Unpacking The Star Power, Sophomore Collections, And Sex Appeal At Milan Fashion Week

Here’s a roll call of our standout moments from last week’s shows at Italy’s fashion capital.

Maximilian Davis is embracing nostalgia at Ferragamo

Britain’s Maximilian Davis delivered another assured outing for the house of Ferragamo this Milan Fashion Week. For Autumn/Winter 26, the creative director continues his excavation of the 1920s – the decade of the brand’s inception – filtering it through the sharply defined visual language he has been honing since arriving at the house. Once again, the speakeasy emerges as a key locus: a charged, after-hours environment where the social codes of class and identity loosen their grip. Here, sailors become the foundational motif of Davis’ moodboard, their presence conjuring a cast of characters drifting between elegance and disorder as the night unfolds.

Naval codes are reworked through Davis’ meticulous lens, its lines pulled apart and subtly unsettled – buttons and fastenings shifted off-course, silhouettes gently dislocated. Workwear parkas arrive cut in supple, textured nappa; collars are exaggerated and languid; and moments of studied insouciance flicker through otherwise rigorous tailoring. The result operates as a kind of stylistic temperature check on the tensions Davis is probing: the polished and the brute, the considered and the impulsive, the highbrow brushing up against the everyday. Elsewhere, he introduces a suite of exceptional leather jackets that bring a welcome ease to the collection’s social wardrobe. Tonal bursts of blue, orange and mustard puncture the palette, adding subtle jolts of colour that add another layer to Davis’ ongoing meditation on pragmatism and polish.

Simone Belotti is making a home at the house of Jil Sander

With his lauded debut last season, Simone Belotti had already proven that he understands Sander’s vision in his first delivery for the brand. Great suiting, sharp lines, a search for purity in colour and silhouette. He has minimalism in his back pocket, but is also daring to push its boundaries – less plastic, more human, more sexy. While boxy and structured, Bellotti’s AW26 constructions are flexible enough to follow the body of the wearer, introducing coats and blazers with very high back slits that allow the pieces to flow with movement. “Curves over straight lines, fabric in excess,” the show notes explain. “This season the question is whether abandon can convey restraint.”

Trousers are more slouchy than skinny, one side of a collar slips through a blazer, shoulder lines are raised and pockets try to run away. Bellotti’s clothes have agency of their own. These aren’t just pieces you pull from your wardrobe when in need of impressing, but the ones you reach for when you don’t know what else to wear. Your comfort blanket, where you feel your best, most safe and protected. It’s like wearing your home, only you’ll look immaculate while doing it.

Beanies, bags and big coats at Bottega Veneta

Louise Trotter’s Bottega Veneta is very cool this season – and it’s not just because they’re all wearing beanies. 

Following a stellar debut last season that saw the British designer cement herself as the perfect heir to the highly lauded Matthieu Blazy, she’s gone up another gear for Autumn/Winter 2026, amping up her version of the Italian house. Men’s looks pull back on the tailoring, instead opting for a strong display of knits whilst outerwear takes a big chunk of the spotlight. Calf-length Balmacaan coats are given the house’s signature leather Intrecciato treatment for a sure-fire hit and big body shoulder bags would be Jacob Elordi airport-approved. 

The Bottega Veneta of this season is extremely wearable. They’re looks that have potential to live outside of the runway through calculated sloppy styling that feels realistic. Yes, they’re flashier than your average Joe (because who’s really in head-to-toe Intrecciato), but it seems like Trotter’s gunning to see her work on the street – and she’s done just that.

BOSS charged the batteries on nine to five sexy

Tailoring is BOSS’ bread and butter. The brand is known for making very nice suits that you can wear to the office and look good doing. But with its Autumn/Winter 2026 collection, the German label dialled up the steam on corporate dressing by turning back the clock. Three-button, single-breasted suits were plucked straight from the 90s with their boxy jackets and straight legs, while their double-breasted counterparts were big, roomy and very Wall Street in the 1980s. Shirts and ties were layered with swishy overcoats and padded shoulder quarter-zips nodding to the power dressing of years gone by. Couple that with fancy paisley silk scarves and oversized square sunglasses, and you’ve got a uniform primed for hiding a client’s lunch-induced hangover and working hard and playing harder. 

Emporio Armani is running the streets

The Peaky Blinders were out for Emporio Armani’s AW26 collection and, as is typical for the Chester gang and the brand itself, they fearlessly moved in clusters. 

Being the first co-ed shows hosted by the late designer’s trusted heirs Silvana Armani and Leo Dell’Orco, it showed an aligned harmony in cohesively shared aesthetics. Country club suiting, aviator styles and private school prep contributed to the his and hers styling, made all the more menacing with stern faces and fixed paperboy caps. These out-and-about characters would eventually all convene at the night’s event, sporting elegant tuxedoes before the evening’s end with a slew of white dress shirts that appeared like they were mid-undressed.

