The Most Interesting Shows At Milan Fashion Week Spring Summer 2027

By Jessica Ye (Jessica Yap)

Milan Fashion Week always gives us plenty to talk about.

But rather than attempting to decide which collection was the “best”, I found myself drawn to the shows that had something distinctive to say, whether through the clothes, the styling or simply the sheer audacity of the idea.

This season, Giorgio Armani looked at evolution without abandoning its unmistakable codes. Prada gave us 63 skirts. Fendi explored the body through lace, lingerie and tailoring. Bottega Veneta lightened up its craftsmanship for summer, while Dolce & Gabbana opened up its Sicilian wardrobe to generations of women.

And then there was Gucci, where Demna is still working out exactly what his version of the house should be.

These were the shows I found myself returning to.

GIORGIO ARMANI: EVOLUTION, THE ARMANI WAY

Giorgio Armani has never needed to reinvent itself simply for the sake of reinvention.

For Spring Summer 2027, EVOLUTION takes familiar Armani signatures and gives them another turn. Elongated jackets, fluid menswear-inspired tailoring and body-following silhouettes form the backbone of the collection, while sharp shoulders and geometric lines bring subtle echoes of the 1980s.

The palette is unmistakably Armani: ivory, black and gold, punctuated by metallic glimmers that catch the light against liquid black silk and evening pieces.

There are bustiers, small pouches, clutches, loafers, high-heeled sandals and flat neoprene boots, while the butterfly appears as a recurring symbol of metamorphosis.

Cotton also makes its debut in a more tangible way for the house, adding another material to a vocabulary already rich in silk, tailoring and leather.

The result is familiar Armani, but with enough movement to keep it from feeling like a trip through the archives.

PRADA: THE SKIRT TAKES OVER

Prada opened Milan Fashion Week with 63 skirt looks.

Yes, 63.

Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons took one of the most familiar pieces in the wardrobe and made it the centre of attention, playing with Velcro, embellishment, nylon, leather-like cotton and unexpected combinations of fabrics.

The skirt appears layered, wrapped, decorated and occasionally made to look almost unfamiliar.

There is always something slightly mischievous about seeing an ordinary wardrobe staple treated as though it has never been worn before. The styling pushes the clothes into combinations that might initially look peculiar, only to become rather convincing once the eye adjusts.

Prada has always been very good at making us question why we think certain clothes belong together.

This time, it simply started with the skirt.

FENDI: DRESSING THE BODY

Maria Grazia Chiuri presented her second ready-to-wear collection for Fendi inside a hall of mirrors, an appropriate setting for a collection so preoccupied with the body.

Lace, sheer fabrics and lingerie references appeared alongside tailoring, allowing skin to appear and disappear beneath layers of clothing.

There were delicate pieces worn with sharper jackets, more revealing silhouettes balanced by structured tailoring, and evening clothes placed alongside pieces that felt far more everyday.

Fendi’s familiar accessories, including the Baguette, completed the looks without stealing attention from the clothes themselves.

Chiuri’s Fendi is beginning to develop its own rhythm, with the body very much at the centre of it.

BOTTEGA VENETA: LIGHTER FOR SUMMER

Louise Trotter’s third collection for Bottega Veneta looked at the passage from winter into spring and summer, using materials to make that transition visible.

The house’s famous Intrecciato appeared alongside crochet, fringe and woven textures, while heavier-looking pieces were loosened into lighter silhouettes.

One particularly lovely idea was a long coat knotted to reveal the dress underneath. Elsewhere, woven pieces, fringed scarves and relaxed layers gave the collection an almost tactile quality.

The colours remained relatively restrained, allowing the materials to take over.

Bottega’s craftsmanship was there, but without making the clothes feel weighed down by it.

DOLCE & GABBANA: STRAVAGANZA SICILIANA

Dolce & Gabbana returned to one of its most familiar sources of inspiration with Stravaganza Siciliana, imagining the wardrobe of an Italian family where clothes are borrowed, inherited, mixed and worn again.

Naturally, the result was anything but quiet.

Lace, lingerie, crochet, embroidery, leopard, florals, denim, brocade and jewellery all appeared together, creating a wardrobe that felt wonderfully abundant.

The most appealing part was the way the pieces were mixed. Something traditionally feminine could be worn with denim or something tougher, while evening pieces were brought into the daytime wardrobe.

It felt less like recreating a Sicilian wardrobe and more like opening someone’s actual closet and seeing what happens when everyone starts borrowing from it.

Very Dolce & Gabbana.

GUCCI: STILL FINDING ITS NEW CHAPTER

And then we come to Gucci.

Demna’s second runway for the house took place inside a giant replica Gucci boutique, setting the scene for a collection that moved through several different versions of the brand.

There was polished tailoring, sensual eveningwear, riding clothes, oversized leather, sequins, fur, chains and fringe, alongside familiar Gucci signatures including the Horsebit.

There are plenty of arresting images here. Demna knows how to make clothes look desirable, and there are pieces that immediately catch the eye.

But for me, something is still missing.

The collection draws on Gucci’s enormous history, from the sensuality associated with Tom Ford to the glamour of Frida Giannini and the maximalism of Alessandro Michele, while adding Demna’s own vocabulary.

The difficulty is that Gucci has such a recognisable identity that simply gathering its familiar codes together is not quite enough.

I am still waiting for the moment when I see something and think, that could only be Demna’s Gucci.

That does not mean the collection is without merit. There is enough here to make me curious about where he takes it next.

AND THEN THERE WERE THE FRONT ROWS

Of course, Milan Fashion Week had another runway happening off the catwalk.

Namtan Tipnaree brought a polished yet playful energy to Prada, while Bang Chan of Stray Kids arrived at Fendi in a look that suited Maria Grazia Chiuri’s mix of tailoring and sensuality.

At Gucci, PP Krit brought his own fashion personality to Demna’s new chapter, proving that sometimes it takes the right person wearing the clothes to make a house’s codes feel fresh again.

Karen Mok looked completely at home in Giorgio Armani, dressed in the house’s familiar vocabulary as she watched EVOLUTION unfold.

And then there was Jennifer Lopez at Dolce & Gabbana.

Naturally, subtlety was never going to be the plan.

Her Dolce & Gabbana look brought plenty of old-school glamour to Stravaganza Siciliana, perfectly matching a collection already overflowing with lace, leopard, florals and jewellery. Earlier in Milan, she had also stepped out in a dramatic black D&G look with a tulle ball skirt and a 75-carat tourmaline necklace.

One thing about JLo: she is going to make an entrance.

And really, that feels like the right way to end Milan Fashion Week.