Milan Fashion Week: Fendi and Dolce & Gabbana balanced Covid-19-inspired looks with optimistic colourful prints to kick off 2020’s hybrid live-digital runways

Sep 25 , 2020

Dolce & Gabbana’s spring/summer 2021 outfits infused Milan Fashion Week with plenty of optimism. Photo: Dolce & Gabbana

Fendi and Dolce & Gabbana welcomed guests to their spring/summer 2021 runway shows at Milan Fashion Week, guarding against Covid-19 with social distancing and face masks featuring prints by the Italian luxury fashion brands

The Italian fashion industry is moving to inject some much-needed optimism into luxury’s dismal year with the hybrid live-digital Milan Fashion Week. Featuring 23 live runway shows and 37 presentations, the event aims to excite consumers and connect with the buying network.

Models wear protective masks while rehearsing for Fendi’s spring/summer 2021 show at Milan Fashion Week. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Fendi and Dolce & Gabbana opened the first day of mostly womenswear previews for the next spring and summer on Wednesday. They will be joined later in the week by Max Mara, Salvatore Ferragamo and Valentino, which decamped from Paris where it normally shows due to travel concerns related to Covid-19.

Milan stalwarts including Giorgio Armani, Versace and Prada, which is debuting its first collaboration between Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, opted for virtual shows.

Models parade at the end of Fendi's spring/summer 2021 show at Milan Fashion Week. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Check out these highlights from Wednesday’s shows:

Inside Fendi looking out

Italy’s long two-and-a-half-month lockdown – which also closed down fashion production for a stretch, except for necessities like face masks – gave designers time for introspection.

A model presents a creation by Fendi during its spring/summer 2021 show at Milan Fashion Week. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Silvia Venturini Fendi’s mixed men’s and women‘s collection offered the perspective of looking out from the inside – a familiar view for many, since the coronavirus pandemic has forced drastic shifts in habits.

The white showroom, fitted with S-shaped sofas separated by billowing linen curtains, faced a projection of windows opening onto shadowy foliage. Diaphanous prints were layered over body suits and sheaths, while windows were suggested in stitched trim on linen suits.