Milan Fashion Week SS20: 5 best moments from Fendi, Bottega Veneta, Moschino, Tod’s

FENDI: DAWN OF A NEW DAY

Favourite looks: Soaked in honey and bathing in pecan, Fendi is finally taking that much-needed "time off" in spring/summer 2020. She's amply relaxed and so is her silhouette. Still, she's not throwing tailoring out the window. Case in point: them quilted trousers, that Roman gingham dress, and the retrospective fur intarsia frock that aren't too worried about taking themselves seriously.

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Favourite detail: The entire Fendi showspace is painted black, presumably in mourning of the loss of Karl. It also provides an excellent backdrop for a collection wide awake in the sunshine of happy hippie prints and glimmering mini dresses. There is light. There is light indeed.

Favourite accessory: Don't quote us, but that Fendi baby pink beaded Pico Nano cutie (it fits Apple AirPods!) shatters any previously held record of the smallest micro, excuse us, nano bag. Our only question: does it come in other colours? We need options, darling.

BOTTEGA VENETA: NO NONSENSE

Favourite looks: "Spring 2020 evolves the codes we are building at Bottega Veneta. Our focus is on process and clarity; immediate and direct," says Creative Director Daniel Lee. This design ethos of his is most evident in the crisp lines and blunt cuts, highly effective when layered tonally.

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Favourite detail: Third World's "Now That We've Found Love" plays at the finale, aptly summing up our mood at easily one of the strongest, most coherent showing (albeit one lacking experimentally) so far at Milan Fashion Week.

Favourite accessory: It would be quicker to list the accessories we didn't like: none of them. Standouts include the massive hobo bag, colourful sandals, and intrecciato clutch.

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MOSCHINO: A WORK OF ART

Favourite looks: You don't have to be a fan of Pablo Picasso (Jeremy Scott's muse this season, ironically, since painters are usually the inspired artists whose works shadow the essence of their subjects) to be floored by his work in Moschino SS20. Though his renderings of Picasso's paintings — repainted before printing — are two dimensional, they all but come alive, particularly his gigot sleeve dresses, and the walking frame.

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Favourite detail: To diversify the collection, Scott indulges his peripheral vision of Spanish influences (Picasso was born in Andalusia, east of Seville) including bullfighting and Flamenco dancers.

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Favourite accessory: The guitars would make an obvious choice. To down the dowdy and up the artistry, we'd love to see the artist's palette and the musical score props transform into real bags.

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TOD'S: TRADITION, TALENT, TIME

Favourite look: It is an irrefutable fact that there aren't greater leather manipulators in the industry than those behind the curtain at Tod's. Where else will you find hide tricked to resemble sequins, ponyskin woven into macramé?

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Favourite detail: Has Tod's ever gone into tie-dye territory? The Italian house dip their toes, or rather, brushes, in ink to give smooth nappa and flowy silk distinction and dimension.

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Favourite accessory: It's a toss between the bright leather slides and the quad of key fobs, the latter of which is stamped with the new Tod's 'T' logo, unearthed from the archives. Should they be given the gift of the gab, they'd say, "I'm on vacation, I want nothing but lightness around me."

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See all the coverage from Milan Fashion Week spring/summer 2020.