Milan Fashion Week can give the impression of being held by unbeatable local fashion barons, such as Prada, Armani or Dolce & Gabbana. In the shadow of these big names which make the glory of the city, a new generation of designers emerges. The spring-summer 2026 collections, presented until September 29, testify.
Francesco Murano, born in 1997 in Campania, has accumulated the awards for six years. His last fact of glory: having been one of the eight finalists of the LVMH 2025 Prize. His dress style is strongly steeped in his native region, “The southern Italy, populated by ancient Greek and Roman sculptures”he sums up. Inspired by the work of Madame Grès, Madeleine Vionnet and Azzedine Alaïa, he drapes the body (which is rare these days) to let the matter guide it. On its silhouettes, a few pieces of well -placed leather hold sections of fluid and transparent fabrics. A proposal that is both sensual and graceful which forces admiration.
Born in 1988, the Indian Dhruv Kapoor settled in 2011 in Milan, where he studied fashion and worked at Etro. If he returned to New Dehli to launch the label on his name, he scrolls in the Lombard capital. His style skillfully mixes the two cultures. Like this collection where he reinterprets the fundamental pieces of the Indian locker room, such as the vest and the torn shirt or the flared skirt, with a transalpine cutting and volume. Embroidery and prints inspired by ceramics and Jaipur blue pottery integrate on relaxed denim and flattering jackets. Dhruv Kapoor imposes his mixed style, while designing clothes with real commercial potential.
Large light coats
At Tod’s, Matteo Tamburini has given, since his arrival in 2023, a real facelift to the specialist brand of Moccasin Pins. This Italian, born in 1982 in the region of the marches, grew up by observing his mother making costumes for the theater and admiring the fashion creators of the 1990s, like Miuccia Prada, Martin Margiela, Helmut Lang and Yohji Yamamoto. Trained in particular at Bottega Veneta, where he developed his love for crafts, he imagines for Tod’s a sophisticated fashion, but which does not show it.
This collection, inspired by the paintings by Felice Casorati (1883-1963) and the photos of Claude Nori (in particular the series “L’Eté Italien”), seeks to “Transcribe the suspended atmosphere of the end of the summer”. Fine mesh sweaters that slide on the skin and large light coats to protect yourself from the sun punctuate a cloakroom with experiments on leather (braided, perforated) or on the shapes (the back of a dopy dress). “When I started with Tod’s, I was very humble. Over time, I add ideas, I’m trying to create a language. I want to show that we have fun working ”explains the designer. Some of his attempts are more successful than others, and the whole is attractive.
“The photos of Kate Moss taken by Corinne Day in the early 1990s were another source of inspiration for this collection. They bring a freshness that breaks so much with the glamor of the previous decade! It is this feeling that I am trying to find ”explains Matteo Tamburini. Each generation its references.
