milan fashion week ss23

The eyes of the fashion world are on Milan this week as fashion week descends upon the city. While the runway has certainly been serving some incredible style inspiration, Arab influencers flitting through the crowded streets of Milan or on the front rows of fashion shows are not far behind. Read on to discover what influencers such as Rania Fawaz, Hala Abdallah, and more chose to wear in Milan.

Rania Fawwaz
Photo: instagram.com/raniafawazz
On her way to the Diesel FW23 show, Fawaz opted for washed-out denim on denim in a nod to the brand’s identity. Building on that look was a mini 1DR that she paired with neon green Francesca Bellavita heels.
Rym Saidi 
Photo: instagram.com/rymsaidi
Adorned in a monochrome look, Rym Saidi was a vision to behold as she headed to the Fendi show. The Tunisian model wore Fendi from head to toe in shades of beige and brown with a white mini Peekaboo bag on her arm.
Hala Abdallah 
Photo: instgaram.com/thehala
On her way to the MaxMara show, the Saudi influencer was spotted wearing a co-ord suit in the brand’s signature earthy tones. Pairing it with a cropped black tee and platform boots meant that the only bright color in her outfit was the flower pinned to her lapel.
Fatema Alawadhi
Photo: instagram.com/justfatema
Fatima Alawadhi certainly must have turned some heads as she showed up to the Roberto Cavalli show in a faux fur animal print ensemble. Her white hijab stood out in stark contrast with the darker tones of her outfit.
Ola Farahat 
Photo: instagram.com/olafarahat
Spotted on her way to the Fendi show, Ola Farahat was seen in a satin blue Fendi overcoat and skirt, her Fendi First bag in pink leather completing the contrasting pastel look.
Diala Makki
Photo: instagram.com/dialamakki
TV host Diala Makki was also spotted in animal print as she walked to the Roberto Cavalli show, her overcoat flaring behind her as it revealed an inner lining of leopard print.
Read Next: 5 Things to Know About Fendi’s Delfina Delettrez-Inspired Milan Fashion Week A/W 2023 Show

Artistic director Kim Jones dedicated his autumn/winter 2023 Fendi collection to a muse: Delfina Delettrez Fendi, a fourth generation member of the family who serves as the house’s creative director for jewellry. Anders Christian Madsen shares five things to know about the collection.

The show set featured a tunnel of lights
Photo: Getty

There was something celestial about the tunnel of laser-like lights Kim Jones projected through Fendi’s mile-long runway room in Milan this season. The house’s Roman relationship between the ancient and the futuristic is an ongoing treat for Jones, a sci-fi fan who revels in analysing and interpreting this instinctive culture of the Fendi family. “Delfina is a muse for me,” he said in a preview, referring to Delfina Delettrez Fendi, who also serves as creative director of jewellery at the house. Once again, he dedicated the collection to her wardrobe. And as his models arrived through the illuminated tunnel – to the opening theme from Twin Peaks – they felt like his Roman sci-fi goddesses.
Kim Jones dedicated the collection to Delfina Delettrez Fendi
Photo: Getty
Jones described Delettrez’s look as a combination between chicness and perversity, a pairing he expressed in twisted classics – literally and figuratively – like knitwear, blazers and pleated skirts. If they had a certain sex appeal, it was amplified by plenty of strict leather pieces, from little dresses to lace-up boots and kilts. “It’s looking at little twisted things that are kind of perverse,” Jones said, gesturing at a trouser with a buckle strapped across its crotch. Asked how he practically approaches the adaptation of the heiress’s clothes, Jones said a visit to her private wardrobe is on the agenda. But so far, “She comes in with stuff, I just steal it.”
The collection drew on details from Fendi’s haute couture
Photo: Getty
Jones imbued his collection with elements from his haute couture: an everyday mac lined in not-so-everyday sequins, or shirting morphed with lace camisoles that nodded to his January show. “It’s really clear Fendi codes and that’s what it’s about. It’s capturing that elegant, chic, sophisticated Fendi woman,” he said. “I’m thinking about the future and looking at the things that work for us, which are tailoring, knitwear and dresses. It’s taking all those elements and putting them into a collection.” Sometimes he code-switched those components, like in dresses constructed in very light tailoring fabrics that contributed to an overall sartorial atmosphere throughout the collection.