It’s a cohesive homage to the late Armani, and one that brings a lot of promise for the house with two very capable successors who aren’t afraid to put their heads together.

Gym bros and fuck boys – you’re all invited to Demna’s Gucci

A piercing strip of light? Check. A FROW of underground rappers and creative directors? Check. A Greco-Roman backdrop? Check. For 23 minutes, the fashion world held its breath for one of the industry’s visionaries to present his debut runway show at a true heritage house – but for Demna, it was business as usual. 

First were the PB-pushers and protein-obsessors, with skin-tight leather t-shirts and gleaming polos that were ’90s Tom Ford through and through. We were then ushered to take in the modern players and divas, with side bags slung over shoulders and skinny leather biker jackets looking like the off-duty model final boss – make-up still on from the show prior. A punk interlude provided metallic silvers and golds with embossed snakeskin and even a red and green striped mohawk, a time-machine moment back to ’90s Ura-Harajuku. These male manipulators were also on the Euro-summer beachside strip, with half-worn tees paired with nylon capris and furry horsebit mules. The Gucci men can also go classy, donning liquid-y suits that sheen like they’ve experienced a pretty heavy downpour. Double G belt buckles gleam in the meantime, pointy shinty footwear completes the look and pendant-adorned chokers keep sex appeal high, in a holiday souvenir kind of way.

From Fakemink and Nettspend to Kate Moss and Karlie Kloss, Demna will never fail to collect gasps from his audience and fans of all ages. The reason he understands the culture is that he lives in it and engages with it. This collection is the ultimate testament, threading the needle into the zeitgeist and proving to us all that no task will ever be beyond him.

Love is blind at MM6 Maison Margiela

Known for remixing the mundane everyday, MM6 Maison Margiela’s Autumn/Winter 2026 show turns a blind eye to big statements with a very versatile collection that’s just as wearable as it is recreatable. 

With each model walking up the marble stairs in blindfold-like shades, the abnormalities for this show stop there. Jeans and trousers don’t stray wider than a flattering 501-esque straight leg, with some even featuring a double waistband (the first of which is suggestively unbuttoned). Leathers arrive in the form of V-neck tops and five-pocket pants whilst outerwear includes cult classics like denim truckers, corduroy blousons and wide-lapelled knee-length coats. The footwear may be the biggest statement of all, with high shafts on glossy boots tempting you to tuck trousers in. 

This collection is the epitome of a stylish man’s wardrobe, where each piece they own goes together without a single thought. A truly interchangeable offering, and one that proves that great taste will always reign supreme. 

FENDI lays the foundations for its new era

At FENDI, newly-installed creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri’s menswear ran the gamut of formality, from sensible double-breasted suits to Canadian tuxedos, frontman-coded shaggy coats to movie star moto jackets. Of course there were the statements, but it was underpinned by a wearability; straight-fitting denim, parkas, leather trenches,fur-trimmed bomber jackets, and top coats reflecting a contemporary luxury, designed to fit into its wearers lives, be it a weekend rockstar or just someone who wants a slice of the brand’s Roman heritage. All deeply solid stuff, primed to take the brand forwards into a new era. 

Don’t ask Glenn Marten’s Diesel about last night

Diesel Autumn/Winter 2026 saw Glenn Martens delve into the post-hookup look the day after. 

Coats, knits and blazers were creased and scrunched, as if they had been picked up off the floor after it was stripped and tossed without a single ounce of care in the heat of the moment. Mid-wash, straight fit jeans had pointed toe boots attached with a seamless break, as if the prior night of debauchery was planned for with a swift exit the following morning. Velour sets were dyed multicoloured, as if drinks had been increasingly spilt throughout the night. 

The Diesel man this season was messy, but so content with the proceedings of the night before that an internal glow made this chaotic look seem intentional. Confidence is key, after all, and a good time never hurt anyone. 

Ferrari’s textures went neck and neck

Engineering a runway collection under a label that has such a foothold in the automotive and racing space seems like a pretty tall order. But with Rocco Iannone at the wheel, he’s able to slow down even the fastest of brands. 

A collection defined by clusters of tonal tailoring and recontextualised racing motifs, we’re initially introduced by a healthy portion of sandy and ivory beiges with leather-clad suiting and padded shawl-neck jackets. We’re segued into a gradient of rusty browns and mossy greens, highlighted by a fur-collared denim jacket that’s not afraid to show a little chest. An array of black looks finishes off the collection, with hints of Ferrari red sprinkled in through a smoky print. Black leather outerwear features a texturised finish, almost as if a racing car sped over it, along with bumpy knits that bring my mind to Black Panther’s Killmonger. 

An impressive performance and one that, in Iannone’s eyes, embodies the off-the-track luxury at Ferrari.