Marni Spring/Summer 2027 Photo: Acielle / StyleDuMonde Save Story Save this story Save Story Save this story Milan fizzed with excitement this season, from Gucci’s reconstructed store to Prada’s 63 skirts, a clever debut at Moschino, and a much-talked-about Vogue World; it was a week of creativity, celebrity, and online debate.
To the surprise of many, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attended a gala on Wednesday night celebrating the opening of Milan Fashion Week and the new Dalí e la Moda exhibition, hosted by Camera della Moda Italiana and Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala at the Palazzo Reale. Her attendance marked the first time in 10 years that a sitting Italian prime minister has attended Milan Fashion Week (the last time was Matteo Renzi in 2016). It also shows the Italian fashion industry is in a crucial turnaround period, as Milan, its brands, and its manufacturing networks try to return to growth (Italy’s annual fashion revenues have declined 8% since 2023, hitting €91.4 billion for 2026, per CNMI).
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attended a Milan Fashion Week gala. The last time a sitting Prime Minister attended a Milan Fashion Week dinner was in 2016.
“I am here to reaffirm the support and commitment of the government for one of the flagship sectors of Made in Italy,” Meloni wrote on Instagram about the event. Meloni’s government pledged €100 million to the fashion industry to incentivize investment.
“It gave us the opportunity to have a constructive dialogue on some of the sector’s key priorities, from supporting small and medium-sized enterprises to education, training and human capital,” says Carlo Capasa, chairman of Camera della Moda Italiana, speaking to Vogue Business post-MFW. “At a time of profound economic and geopolitical transformation, this dialogue between institutions and industry is particularly important.”
Funding and political engagement is one way to turn the tide. But designers also put forward strong, directional collections for SS27 to hopefully stoke demand and boost the Italian fashion industry. Here are our key takeaways.
When Demna reconstructed a Gucci store inside a convention center to tease his new store design, rolling out over the coming months, it felt like a real picture of our industry today. Designers are under pressure, not just to create fashion that makes us dream, but also to build businesses and make clothes that we want to buy in real life.
Demna staged the Gucci SS27 show inside the setting of a Gucci store built in a convention center.
“Gucci’s decision to stage the show within the setting of a Gucci store was particularly smart and immersive,” says Mytheresa chief buying and group fashion venture officer Tiffany Hsu. “It immediately communicated the focus of the season, inviting you into the world of the glamorous Gucci customer and making the retail experience part of the storytelling.”
For SS27, Milan collections were creative and bold in prints, colors, textures, and embellishments, but with a versatility and pragmatism of form that meant they could be worn on the street. “The collections are real but in a very interesting way. They’re not banal. They’re not overly commercial. Absolutely not,” Vogue Runway ’s Tiziana Cardini says. “But there’s something reachable and understandable about them.”
“A welcome trend for spring 2027 would be to officially, once-and-for-all retire the tired term ‘quiet luxury’,” adds Brooke Bobb, VP, fashion director at Nordstrom. “We ar…