Part two of our backstage coverage of Milan Fashion Week SS2020 is here! Yet again we’re taking you behind the scenes, and this time, we’re doing it through the eyes of photographer YU Nagai and featuring labels Act N°1, Aigner, Annakiki and more.
Our first stop is all about layers, layers, and layers. Atsushi Nakashima’s showing at Milan Fashion Week was a patchwork of influences — quite literally. Under the title “Clairvoyance,” the designer employed a range of fabrics and graphics from around the world, almost as though he was attempting to tap into a global consciousness. Hues were mainly dark, though sporadic vibrant colours found their way into select pieces.
The latest collection from Act N°1, founded by Luca Lin and Galib Gassanoff, recalled the designers’ roots in China and Azerbaijan respectively. Recounting styles from their childhoods, the two designers created a dynamic collection that reworked a range of classic silhouettes. While robe coats and sartorial jackets gave certain pieces a sense of prim and properness, heavy metal piercings and blunt jewellery showed the collection’s firm grasp of modern counterculture.
Next up is AIGNER. This season, the brand brought a new series of bags to Milan Fashion Week centred around the theme of “divinity.” The collection was aptly titled “DEVINE” and featured golds and shimmering colours to dazzle and intrigue, all grounded by a predominance of earth tones.
Annakiki’s new collection is big — in more ways than one. Broad, puffy shoulders paired with wide silhouettes, brought teen styles of the ’80s into the modern era. While the collection was definitely a child of the eighties — much like designer Anna Yang herself — metallic colours and shine reminded viewers that the brand is decidedly modern.
In “The True Story of Shiro and Baingio,” the latest from Antonio Marras, a tale is told of love across borders. Elements are woven in from all corners of the globe, with specific highlights given to Japan and Sardinia. Although the Eastern perspective may be challenging for an Italian designer to fluidly incorporate for reasons both cultural and social, somehow, the story still unfolds with relative ease.
Gabriele Colangelo employed a soft colour palette for this collection, which was inspired by the photography technique of Lumen print. Earthy tones blended with pastels made for a natural-feeling collection, the clothes themselves emulating light-and-shadow alternations with occasional uses of leather to add a needed edge to the predominantly soft-focused works.
Our backstage coverage for MFW will come to a close with Marco Rambaldi. For his second show, he reveals works intentionally unfinished, with loose ends and gaping holes left in as mistakes to be embraced. As incautious as such an act may sound, the collection feels decidedly calculated; no cut is so deep as to distract from the form, and through every selection, the designer’s voice can be identified and celebrated.
Discover more about Milan Fashion Week here. Check out the part one of our backstage coverage here.
photography. YU Nagai
words. Braden Bjella
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