theme: Contemporary conservative
“I am me. The others are the others,” said Giorgio Armani. However, his Sporty-Classy collection kept the tone of gray even for public opinion. The stylistic choice of adopting a colorful contrast between blue and pink in a flowery collection was not enough to keep up with the amazing history of the brand. The synthetic and shapeless designs were a bit too antique and the antithesis that Giorgio created, with the intent of mixing old and new by making it “comfortable”, did not work too well.
Number 8: Jil Sander
Theme: Futurism
We are now on the sweet part of the rankings. Jil Sander is liked for the very indefinite shapes, futuristic ideas, monochromatic lines, and eclectic designs. However, we must give also the bad side of the collection. The minimalism and the too-bright colors are still too edge-cutting for the moment, but we will keep an eye open for this great brand.
Number 7: Versace
Theme: Elegant sensuality.
Definite shapes, monochromatic and elegant tones, and a conservative and stylish approach are the pillars that characterize this collection. Still, it was not our favorite for this Milan Fashion Week, but we placed it in the top positions. The goal we identified was to show the strong independent woman and the open-minded man, who ignores the prejudices and dresses cutting-edge. We care to mention the amazing idea of man’s boots which are a masculine evolution of the original women’s one.
Number 6: Dolce & Gabbana
Theme: Elegant sensuality
Old elegance, revisited tuxedo, and women becoming a sexy weapon of seduction made Dolce & Gabbana one of the most appreciated collections of the season. However, we are not huge fans of that massive use of the tones of black since we expected Domenico and Salvatore to dare more with the colors in this collection.
Number 5: Tom Ford
Theme: 90’s
Buttons, buttons, buttons directly from the 90’s. Tom Ford surprises us again with exceptional elegance and mastery of colors. The throwback was loved by the public that trusts more and more Tom Ford as a Brand Trend-Setter.
Number 4: Max Mara
Theme: Modern 90’s
Max Mara is a synonym for elegance, and probably this is the most elegant and feminine collection of this Milan Fashion Week. The dominance of black characterizes the design, while the legs are highlighted even if covered. We love the belts over the sweaters and the leather gloves which drove this collection to the apex essence of feminine energy. The only flaw we identified is the mono-thematic choice of colors and design. We would have liked to see more diversity, if not in the colors, in the shapes.
Honorable Mention: Bottega Veneta
Theme: Deconstruction of shapes
Now approaching our top three, the team of Chiconomix needs to mention a brand that didn’t make it in the rankings but we appreciate its style, materials, and application. With definite colors, strong use of lucid leather, and large shapes on the upper part, Bottega Veneta succeeded with its mixture of elegance and smoothness. The innovation in the market is identified in the extra-large sleeves and the exaggeration of the shape of the shoulders.
Number 3: Etro
Theme: Contemporary mannerism
A very colorful palette from Etro. The runway recalls the ancient Greek and Roman tragedies and makes the accessories the epicenter of the show. As always, the fantasies and creative shapes conquer the eyes of public opinion, which is entranced by this expression of style. In one word, Chic, and Chic deserves a third place.
Number 2: Moschino
Theme: 90’s
This is a delicate and tricky point for many magazines since Moschino’s collection was designed by Davide Renne, who unfortunately passed away before finishing it and the role of creative director was passed down to Adrian Appiolaza three weeks before the runway. The tricky situation was even trickier for Adrian who decided to continue the line, following the legacy of Franco Moschino himself. The collection is beautiful, joyful, surprising, and innovative while including formal and informal stylistic choices from different époques. Adrian’s collection overall is breathtaking and deserves the second place in our rankings.
Finally, here we are with our choice of the best collection, which got a very big resonance on the internet and during the show for its completeness.
Number 1: Gucci
Theme: Elegant Sensuality
Sabato De Sarno’s debut brought back what many identify as the core origin of Gucci, the Italian elegance, the bravery in the choice of colors, and the beautiful shapes that dresses can create in an individual. The classy style mixed with modern shapes is what coronates De Sarno’s collection as our favorite in this edition of the Milan Fashion Week.