From the Paris runways to the streets of Milan, designers from major fashion houses showcased their creations and concepts for the season, embracing diversity and pushing the boundaries of style. Fluid silhouettes and floral motifs, ethereal or innovative fabrics, as well as positive messages celebrating individuality and self-expression, sustainability, and inclusion, stand out as prominent proposals.
Louis Vuitton
Nicolas Ghesquière presented Louis Vuitton’s Spring-Summer 2024 women’s collection live from 103 Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris last October. Punctuated by graphic stripes and sophisticated motifs, the standout pieces blend quintessential Parisian fashion with vintage style codes. Ghesquière plays with layered volumes to create loose silhouettes and tailored ensembles, each embracing a different facet of femininity, enhanced with belt embellishments or rhinestone accessories for a bold touch.
Alexander McQueen, Anatomy II
“This collection is inspired by female anatomy, Queen Elizabeth I, the red rose, and Magdalena Abakanowicz, a transgressive and powerfully creative artist who refused to compromise her vision. The show is dedicated to the memory of Lee Alexander McQueen, whose desire was always to empower women, and to the passion, talent, and loyalty of my team,” wrote Sarah Burton, creative director.
Knee-high boots, twisted leather sandals, rings, necklaces, and earrings in gold and silver Tudor rosewood, as well as black, red, and silver bags and clutches with silver metal studs, ivory details, or embroidery, emphasize attention to detail and boldness.
Bottega Veneta
The maison’s journey continues its narrative with Matthieu Blazy, who speaks of the personal pleasure of dressing, of being who and what we want to be, and of traveling, both in imagination and around the world. “A journey that is simultaneously free and hopeful. A connection to who you were, who you would like to become, and where you want to go. The odyssey is both external and internal, physical and flows through the imagination. It is a journey of transformation and escape,” said Matthieu Blazy, appointed creative director of ready-to-wear at Bottega Veneta in 2020.
Chanel
Light chiffon dresses, tweed caftans, and wide pajama-style pants… Chanel describes its vision of a vacation spent in the south of France under the direction of Virginie Viard, the brand’s creative director, who showed she can be as cool and relaxed as she is grand and sophisticated. Inspired by Villa Noailles in the south of France, the pieces play with contrasts, prints, embroidery, and quintessential Chanel tweeds. Relaxed visuals, in harmony with understated glamour, replace dramatic designs. Looks in lamé, lace, and leather are also part of the collection, almost all in classic black, and most pieces interact with iconic camera bags, slippers and ballet flats, boho-chic chains seen in necklaces and belts, and voluminous frame sunglasses. Over seventy looks paraded in front of the maison’s fans, including Gigi Hadid, Vittoria Cereti, and Penélope Cruz.
Chloé
The collection explores the beauty of the sacred geometry of flowers. For Gabriela Hearst, the maison’s creative director, consciousness is the fourth and final ingredient to achieve climate success. Her three most recent collections for Chloé — whose literal translation in Greek is “young green shoot” — were organized in chapters, each centered on a climate solution: regeneration (fall-winter 2022), clean energy (spring-summer 2023), and female leadership (fall-winter 2023). Now, for this collection, Gabriela explores the power of individual action as a means of environmental defense. The season thus concludes Gabriela’s fashion anthology at the brand and is a celebration of her transformative time at the house. Refined silhouettes with botanical inspiration are enhanced by a concentrated color palette representing clarity, with bursts of marigold, coral, and silver for illumination. The tubular flowers of the calla lily inform the curved lines of a wrap skirt and a black plongé leather dress; the zygomorphic shapes of orchids are reflected in delicate seams and curves, cutouts, balloon sleeves, and deep necklines of metallic leather and wool dresses. Wool jersey crepe pieces are highlighted by ceramic buckles wrapping the body and forming a mini dress with the spontaneity of a vine; the strapless white knit dress unfolds into sequin strands and wool fringes reminiscent of roots; another, with a sleeveless high neck, is adorned with thousands of shimmering bugle beads resembling stamens… Chloé has been rooted in savoir-faire and free-spirited femininity since the maison was founded by Gaby Aghion in 1952. From Gaby to Gabi, the SS24 collection maintains this legacy of craftsmanship and revisits the message of Rupi Kaur’s poetry in The Sun and Her Flowers: “We do not own this place, we are its visitors. And as guests, let’s enjoy this place like a garden. Let’s treat it with a gentle hand. So that those who come after us can also experience it. Let’s find our own sun. Cultivate our own flowers…”.
