The most anticipated debuts of Milan Fashion Week
The spring/summer 2026 season will be remembered in the fashion world for the debuts of creative directors at the helm of some of the most prestigious fashion houses. The first to showcase the brand’s new direction was Gucci, not through a runway show but through a presentation that revealed the new course of the Florentine fashion house. After the maximalism of Alessandro Michele and the minimalism of Sabato De Sarno, the brand needed new blood and, above all, a clearer direction.
Demna was called to the helm of the brand: a bold choice, accompanied by no small amount of controversy and skepticism. In presenting his creations, the new creative director relied on the concept of “family”, giving each look an archetype capable of appealing to an audience in search of references and a sense of belonging. The family created by Demna features numerous characters in search of an author: the heiress, the narcissist, the lady…
The collection seems to return to its origins with an aesthetic that aims to combine the glitz of Tom Ford, the boldness of Frida Giannini, the opulence of Michele, and the glamour of De Sarno. Logos and sexy imagery are back: will this be enough to boost sales? Louise Trotter‘s task was not easy either. After all, her predecessor now occupies one of the most prestigious positions in the world: that of the new creative director of Chanel. The designer is therefore the first woman at the helm of Bottega Veneta. Her debut was discreet, just like the brand she represents, focused on creative heritage and woven motifs repeated with obsessive virtuosity on garments and accessories.
There is balance, there is art, and there is commercial pragmatism, which in these times, in the precarious waltz of fashion designers, is a not insignificant factor. For the Italian fashion house, the motto seems to be almost Gattopardian: “if we want everything to remain as it is, everything must change”. Finally, Dario Vitale‘s debut for Versace was decidedly more controversial. His show was the most talked about of fashion week, creating a buzz on social media that had not been seen in a long time. Vitale managed to cause a stir and divide the large number of admirers and detractors who accompanied the release of his collection equally.
Taking over the helm of a brand that, like no other, has been so closely aligned with the surname of its founders was certainly no easy task. The Versace identity has entered the collective imagination not only through Hollywood’s most iconic red carpets but also through the vicissitudes of a family saga, where creativity, eroticism, mystery, and exaggeration were interpreted by the clothes as much as by the protagonists who wrote that story.
Vitale wanted to mark a turning point without paying homage: gone are the prints, references to Medusa reduced to the bare minimum, a return to the origins of the first collections but with a contemporary eye where sex appeal is present but not blatant. He has undoubtedly thrown everyone off balance and shaken things up: however, we will only find out if his hand has been a winning one in a few months’ time, when his creations arrive in boutiques and it will be time to see whether buyers’ curiosity about this new direction will win out or whether nostalgia for Gianni and Donatella will prevail.