Animal Chairs, Sportswear Collabs and Luxury Craftsmanship: Your Definitive Recap of MFW SS25
From The Attico’s team up with Nike to Bottega Veneta’s coming-of-age tale, here’s everything you missed at Milan Fashion Week.
Italy’s fashion capital came alive for Milan Fashion Week’s Spring/Summer 2025 circuit. Once again, luxury heritage brands including Prada, Fendi and Gucci delivered Italian refinement mixed with next-gen silhouettes. Bottega Venetta, Diesel and BOSS offered immersive runway experiences which perfectly translated their collection themes into the set design of their showcases. Sportswear collaborations also made a comeback including The Attico‘s team up with Nike and AVAVAV‘s collaboration with adidas Originals. SUNNEI celebrated its 10th anniversary, commenting that a decade of the brand has felt like a century while GCDS conveyed a more sophisticated side with its collection “Flowers of The Concrete.”
Familiar faces joined the week’s events including Emmy-nominated Nava Mau, Demure CEO Jools Lebron, Jacob Elordi, ASAP Rocky, Jack Harlow, James Blake, Nara Smith and more.
Read on for Hypebae’s recap of Milan Fashion Week SS25 and in case you missed it, check out our London Fashion Week highlights.
Most Talked About Shows: Diesel and Bottega Veneta
“Diesel is Denim” rang over the loud speakers at the brand’s SS25 showcase — a sentiment that was woven into every detail of the event. The venue was packed with 14,800kg of denim scraps highlighting the beauty in “waste — in what is distressed and destroyed” according to the press statement. These scraps will be utilized and repurposed in future Diesel collections, continuing a commitment to circularity and finding new ways to reuse materials. As for the collection, Glenn Martens returned with extra-long fringing, micro shorts, jersey tanks and burnt cotton. For accessories, the “Play” bag is printed with an image of the collection’s bandana and the “TRASH-D” is wrapped in knotted bandanas as well.
Bottega Veneta SS25 was a spectale — attended by Jacob Elordi, ASAP Rocky, James Blake and friends of the brand. Sat on animal chairs, show guests witnessed a coming-of-age story conceived by Matthieu Blazy at his finest. The styling of the collection alluded to the childhood excitement of dressing up in your parent’s clothes. Oversized jackets, creased collared shirts and flannels offered a grungier side to the brand — mimicking the angst of youth while leather denim, soft cotton tops and trench coats were combined as a nod to the adventure of everyday life. A key standout of the collection were the headpieces created entirely with leather.
Best Accessories: GCDS and Gucci
There is nothing demure about Giuliano Calza’s world. This season, the creative director of GCDS, showcased a more sophisticated approach to the brand leaving behind his staple characters for a more sophisticated, day-to-evening offering. Inspired by the beauty and strength of a flower growing in his garden, Calza experimented with playful nods to nature for SS25 with fuzzy, grass-like bags and floral motifs. A standout from the collection is a transparent, hard case purse with a dried butterfly and praying mantis placed inside.
Gucci reimagined ’60s glamour à la Jackie Kennedy for its SS25 collection. This materialized in accessories in the form of floral, silk headscarves, round sunglasses and gold arm bands. Sabato de Sarno continued the ’60s-inspired details with leather biker glovers which arrive in maroon, black and white hues. Elsewhere, nods to the brand’s classic “1974” bamboo handle bag are seen, for the first time, as accessories.
Best Set Design: BOSS and The Attico
The Attico’s set design was the most true translation of the show’s concept that we saw all of MFW. After experiencing heartbreak at the same time, creative directors Giorgia Tordini and Gilda Ambrosio designed a collection based on the strength of fragility. “The Sound of Breaking Glass” is both the collection’s name and what show guests heard upon entering the venue. The building was a brutalist, window covered industrial building nodding to the contrasts of fragility and darkness. Colourful chandeliers hung over the runway as models walked in a whimsical trance.
Expanding on its Fall/Winter 2023 collection “CORPCORE,” BOSS returned to the intersection of business and nature for its SS25 collection “Out Off Office.” The brand transformed the Palazzo del Sanato into a secret garden oasis filled with lush greenery, flowers and grass. The runway itself was made of reflective material, and it appeared that the models, including Paloma Elsesser, were walking on water. As for the collection, dark trench coats, voluminous capris and smart dresses nodded to a modern woman at work while soft cardigans and single shoulder shawls underscored freedom of movement.
Best Sound Design: Etro and Ferrari
Marco De Vincenzo’s Etro holds a distinct, creative voice in the Milanaese fashion circuit for its electric storytelling — materializing the feeling of every day journeys into each collection with vibrant scarves, hooded knits and rich colorways. For the show soundtrack, the brand served a live performance by Sardinian musician and singer-songwriter Daniela Pes. She presented an original composition from her collection, mixing electronic elements, traditional female vocals and lyrics that celebrate ancient Gallurese language and sounds.
Ferrari‘s SS25 collection stood out on the MFW calendar for its precise proportions, style crossovers and vibrant positioning of terracotta tones — unseen in many other brand’s offerings. The collection was brought to life this season through a live performance from Gaga Symphony, part of the Gaga Symphony Orchestra. The vocals perfectly awakened the “private personal space” manifesto of the show wardrobe.
Best Collaboration: AVAVAV and MM6 Maison Margiela
Beate Karlsson‘s AVAVAV is always one of the most anticipated brands at MFW, which many traveling guests stay in town for until the last day of the fashion week circuit. Known for her outlandish and satirical fashion takes, this season Karlsson unveiled an adidas Originals collaboration for the majority of her garments, accessories and shoes. Commenting that AVAVAV is far from sport, the creative director’s approach to the collaboration was to playfully focus on “low performance.” Standout items include an upcycled adidas Superstar bag and bright red, tabs-inspired mittens.
MM6 Maison Margiela’s SS25 collection poignantly featured plastic as a key material arising in the form of a plastic bag shirt and wrapped around dresses and socks. Elsewhere, Y2K is revived with low waisted skinny jeans, spaghetti strap tanks and denim vests. The collection was complete with a Dr. Martens collaboration which sees the “1460” boot awakened with a dried, white paint effect.
Honorable Mentions: Roberto Cavalli, Sportmax, Jil Sander and Vivetta
In our humble opinion, Sportmax is one of the most slept on brands on the MFW calendar. It is sultry, sophisticated and utterly wearable. One of our favorite looks from the collection is a teal and yellow two piece set which drips with transparent fringe.
Roberto Cavalli SS25 was one for the fashion history books. The show marked the first Roberto Cavalli showcase since its founder sadly passed away in April of this year. To celebrate his legacy and global impact on fashion design, the Italian brand selected seven archival pieces to showcase on the runway, worn by legendary muses Alec Wek, Karen Elson, Natasha Poly and more.
Jil Sander introduced a new futuristic touch to its offerings with its SS25 collection. Two-toned trench coats, shorts and vest were a key standout as well as photographic prints including a retro car, woman’s face and neon lighting. The accessories ranged from bright yellow to jet black with silver studs — communicating a next-gen approach to feminine silhouettes.
Vivetta‘s SS25 collection was all about girlhood. Featuring Barbie pinks, pyjama-styled cotton leotards and velvet bows adorned on pointed ballet flats. The collection focused on pastels and florals and included a lavender top which took form as a soft pillow. The showcase also saw models walking with young girls in an effort to celebrate the inner child in us all.