Jones took inspiration from a 1996 Karl Lagerfeld dress

Photo: Getty

In May, the Metropolitan Museum in New York will unveil its Karl Lagerfeld spectacular. But while Jones is involved in proceedings, he said his approach to Fendi is becoming more and more family-focused: “The next three collections, there’s not really any Karl in them. It’s there but it’s ever-present. You have to think about the Fendi family. They are the people who really count in the end.” This time, only one archival Lagerfeld dress inspired the collection: a knitted column dress from 1996 with a single stripe down the side. “I thought it was nice to have that line,” Jones explained.
There were two new bags
Photo: Getty
The collection introduced two new bags designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi: a multipurpose bag named, well, Multi, and the handbag C’Mon. “I think what is really nice is the movement of the bag, that it can be two things in one. That duality is very Fendi, as is the idea of something which appears simple but, in reality, is very complex,” she said of the former. As for the latter: “The idea was to create pieces that were very pure in order to match the sophistication of the collection.”

Alberta Ferretti’s autumn/winter 2023 collection introduced a cleaner, more modern and less romantic version of the Ferretti woman, says Anders Christian Madsen at Milan Fashion Week. Below, five things to know about the collection.

The collection was a new look for Alberta Ferretti
Photo: Getty

Mona Tougaard opened the Alberta Ferretti show in a floor-length tailored grey bustier dress styled with sheer black opera gloves. She was dressed to the nines yet entirely stripped down: no fuss, no embellishment, just glamour – in its purest form. The look heralded a collection that introduced a cleaner, more modern and less romantic version of the Ferretti woman, which didn’t just suit her but snapped her into a mentality that felt ever so 2023.
It came with a change of show venue

“The silhouette is more modern: clean, long and closer to the body. It’s simple but the detail is very special. There’s more tailoring. It’s very sartorial,” Ferretti said backstage before the show. It unfolded in considered surroundings: a nondescript conference centre some 20 minutes by car from Milan’s city centre, which felt very un-Ferretti but also like a blank canvas; a fresh page for a new start, complete with a seductive electro soundtrack with a sultry voice.
It was just as intricate as before
Photo: Getty
Maintained in an elongated silhouette, Ferretti’s updated take on her own creative genetics manifested in sumptuous but consistently restrained textures – shearling, velvet, various forms of appliqué – that looked simpler than they have in the past, but demanded the same levels of savoir-faire synonymous with her brand. “This is not print,” she said, pointing at a cloudy red dress. “This is all applicated velvet embroidery on chiffon.”
It was all about texture
Photo: Getty
The purified colour palette that defined the show – dark greys, scarlet, black and silver – allowed Ferretti to really amplify her textures. She did so in metallics clashed with velvet, in felt confronted with pattern, and rich textures like soft and sculptural shearling, intricate lace, and tonal black embroideries that embellished jackets in opulent beads and paillettes without ever entering over-the-top territory.
Ferretti said it was about focus
Photo: Getty
“It’s super important at this particular moment to have a very precise image and message,” Ferretti said, asked what had brought on her change in direction. “You can’t be vague. With images appearing everywhere around us, I have to be very concentrated on communicating who I am – my DNA – through a very sharp silhouette.” It made for a wardrobe that transcended age groups, and a collection that imprinted itself on your retina.
Originally published in Vogue.co.uk

Kim Kardashian at Dolce & Gabbana
Milan Fashion Week Spring 2023 was punctuated by a number of buzzworthy moments—from surprise appearances by celebrities to rainfall. Read on for all the highlights from the shows that got people around the world talking.

Gucci’s Twinsburg

There were twice as many Spring 2023 looks on the runway at Gucci, as creative director Alessandro Michele decided to enlist 68 pairs of twins for the show. With each pair walking hand in hand, the casting was Michele’s homage to his mother, who turns out, is a twin. “I am the son of two mothers,” read the show notes. They “shared a genetic solidarity but, above all, they shared an intimacy which was inaccessible to others.” What’s more, the designer had the audience separated via a floor-to-ceiling partition with simultaneous shows taking place in each section. It was only when the wall—featuring portraits of twins and look-alikes by Mark Peckmezian—lifted before the finale, that the guests were able to grasp the entire concept of the show.
Arab models ruled the runways

Representing the region’s fashion industry, Arab models once again took the runways by storm this season. At Moschino, Moroccan-Egyptian model Imaan Hammam served up a viral moment and a dose of joy-inducing fashion in one, when she stepped out wearing pool floaties sticking out of a colorful dress. The former Vogue Arabia cover star embraced a completely contrasting persona for Versace next, where she wore a fierce head-to-toe black ensemble complete with a smokey eye.

