MILAN — Whether fembot or uberfeminine, the collections on view during Milan Fashion Week hit the right note with buyers and had them looking forward to spring.
“The Milan collections felt more commercially relevant than in recent seasons: either hot and sexy or light, fluid and romantic,” said Jennifer Wheeler, vice president of designer apparel at Nordstrom.
“Overall, the Milan collections reflected an upbeat mood, with designers focusing on what they do best,” said Colleen Sherin, fashion market director at Saks Fifth Avenue.
While retailers were fatigued by the compact four-day schedule, which wound up Monday, they liked what they saw and left Milan confident their selections for spring would prompt jittery customers to part with their money. Buyers said they were working with similar budgets to last year and would spend on merit.
“Our customers continue to seek out beautiful, well-made clothes and we will support those designers that deliver on that,” said Barbara Atkin, vice president of fashion direction at Holt Renfrew.
“We’re focused on finding terrific items. Our customer is buying what she doesn’t have in her closet,” said Ken Downing, senior vice president and fashion director of Neiman Marcus.
Retailers outside the Eurozone cautioned that value for money was particularly important because of disadvantageous currency fluctuations. “With the strong euro, we will have to be more careful with what we buy. The products have to correspond rightly with the price,” said Cindy Ho, fashion and merchandising director of Villa Moda, Kuwait.
Some buyers skipped the runways, opting for showroom appointments instead. Those who didn’t said they had no problems making way on the front row for bloggers, as was the case at D&G and Dolce & Gabbana.
“I think the obsession with front-row seating is a symptom of an overactive ego. We should be thankful we’re here,” said Stephanie Solomon, vice president of fashion direction at Bloomingdale’s.
Key trends for the season included transparency and layering; lingerie detailing — particularly lace, straps and bodice, and prints, while miniskirts and dresses, shorts, floaty pants and tailored jackets were among must-have items. In terms of color, palettes swung between black and white and bold, pastel and earthy tones.
Standout collections included Aquilano.Rimondi, Bottega Veneta, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Jil Sander, Marni, Missoni, Prada, Pucci and Versace, retailers said.
Here, a rundown of what buyers had to say:
Jennifer Wheeler, vice president of designer apparel, Nordstrom: “It was a nice balance between the short, sexy, aggressively feminine collections in bold colors as seen in Versace, Gucci, Pucci and Dolce & Gabbana, and the more fluid, romantic collections that featured softer desert and earth colors, as seen at Jil Sander, Marni and Missoni. Key items will be miniskirts, either tight or with a bubble hem; anything perforated, laser-cut or in mesh; lacing details; novelty shorts; leather and suede in pale neutrals or bright; floral prints; soft silk dressing; anything that sparkles, and desert and earth colors.”
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