Milan Fashion Week Spring Summer 2026 was one of the most anticipated editions on the fashion calendar, focused on showcasing legacy and innovation. Legendary Italian maisons debuted new creative directions — Dario Vitale at Versace, Demna at Gucci, Simone Bellotti at Jil Sander, and Louise Trotter at Bottega Veneta. The event drew to a close with a heartfelt tribute to the late fashion legend Giorgio Armani.
Milan Fashion Week Spring Summer 2026
Milan Fashion Week is one of the “Big Four” fashion weeks alongside New York, London and Paris. Spring collections are historically shown in September and fall collections in February.
In 1958, the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italia was formed, with a mission to promote Italian design. At the time, Italy’s major cities were in competition with each other for who would become Italy’s fashion capital. Milan edged out Rome and Florence due to its strong links to manufacturing, the growth in ready-to-wear, and the unprecedented success of Milan-based designers Giorgio Armani and Gianni Versace.
Historic moments at Milan Fashion Week include Tom Ford’s legendary 1994 debut show for Gucci, Miuccia Prada‘s and Versace’s spring 2018 runway show, Donatella Versace with Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Carla Bruni and Helena Christensen walking in the show.
The excitement continues. For Spring Summer 2026 which ran from 23 – 29 September 2025, Milan Fashion Week experienced exciting debuts at legendary maisons Versace, Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Jil Sander, promising emerging talent, and a tribute to Giorgio Armani. Diesel disrupted the traditional runway format with a citywide “showcase” and egg hunt and Gucci released its looks a day before the screening at Milan Fashion Week!! Yes, Milan reminded us that global fashion must balance brand heritage with innovation.
PS On September 27, Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci sat front-row at Dolce Gabbana Spring 2026 dressed in character as Miranda Priestly and Nigel Kipling from The Devil Wears Prada. It was a shoot in progress, perhaps. The inspiration for Streep’s character sat across from her: Anna Wintour, the editor in chief of Vogue. Definitely a moment that will go down in fashion history!!
TOP SHOWS OF MILAN FASHION WEEK SPRING 2026
GIORGIO ARMANI
Set in the intimate grandeur of the Pinacoteca di Brera, Giorgio Armani Spring Summer 2026 designed by Armani himself becomes a living portrait of his vision — a balance of discipline and sensuality, restraint and light. A collection shaped by clarity and soul, where each silhouette is a signature — fluid yet grounded. Instead of walking individually, several models walked in pairs. They wore evening gowns and tunic with mandarin collars that would take pride of place at any red carpet, as always. A pianist performed and the courtyard with lit paper lanterns created a solemn mood as everyone missed Giorgio Armani. A standing ovation was given as Silvana Armani and Leo Dell’Orco took their bow at the close of the showing.
MAISON MARGIELA
The MM6 Maison Margiela Spring Summer 2026 collection was presented on the street. Passers-by followed one after the other, wearing a wardrobe of neat, streamlined shapes in a panoply of bright colours, neutrals, and prints. In a play between reality and illusion, garment bags were transformed into blousons, dresses, coats, and capes. Shoulders pushed forward, hemlines cut short. Jeans with tailored pants fit and tailored pants treated like jeans. The classics — pantsuit, blouson, shirt, trousers — were redefined. On the street, anything can happen, and impromptu is the law.
DIESEL
Diesel SS26 was presented with Diesel’s biggest democratic act: a free and open to the public Diesel Egg Hunt across the streets of Milan, in the spirit of democracy and disruption that has defined the fashion brand under the creative direction of Glenn Martens. Staged with the patronage of the Municipality of Milan, there were 55 looks to find across the streets of the city. Each look was presented on a model in a larger-than-life, transparent, egg-shaped vessels subverting the fashion system and empowering the people.
The SS26 collection represents the next level of Diesel. Each piece embodies experimentation, with more treatments, more wearability, and more play: distressed satin denim, deconstructed biker jackets, trompe l’oeil knits, and oversized layers. “This is Diesel for the people, a collection discovered by the public at the same time as everyone else. Fashion is a game and we are playing it: everybody gets to be on the front row. Follow the rules, then break them, For Successful Living!” – Glenn Martens, Diesel Creative Director.