Saudi model Amira Al Zuhair, who is fast becoming a fashion week regular, was spotted strutting at the front of the Dolce & Gabbana squad, wearing a bold look curated by Kim Kardashian.
Zainab Al-Eqabi
Iraqi para-athlete Zainab Al-Eqabi, who is an above-the-leg amputee was tapped by Boss to walk the ramp for the fashion house’s Fall 2022 collection in Milan. The TV presenter and disability activist was part of a diverse and inclusive cast that also included hijabi Somali model Ugbad Abdi.

Part-Palestinian models Bella and Gigi Hadid have long been familiar faces at fashion weeks, as pictures and videos of their walk are quick to make rounds on the internet after the show. This time around, their goth-inspired looks for Versace received just as much attention as Bella Hadid‘s walk for Jil Sander, where she closed the rained-on show dressed in neutrals except for a bright red bag in one hand, and an umbrella in the other.
Nora Attal
Moroccan-British model Nora Attal and Algerian-French model Loli Bahia were also part of the Versace cast. While Attal walked down the runway in a fitted purple mini dress with fringe details, Bahia wore a hot pink corseted dress with a bridal veil.
Paris Hilton at Versace

It’s not a Versace show if there are no unforgettable moments. Donatella Versace proved this to be true by having Paris Hilton close the show, dressed in a pink Swarovski crystal-encrusted mini, no less. Wearing her long blonde hair in a sleek side-part, Hilton channeled Barbie in pink gloves, pointed-toe pumps, and a matching veil.
Kim Kardashian at Dolce & Gabbana

What started when Dolce & Gabbana dressed the bride’s family for Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker’s Portofino wedding, led to a special collaboration with Kim Kardashian, which unfolded at Milan Fashion Week. Kardashian’s partnership with the Italian fashion house saw the entrepreneur reinforce her high-fashion credentials by curating pieces from past collections (from 1987 to 2007) which the designers reworked. As models took to the runway in corsets, lingerie-heavy looks, and plenty of denim and animal print, who other than Kim Kardashian herself to close the show? For the finale, the 41-year-old walked out in her signature bodycon, made sparkly by Dolce and Gabbana, who also stepped out to applause.
Kate Moss at Bottega Veneta 
Photo: Gorunway.com
In an unexpected moment, Kate Moss walked the runway at Bottega Veneta, modeling a checked shirt, white tank top, and oversized jeans from creative director Matthieu Blazy‘s second collection for the house. It only makes sense then to find out that the supermodel’s rare runway outing—following the glamorous appearance at Fendace last year—wasn’t only for a seemingly casual outfit, but the technical expertise behind it. The flannel shirt worn by Moss was in fact, leather, and required 12 layers of prints to achieve the depth of color Blazy wanted.
Rain at Jil Sander
Photo: Gorunway.com
Umbrellas may never originally be part of any designer’s presentation but the weather had other plans for Jil Sander’s show, which also seemed to work in the brand’s favor. For its Spring 2023 collection, Jil Sander set the stage in a field on the outskirts of Milan, where showgoers were met with a sense of calm and stillness among the wildflower-lined gravel runway, and unexpectedly, rain. And so, all models were required to walk out holding umbrellas which not only made for Instagram-worthy moments but also paired well with Jil Sander’s relaxed tailoring, knits, and lightweight pieces replete with soothing neutral hues.
Maximilian Davis for Ferragamo

Literally painting the town red, 27-year-old Maximilian Davis presented his debut collection for Ferragamo (the ‘Salvatore’ has been dropped) in a crimson-hued courtyard. The specific color—which was painted on the flooring and boards between the arches of the 17th-century venue—not only signified the new house color but was also a nod to Davis’ own namesake brand, where it represented the Trinidad and Tobago flag and his heritage.
Read Next: Phil Oh’s Best Street Style Photos From the New York Fashion Week Spring 2023 Shows