September saw fashion designers in Milan debuting their predictions for 2018’s best looks. All the big players were there: Gucci, Versace, Bottega Veneta and more. A few fashion houses saw early collections from new creative directors, and we think they are worth keeping your eye on. These are our designers to watch from Milan Fashion Week S/S 2018.
Francesco Risso for Marni
Slightly out of the schemes, its subtle and subversive design celebrates individuality through an unpredictable visual language of graphic rigor.
Before becoming the creative director for Marni, Risso worked for fashion designers Anna Molinari, Alessandro Dell’Acqua, and Malo. Later he would go on to join Prada to work on women’s show collections. He trained at Florence Polimoda, at FIYny, and Central Saint Martin’s in London.
The inspiration for Risso’s second collection for Marni came from both English gardens and filmmaker Tim Burton. This colorful collection features looks that celebrate fashion through the years, bringing glamour to today’s trends. We especially love the combination of bright flowers for Spring.
Vogue describes the show this way:
Think large proportions and all the artsy sexy awkwardness one loves from Marni, those clothes that cool girls adore and dull men puzzle over. Add incredible interior workmanship—lining details and inner pockets, a notion of “hidden beauty” so often promised in ready-to-wear but rarely delivered—and a slate of rarified textiles (duchesse, brocade, horsehair, taffeta) recontextualized as utilitarian. Consider old pearl-and-metal jewelry bent and twisted haphazardly, one part granny, one part Calder.
Lucie and Luke Meier for Jil Sander
Husband and wife team Lucie and Luke Meier debuted their first collection for Jil Sander at Milan Fashion Week. Before joining Marni, Lucie worked for Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton and Dior, and served as co-creative director of the five Dior collections. Luke served for several years as head designer of Supreme before co-launching his own men’s wear line OAMC.
The Meiers brought their own sense of minimal design to the crisp tailoring we expect from a Jil Sander collection. The first part of the collection played off the signature Sander white button down, with shirt dresses, puffy sleeves, and other variations. The show became more and more colorful and detailed as it went on, still sticking to classic Sander style.
Paul Surridge for Cavalli
In his first collection for Roberto Cavalli, Paul Surridge takes his inspiration from the life of the modern woman – magnetic, strong, powerful, a chameleon, constantly in motion.
The Focus is in daywear, building an entire wardrobe that is dynamic, athletic and real.
Comfort, health, liberty.
A new, contemporary breed of luxury.
Paul Surridge studied at Saint Martins then moved to Milan to work as an assistant to Prada’s Neil Barrett. From there he worked with Ruffo, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Jil Sander, and Z Zegna. While best known for menswear, Cavalli brought him on as creative director in July.
In the short time that Surridge had to prep for his first Cavalli collection, he attempted to tone down signature Cavalli style to make it more on trend. He toned down the outrageous Cavalli style with sporty silhouettes like racerback tanks, knit dresses, and zebra-striped coats.
Vogue had this opinion of the collection:
Surridge is a minimalist in maximalist’s clothing, so this was decidedly on the tame side for a Cavalli show, without a smidgen of the gleeful bad taste he was notorious for. But it was not without potential in the red carpet department.
So, tell us, which of these three designers are you most excited about? Want more about new designers this year? Try our picks from Paris Fashion Week as well.
