Milan, it's your turn. While we continue to journey through Britain with London Fashion Week, our eyes have roved over to the Italian fashion capital for our next taste of Fashion Month. Last week, we observed on-ground what New Yorkers brought to the streets at NYFW SS25, but now it's time to take our seats.

Historically, the Italian portion of Fashion Month is responsible for some of the most spectacular displays that haute couturiers have on offer. This year, we're expecting no less. Previous showings flaunted names like Bottega Veneta, Tom Ford, Gucci, Prada, Max Mara, Marni, Diesel and DSQUARED2. This year, come on field research with RUSSH as we keep abreast of the very best on show in the Italian capital. For your Milan SS25 show highlights, read on.

Max Mara

When fashion and mathematics meet, the chemistry is undeniable. As was the case in Max Mara’s Spring/Summer 25 collection, which drew inspiration from Hypatia, a fourth century Egyptian mathematician, philosopher, astronomer and teacher. Much like the mathematical equations the Hypatia dealt in, designer Ian Griffiths simplified the art of getting dressed into a formulaic affair via a distinctly Max Mara-ified code to the perfect outift. Sleek tailoring found its ultimate pairing in crisp white shirting, while billowing silhouettes were expertly balanced by a waist-cinching belts. This exactness was apparent throughout the collection, right down to a technical level. Take the opening look, worn by supermodel Vittoria Ceretti. Her open blouse might look like effortlessly thrown on, but on closer inspection, it’s actually the work of carefully calculated stitching and tailoring, each enacted with painstaking attention to detail. We’re taking note.

Versace

According to Donatella Versace, less is more when it comes to your Spring/Summer ’25 wardrobe. Equal parts effortless and opulent, the designer’s latest collection was decidedly “lighter, fresher, and freer in spirit.” On a runway housed in the medieval Castello Sforzesco, models were clad in clashing prints and punchy ‘70s-esque hues. Upon closer inspection, however, not everything was as simple as it first seemed. Smooth fabrics masqueraded as textured thanks to cleverly crafted patterns, day dresses made from metal mesh received a nighttime edge, and handbags seemingly printed with poppies were actually the intricate work of all-over glass beading.

Tod's

Forget colour — on the Tod's SS25 runway, it was all about luxuriously neutral hues. For his latest collection, creative director Matteo Tamburini took us on a journey down the Mediterranean coastline — and provided the perfect wardrobe for your next Euro summer vacay in the process. Breezy linens and easy-to-wear tailoring reigned supreme, with Italian leather accessories expertly matched to each look. The iconic Gommino Driving Shoes were the hero footwear style of the collection, with 60 Tod's artisans working alongside the runway to give a live demonstration on exactly how the shoe is assembled.

Bottega Veneta

From the moment they found their seats on animal-shaped beanbags, creative director Matthieu Blazy, invited guests on a journey back in time. Inspired by the childlike wonder of raiding a parent’s wardrobe, Blazy set out to rediscover the joy of getting dressed by inventing, as the show notes coined it, a new kind of “power dressing.”

“As a kid, there is the adventure of the everyday – there’s a feeling that anything could happen, no matter how fantastical and we are not so bound by regular expectations and conventions,” Blazy explained.

In keeping with this aim, models took to the runway in playfully chic ensembles, from oversized suiting to slinky slip dresses paired with fringed leather headwear. This youthful joy seeped into the show’s accessories, too: lapels were adorned with animal-shaped brooches, while bags were embroidered with drawings and bouquets of crochet flowers.

Gucci

Tailoring, lingerie, leather, oh my! For his Spring/Summer ’25 collection, creative director Sabato De Sarno was inspired by – in his own words – the “casual grandeur” of Gucci’s inimitable DNA. What does that mean exactly? For De Sarno, this fashionable contradiction took shape in the form of iconic, ‘60s-inspired silhouettes — think structured outwear and thigh-grazing mini skirts — juxtaposed against demure tank tops and low-slung jeans, and reimagined in new colourways, from neon green to sunset orange. Tying together each look was, as always, a slew of seductively wearable accessories. All eyes were on The Gucci Bamboo 1947, a glossy leather-and-bamboo creation that was first produced in response to a leather shortage in postwar Italy. And while this supply problem might long have been solved, the bag (unsurprisingly) remains as covetable as ever. This year, De Sarno sent one-of-a-kind imaginings of the Bamboo 1947 down the runway, created in collaboration with Japanese artist to celebrate 60 years of Gucci in Japan.

FENDI

The Spring-Summer 2025 collection paid elegant homage to the founding era of the 20s, re-introducing the flapper silhouette that was a little lighter on the fringe. The FENDI woman does not quake in the face of change. Against art deco pillars, the models wended their way down to the show's sountrack, which featured the conversations between Silvia Venturini Fendi and her mother. The 100th year ceremony featured pencil skirts and waistlines that either dropped or lightly cinched inward. Sheer garments were worn as made, eschewing the undergarments as the core focus to draw your eye to. The finisher on many a look? The Fendi baguette, cradled in-arm in colourways of Beige. Further juxtaposition in the shoes were another touchpoint; models were paired in the low-heeled pumps in mettled white and pastels, others donned trucker boots. Against a pale seersucker pink, Kim Jones' FENDI was an enigmatic portrait of the '20s dame with a glistening finish.

Marni

It's a bug's life at Marni, and the living is decorous. Stylings from the Spring/Summer showing beam with chic oddities, like the well-placed antenna eyebrows poking out from each model's face. Starchy fabrics and floor-skimming capes, and oversized coats all piled out, each more elaborate than the last. The balance of quirk and colour struck without complicating the silhouettes. Accessories from brick-red bags and architectural hats were larger than life, playful, without fear. The final looks emerging finished in a cloud of sparkles, frilly scruffs, and plunging necklines. Since the show was a study in abstraction, it was obvious that the show notes would be equally recluse. Stanzas read like poetry, “The white rabbit darts, hushing the forest’s quietude. The silence parts through a vacuum, strange moon rises, undulating and bleeding pink to the darkness’s demises.” To that end, Marni invites us in, ponderously, to a world that is both transportive and immaterial.

Prada

Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons. When the two come together, a haute spectacle happens. For the Spring 2025 Collection, we are treated to an absurdist plane, an inherently Prada mythos of tailored businesswear and explosive colour. Lapelled shirts, interlinking decals, as well as insect eyewear and Dr. Plague masks are present, and not one item is out of place. Legacy footwear also took course on the runway, with boots, brogues and ballerina flats all present. Prada and Simmons have their eye firmly trained on the future, having rewrit so much of the past. This was a symphony of all that was old and new.

Onitsuka Tiger

Where do the youth go when they've been left to the wayside? This is what Onitsuka Tigers is asking in their presentation, a fifty-look strong collection of muted earth tones and refined, textural attire. Genderless in design, the line featured an array of lace tops, structural outerwear and all-black and beige outfits that were devised in collaboration with Wolford. The flightiness of adolescent emotion and desire were stylistic counterpoints in production, pointing to a utopic metropolise of longing, desire and vulnerability.