1. Cut-outs: With Versace and Roberto Cavalli in the mix you can always bet on some sex appeal in Milan. Versace went the bohemian route with leather slits and clothes that appeared to be falling off. Meanwhile, Roberto Cavalli used cut outs symmetrically in an effort “to frame a woman’s body.”
2. Green: The color was spotted everywhere throughout Milan and came in more than one shade. From the bright kelly green column dress at Gucci, to the soft sea foam green mermaid dresses at Alberta Ferretti, designers couldn’t get enough of this springtime shade.
3. Embellishing: One of Milan’s most loved signatures, embellishment, was the icing on the cake at Tomas Maier’s winning collection of dresses for Bottega Veneta. While the clothes at Prada had only a few accouterments (in comparison to last spring’s super sweet collection) the shoes and sunglasses were spattered with 5-petaled flowers in red and white. Beadwork dripped from dresses at Roberto Cavalli, while studs and leather strips adorned dresses and mini-skirts at Versace.
4. Stripes: There were several incarnations of this graphic print in Milan but vertical stripes resembling the awning of a seaside café were the most notable. At Dolce and Gabbana, stripes tied together the collection’s painted prints, raffia details, and over the top baubles. Black and white vertical stripes seemed a natural progression from the diamond harlequin print that also inspired the Aquilano Rimondi collection.
5. Asian Inspired- Miuccia Prada went from tough to whimsical this season, with a collection that started with Japanese woodblock prints and ended with origami folded duchess satin. Etro also showed chic kimono dresses in a number of chinoiserie prints while Peter Dundas showed a military interpretation at Pucci.
