It’s official: at Milan Fashion Week the ’90s are having a major moment for spring/summer 2024. At Fendi on Wednesday, Kim Jones cited the label’s spring/summer 1999 collection, designed by Karl Lagerfeld, while at Tom Ford on Thursday, Peter Hawkings took cues from Gucci’s spring/summer 1996 collection, designed by Tom Ford. And on Friday, the archive diving continued with Donatella Versace taking her late brother Gianni Versace’s autumn/winter 1995 collection as a jumping off point for thinking about what defines contemporary femininity. Nineties style and pop culture references were all over the runways, from Tod’s and Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini to Sabato De Sarno’s hotly anticipated Gucci debut.
The Front Row:
Serious question: are there any movie stars who are not in Milan this week? Julia Roberts, Jessica Chastain, Ryan Gosling, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Paul Mescal, Jodie Comer, Jodie Turner-Smith, Gabrielle Union, and Juno Temple all came out to support De Sarno’s debut.
Friday also appeared to be friends and family day at MFW. There were so many cute couples on the Gucci FROW: Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny, Grace Gummer and Mark Ronson (who produced the show’s soundtrack), Julia Garner and Mark Foster, Halle Bailey and DDG. Chiara Ferragni and Fedez even brought Ferragni’s two sisters and mum along to the show.
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But undoubtedly our favourite Gucci FROW couple photo op was Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli and his wife, Simona Caggia, with their photogenic rescue pup, Miranda (after Priestly). Prior to arriving at Gucci, De Sarno spent 14 years on the design team at Valentino, most recently as fashion director. So how lovely was it to see De Sarno’s former boss there to support?
Miranda also tagged along to Versace later in the day, where she made herself comfortable on a bench while waiting for the show to start. She became fast friends with her seat mate (to the left of Fendi artistic director Kim Jones), Pilaf, a chihuahua belonging to Demi Moore.
The Casting:
No one does a celebrity model cast quite like Versace. Kendall Jenner opened the brand’s SS24 show, Claudia Schiffer closed, and in between we spotted Gigi Hadid, Iris Law, Liu Wen, and Precious Lee.
Natalia Bryant, daughter of the late basketball star Kobe Bryant and philanthropist Vanessa Bryant, made her catwalk debut. The 20-year-old was taking a break from classes (she’s studying film at the University of Southern California) and her mum was there to cheer her on.
The Serendipity:
Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini’s deconstructed and breezy tailoring, in lightweight fabrics like wool voile and a cotton-linen blend, was inspired by Sharon Stone’s wardrobe in the 1992 cult classic Basic Instinct. Stone herself incidentally sat front row at Tod’s two hours prior wearing a very Catherine Tramell-esque leather co-ord.
The Final Bow:
Walter Chiapponi took his final bow at Tod’s, showcasing one of his strongest collections in his four years as creative director of the Italian heritage label. As for many designers in Milan this season, ’90s minimalism was a touchpoint. He added softness to the traditional elements of a menswear tailoring wardrobe, cutting suits from very light, loose fabrics, and adding ample pleating to trousers.
The Debut:
As Julia Roberts flashed her million dollar smile in a tailored Bermuda short suit at De Sarno’s Gucci debut, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was borrowed from the wardrobe department of another defining ’90s film, Pretty Woman (1990). There was plenty more from the decade on the runway, including several Tom Ford for Gucci tropes — e.g. the leggy silhouettes, the slinky camisoles, the silky shirts unbuttoned to the navel — but all refracted through a sly mid-century-meets-now lens. De Sarno, it would appear, is a mix-master: he can take the dual ’90s threads of minimalist tailoring and upfront sex appeal, add a new deep red colour (Rosso Ancora), plus a dash of crystals inspired by embellished ’50s clutches — and the result is something that feels thoroughly of the moment.