Pucci, Vivara
Camille Miceli’s second fashion show at Palazzo Altemps unveiled Vivara, the collection for Spring/Summer 2024, luxurious and sophisticated, inspired by the iconic Vivara pattern from the Mediterranean island in the Gulf of Naples. Since its creation in 1965, the iconic Vivara print symbolizes Emilio Pucci’s connection to the Mediterranean Sea and a crescent-shaped remote island near Capri. Now, for her second show, Pucci’s creative director infuses Vivara with a new allure. Bold, modern, and sensual expression, urban and chic attitudes, and beach day-to-night looks are grounded in classic codes, now remixed and updated to emphasize the maison’s creative dynamism. In addition to Vivara, three prints define the season: Cigni evokes the graceful curves of a swan’s neck; Bersaglio is a reverberating pattern that swirls, coils, and extends through space; Chiave gives a Pucci touch to classic stripes; Marmo extends to a bolder effect, especially in laser-treated denim, including a lighter chambray; Pesci and Iride continue to appear across the wardrobe, from crisp poplin blouses to fluid jersey dresses. Beyond Vivara’s aquatic palette of blues, greens, and purples, these motifs are explored in various iterations: neutral notes of beige, khaki, and black; a vivid spectrum of red, purple, pink, and blue; poetic pastel and floral tones. With a touch of hippie here and haute couture there, the silhouettes are summer-appropriate, whether silk foulard-style dresses, urban trench coat ensembles with pattern inlays, or asymmetric tops and skirts. From tattoo tops with cut-outs to oversized blazers, bomber jackets, maxi skirts, and jumpsuits, the looks are fun yet sophisticated. The body is accentuated or suggested. Adornments are constant, seen in sequin embroidery, leather details, and chain accents.
Yves Saint Laurent
The women’s collection for Summer 2024 from Yves Saint Laurent is defined by simplicity and a return to essentials. The posture is pragmatic, with daytime looks inspired by haute couture and a more casual silhouette than in previous seasons. Anthony Vaccarello drew inspiration from Amelia Earhart, Adrienne Bolland, and other pioneering women who excelled in domains once considered exclusively male, such as aviation and car racing. The result exudes what has been a quintessential premise of Saint Laurent: assertive sophistication, with elements borrowed from men’s wardrobes, made enduringly feminine. Variations of the safari jacket and jumpsuits are among the key pieces whose utilitarian ease contrasts with thoughtful gestures, such as the belt. The prevalence of cotton and linen in earthy tones, from olive green and brown to sand and chalk, highlights a natural approach; elegant accessories—including leather gloves and high heels—add the refinement for which the maison is known.
Gucci, Ancora
Sabato De Sarno’s debut collection as creative director—captured in a campaign by David Sims, the first photographer Sabato De Sarno worked with—reveals the woman through the clothes, rather than the other way around, each portraying sensuality as an attitude of confidence, beauty, and freedom. No matter where or what time of day, Gucci’s collection for this season is an invitation for every woman to effortlessly live her individual style. Gucci Ancora celebrates life itself, reclaiming the true essence of the Italian house, based on a rich narrative and liberating confidence. The long structured overcoat, low-waisted white shirt with miniature shorts complemented by a “GG” belt, beaded dresses, monogrammed jumpsuits, rope-tied shirts, rebellious leather jackets in silver details and small flap pockets, or green coats with metallic fringes don’t quite sum up Sabato De Sarno’s debut. His first collection is elegant and refined, young and bold, while staying true to current standards, leaving the entire Gucci headquarters satisfied—and, we read, eager for more, awaiting the next season.
Prada
Since joining the Prada Group in 2020, Raf Simons has worked to captivate younger customers by revitalizing everyday uniforms, combining them with luxurious pieces. This season, the brand opened strongly on the second day of Milan Fashion Week at Fondazione Prada, with an irresistible proposal: to incite absolute freedom of the body, expressed in light dresses of flowing fabrics that defy the language of classic tailoring. Formal silhouettes borrowed from menswear are reinvented in architectural shapes that reconsider the archetypal contours of formal rigor. Crafted with materials dear to the maison, hand-sculpted leather wallets and shoes are adorned with precious leathers. The collection reproduces and reinterprets the design of the wallet originally conceived by Mario Prada, Miuccia Prada’s grandfather and co-founder of Prada, in 1913. Originally proposed in moiré silk, the style is recreated in nappa leather and renylon with a hand-sculpted design. A traveler with deep intellectual curiosity and interest in culture, Mario Prada traversed the world in search of precious artifacts, revisited in exclusive luxury pieces.