PRADA
Prada SS26 was a response to the overload of contemporary culture, a process of distillation, of filtration through apparel and accessories. The womenswear collection by Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons showcased summer bralettes, shirts tucked into trousers, pinafores with deep-cut necklines and utilitarian jackets styled over dresses.
GUCCI
At Gucci, Demna unveiled his debut collection for Gucci via a short film The Tiger, written and directed by Spike Jonze and Halina Reijn, featuring Demi Moore, Edward Norton, Elliot Page and Alex Consani. In the evening, the celebrities attended the screening at the historical Palazzo Mezzanotte, dressed in the Spring 2026 collection alongside Alia Bhatt, Gwyneth Paltrow and Serena Williams. As they entered the venue, they created their own fashion show, posing for the paparazzi in their new attire.
FENDI
Spring Summer 2026 by Silvia Venturini Fendi showcased the most desirable handbags, styled with knits, dresses and sports-inflected separates. The show was followed by a company announcement a few days later that Silvia Venturini Fendi was stepping down as creative director and taking on the role of Honorary President of the Roman House. In her new capacity, she will focus on supporting the brand heritage and champion its rich history, craftsmanship, and the world of Fendi Casa.
VERSACE
Versace spring 2026 was a major moment for the house, which brought in its first non-family member designer, Dario Vitale, since Gianni Versace founded the luxury fashion brand in 1978. It was also the first collection not created by Donatella Versace in 28 years—the length of her tenure as creative director prior to Vitale — she’s now chief brand officer. Against a soundtrack of Annie Lennox, models wore looks that were filled with sex appeal, chic, and noticeably without a Medusa-head logo or printed Cuban-link chain in sight.
BOTTEGA VENETA
Louise Trotter’s debut for Bottega Veneta upholded the luxury brand’s artisanship. Held in Fabbrica Orobia, a former zinc factory near Fondazione Prada, the runway show drew Academy Award winners Julianne Moore, Michelle Yeoh, and Uma Thurman. Louis Trotter described the creation process of these garments, saying,” “I like that the ‘Bottega’ is a workshop – one with a long and multifaceted history in Italy. It involves the collective effort of craft; with craftsmanship, the people who make it, and the people who wear it matter. It’s where the hand and the heart become one.” Summer 2026 reimagines the soft functionality that is distilled in Bottega Veneta and its original Intrecciato weave and this time-honoured approach connects the collection as a whole, from the exceptional to the everyday.
JIL SANDER
Jil Sander by Simone Bellotti took place at its Piazza Castello headquarters in Milan. The spring 2026 line was a new departure that builds on the brand heritage while exploring pureness as a mode, not a limit. The collection was a tightly-edited expression of contrasts: straight lines and torsions; neutrals, pastels and bright colours, and tactile textures. With a dialogue of opposites, the collection featured rational tailoring with raw hems, mirrored leather and silks, punctuated by square-toed lace-ups and multipurpose handbags. Seriousness and playfulness coexist, as questions arise and the answers keep moving the dialogue forward.
FERRAGAMO
At Ferragamo SS26, Formal silhouettes were injected with a sense of ease with fluid silhouettes and long tasseled embellishments.. The opening black suit—oversize blazer, relaxed pants—was accessorised with a long scarf. We loved the printed sheath midi with a tasseled detail low on one side of the waist, bringing to mind a ’20s drop-waist shape. “This was a moment where women were creating a new femininity—it was a celebration of freedom, a reclaiming of self,” Davis said in the show notes. “People were creating spaces for themselves and rebelling against societal norms—and that spirit translated into people’s wardrobes.”
Jasmeen Dugal is Associate Editor at FashionABC, contributing her insights on fashion, technology, and sustainability. She brings with herself more than two decades of editorial experience, working for national newspapers and luxury magazines in India.
Jasmeen Dugal has worked with exchange4media as a senior writer contributing articles on the country’s advertising and marketing movements, and then with Condenast India as Net Editor where she helmed Vogue India’s official website in terms of design, layout and daily content. Besides this, she is also an entrepreneur running her own luxury portal, Explosivefashion, which highlights the latest in luxury fashion and hospitality.
