Romance Was In The Air At Milan Fashion Week

After several seasons of pushing the boundaries with womenswear design—testing the limits of form, function and fabrication—the runways at Milan Fashion Week offered a traditional take on apparel, leaning into a familiar feeling of romance. With extravagant runway shows full of expertly crafted designs, brands presented curated collections that embraced a classic sense of femininity with fluid structures, adorable embellishments and hourglass silhouettes.

As modern design has shifted away from incorporating these feminine style attributes—embracing, in contrast, fashions that emphasize traditional masculine design details such as boxy silhouettes, sharp lines and moody colorways—the runways at Milan Fashion Week proved to be all the more impactful, working to shift the fashion pendulum towards a softer era of design.

One designer brand that effortlessly aligned with the new wave of romantic design was Alberta Ferretti. The Italian haute couture house—currently at the helm of new creative director Lorenzo Serafini—integrated a number of feminine details such as open necklines, floral appliques and lace adornments into its fall ready-to-wear 2025 presentation. The collection was crafted using dreamy textiles including chiffon, organza and satin—essential in the creation of a transcendental atmosphere, with each look practically floating down the runway. Additionally, many of the pieces that made up the collection used traditional sewing techniques and applications such as ornate tailoring and fluid draping to evoke a feeling of definitive elegance—keeping the collection relevant, while embracing subtle nods to classic fashion design.

Another brand that elicited an aura of femininity through the creation of the romance on the runway was N°21. Plucking design inspiration from the visuals found in three Sophia Coppola films—“Lost in Translation,” “The Virgin Suicides” and “Marie Antoinette”—creative director Alessandro Dell’Acqua crafted the brand’s fall ready-to-wear 2025 collection with one key accessory in mind: bows.

In a press release issued ahead of the collection’s unveiling, Dell’Acqua described their infatuation with the accessory and its position as the main feature of the collection, saying, “Enclosing something in a bow may fulfill a need for cleanliness, just as putting one on something may be an act of ornamentation; by contrast, enlarging one and turning it into the key element behind shapes and volumes is surely a clear manifestation of (fashion) design intent.” The bow—a palpable representation of femininity and girlhood—manifests itself in several adaptations throughout the collection, ornamented on shoes, wrapped around waistlines and even crafted into large-scale bodices.

Meanwhile, Luisa Beccaria similarly embraced romanticism in its fall ready-to-wear 2025 collection, but with a textile twist—keeping the integrity of romantic design while emphasizing the multifaceted nature of femininity using a mix of fabrication. In an interview with a representative for Luisa Beccaria, the brand revealed, “The inspiration behind the collection’s mix of light and heavy materials, such as organza and tweed, lies in the balance between contrasting textures that create an interesting visual and tactile experience.”

Luisa Beccaria continued, saying, “We have wanted to emphasize the glamour of the 1950s, infusing it with a touch of modernity. Organza, with its airy and ethereal quality, represents the delicate side of romance—feminine, soft, and almost dreamlike. On the other hand, tweed introduces a structured, more grounded element, adding depth and substance to the collection. The juxtaposition of these materials mirrors the complexity of the modern Luisa Beccaria woman: she is both delicate and strong, sophisticated yet approachable, with a balance of lightness and depth in her style and personality.”

Working in tandem with the evocative nature of Milan’s most recent runway shows, romance as an inspiration for fashion design has been steadily rising in popularity for over a year and throughout a wide range of clothing sectors. In a 2024 trend forecast, WGSN reported on the influence of romantic design details such as pastel colorways, ruffles, tulle, ruching and ballet-inspired adornments on modern activewear designs. The forecasting platform titled the theme “Romance in Motion,” and additionally reported that a romantic atmosphere could be achieved through details in clothing, styling and campaigns from brands looking to adhere to the trend. Quite the switch from the previously mentioned eloquently draped gowns or airy fabrication, but notable as one of the first adaptations of romantic design into mainstream fashion. Other examples include the popularization of the “balletcore” aesthetic and an increased gravitation toward soft and feminine fabrics such as pointelle.

With romantic influence seeping into the design of modern runway shows and consumer collections, an empowering undercurrent is beginning to amplify the often dismissed traits of feminine style and those who adhere to it—a stark change from the fashions shown as recent as last year with brands like Y/Project’s, Véronique Leroy, Ujoh and COS, to name a few, lining their fall ready-to-wear 2024 shows with heavy fabrics and oversized silhouettes that hid the model underneath. The shift has resulted in brands creating clothing to dress the multifaceted modern woman as she embraces her femininity and reclaims a sense of empowerment, rather than dilute such girliness with a more masculine approach to design. In the same interview with Luisa Beccaria, the brand reiterated this point, saying, “These details reflect her delicate, yet confident nature—someone who appreciates classic beauty while embracing a modern, sophisticated allure. The feminine touches, like soft ruffles and bows, evoke a sense of grace and refinement, while the hourglass silhouette highlights the form and enhances the wearer’s natural shape, adding a sense of empowerment and poise.”