Valentino Returns to Milan Fashion Week With Flowery Menswear Show

 A model presents a creation by designer Pierpaolo Piccioli as part of his Spring/Summer 2024 collection show for fashion house Valentino during Men's Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, June 16, 2023. REUTERS/Claudia Greco
A model presents a creation by designer Pierpaolo Piccioli as part of his Spring/Summer 2024 collection show for fashion house Valentino during Men's Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, June 16, 2023. REUTERS/Claudia Greco
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Valentino Returns to Milan Fashion Week With Flowery Menswear Show

 A model presents a creation by designer Pierpaolo Piccioli as part of his Spring/Summer 2024 collection show for fashion house Valentino during Men's Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, June 16, 2023. REUTERS/Claudia Greco
A model presents a creation by designer Pierpaolo Piccioli as part of his Spring/Summer 2024 collection show for fashion house Valentino during Men's Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, June 16, 2023. REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Italian luxury house Valentino kicked off Milan Fashion Week's menswear shows on Friday with a lineup combining blazers and coats with shorts, as creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli sought to redefine the meaning of the masculine identity, Reuters reported.

The collection used embroidered flowers to add a note of delicacy to classic workwear pieces, with subversive elements such as tissue flowers in lieu of ties.

Valentino presented its menswear collection for spring and summer 2024 in the arched courtyard of Milan's state university.

Valentino ditched the co-ed show model - the mixing of men's and women's shows - which it had adopted for the last three years and returned to Milan, where founder Valentino Garavani staged the first Valentino menswear show in 1985.

Milan Fashion Week includes 72 events and presentations of menswear collections. It runs until June 20 and will feature shows from high-end labels including Giorgio Armani, Prada (1913.F), Dolce & Gabbana and Ermenegildo Zegna (JN0.F).



Versace’s Milan Show Aims for ‘Optimism and Joy’ with Colorful Prints

 A model wears a creation as part of the Versace Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP)
A model wears a creation as part of the Versace Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP)
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Versace’s Milan Show Aims for ‘Optimism and Joy’ with Colorful Prints

 A model wears a creation as part of the Versace Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP)
A model wears a creation as part of the Versace Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP)

Presenting a playful and colorful collection of mismatched prints, Italian designer Donatella Versace said she had set out to bring "optimism and joy" to the catwalk with her show at Milan Fashion Week.

Friday evening's Versace show, held at the medieval Castello Sforzesco, kicked off with models wearing clashing prints: zigzag tops and floral skirts, an aesthetic that dominated the spring/summer 2025 line for both womenswear and menswear.

The mixed prints featured on silky dresses and skirts, shirts and knitwear which came in brown, blue, lilac and yellow, with hints of the Versace Medusa head print on some designs.

Outfits nodded to 1990s' styles, with shirts sticking out from under short, unbuttoned cardigans, and there was also a selection of tailored suits and trousers in lemon.

"When there is so much darkness in the world - with this collection, I wanted to bring color, light, optimism and joy - we have never needed it more," Versace, the design head at the Italian fashion house, said in a statement.

Some pieces were cut in shimmering gold - a corset, skirt and strapless dress.

Models also wore colorful tights as well as slinky heels or platforms in bold hues, while menswear models wore suits with trainers or socks and sandals.

Milan Fashion Week runs until Monday.