In the Lombard capital the spotlights were turned on the catwalks of one of the most famous fashion events in the world. Milan fashion Week 2022 started on February 23rd and will officially end on March 1st. Over 140 events (including digital ones and face-to-face fashion shows) to show the world the trends, news and the incredible desire for redemption of a sector that, despite the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, tries to give the world lightness and the charm of haute couture.

Sustainability and inclusion at Milan fashion Week

Milan fashion Week 2022 started with the best conditions . After last year’s edition, great fashion houses and emerging designers were able to return to the shows in attendance. Sustainability and inclusion are the themes that emerge most strongly among the fall winter 2022/20223 collections.

In addition to the innovative materials, one above all the new Furla bag in biodegradable paper, models of all sizes, ages and genders paraded on the catwalks. No longer brands dedicated exclusively to plus-size, but fashion houses decided to dress all body types. Alongside the traditional ones, Blumarine has decided to show models with generous shapes and top models over 45 like the wonderful Eva Herzigova.

Casting more and more open and free from stereotypes, such as those of the emerging Marco Rambaldi or Prada who showed the model and transgender activist Hunter Schafer. What we saw at Milan fashion Week 2022 is a new imaginary, mirroring a company that wants to change the rules of aesthetics and redesign a world that is increasingly attentive to the environment. 

Women’s fashion: trends and new proposals

New materials, new bodies but aesthetics of the past. Milan fashion Week 2022 is a hymn to sensuality , to femininity understood as a real joy of living. The proposals that the stylists have presented for the next autumn / winter season refer to past atmospheres, to the tailoring that celebrates and accompanies the shapes of the body. Waist marked, dresses with slits, pronounced shoulder straps. Even those who, like Dolce & Gabbana , have started playing with the future in the Metaverse, have not been able to give up lace, guepiere and embroidered details. 

The image that emerges is that of a strong and aware woman, ready to face the future with clothes that enhance her shapes with generosity, without chastising the volumes. In keeping with this figure of a futurist heroine, her shoes. With the exaggerated wedges chapter filed, next season’s shoes presented heels with decidedly more contained heights and essential lines. Also very present are the military or Texan style boots and the tips that return rather sharp.

The beauty trends of Milan fashion Week

Despite the great heterogeneity, from Milan fashion Week 2022 we can draw some general considerations. As for the complexion, there is a strong tendency towards the enhancement of natural colors. Makeup no longer dominates the face but enhances its colors. In addition to soft contouring, flesh-colored gloss lips and pink cheeks are back.

On a natural palette, the details stand out that can focus on the eyes or lips, never on both areas at the same time. Eyeliner is confirmed as the great protagonist. Whether it is black or colored, the important thing is that the line is long and the graphic stroke. Alternatively, the focus is on the mouth which can be enhanced with super saturated color lipsticks and matte textures or with extra-shiny natural shades.

And the hair? Well, nothing structured, via the exaggerated and constructed volumes or the smooth plate. Next autumn / winter will be characterized by natural blur , smoothness without volume , the return of the side line and even the wet effect. To summarize next season’s beauty trends in a few words, we could talk about vaguely grunge atmospheres.

Milan fashion Week: between fashion and current events, the word to the stylists

In a delicate moment like this, it seems more superficial to talk about trends and news of high fashion. In reality, however, giving importance to Milan fashion Week 2022 also means supporting a sector that during the pandemic lost about 6,500 companies in the supply chain in Italy alone. 

This event should have represented the rebirth and instead, 24 hours after the inauguration, the news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the general bewilderment, even stylists and models have had their say and have expressed their dissent towards this atrocity. 

One above all Giorgio Armani. After having invited 400 employees to its show as a sign of recognition after the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic , another gesture destined to remain in history. The king decided not to cancel the show but to present his collection without music. The show was silent, it made a lot of noise. In the emptiness of those images and on the visibly moved models’ faces, there is all the respect and closeness that the great maison, in its own small way, wanted to show the Ukrainian people.