This year’s Milan Fashion Week highlighted sustainability more than ever. The industry is seeking to show its mettle in big and small ways after 32 leading fashion companies signed off on a set of shared goals presented to the Group of Seven industrial nations leaders. That can mean experimental textiles and ecological materials, or editing a collection down to its purest form, getting rid of excesses. Hitting a balance is a challenge for designers, facing the demand for constant novelty while trying to maintain a socially responsible profile. Miuccia Prada is trying a less-is-more aesthetic, also in support of a sustainable agenda. Why this Korean YouTuber’s vegan videos are all the rage The Prada collection featured a mix of basics with staying power – simple suits, knit skirts and top combos – alongside more adorned pieces such as beaded overcoats that can become heirlooms. Prada said the idea she was trying to convey was that the person wearing the garments “is more important than the fashion”. 10 celebrities who have done or said the wrong thing The sometimes austere looks at times summoned images or elements of puritans, nuns and schoolmarms – all with a subversive fashion edge. Textiles formed the leitmotif of the collection: heavy male wools, rough silk and muslin. The collection opened with a fine-knit grey jumper and straight light rose muslin skirt, introducing muslin as a mainstay of the collection. Other pieces included simple, sweet summer dresses fastened at the shoulders with bows and tiered looks, perhaps contrasting velvet panels at the neck, like a soft judicial frill. Mix-and-match suits featured two-button blazers in blue over grey button-down shirts and wide-legged brown trousers, for a look of classic ease. Where to eat vegan food from around the world in Hong Kong The only real adornments were sequin leaf patterns on skirts and overcoats. The work about subtraction, Prada said, is to counter a prevailing sense “that there is too much of everything”. Will vegan dairy alternatives be the ‘next Beyond Meat’ success story? The looks were finished with floppy rain hats – often in gold or silver lamé – and flat or heeled loafers and sandals. Shell jewellery had a do-it-yourself feel, as did rattan and bucket bags, with nautical knots forming the handles. “It’s simple, without being minimalist”, Prada said. Nicole Kidman, rapper A$AP Rocky and director Wes Anderson – a long-time Prada collaborator – were among the front-row guests. Want more stories like this? Sign up here . Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter