Harrods buying chief hails Prada’s Milan offer for SS27, says skirts are key

The head of Harrods’ fashion buying team, Simon Longland, has delivered his verdict on Milan Fashion Week and it seems he was bowled over by Bottega Veneta, Prada, Fendi and Loro Piana.

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In fact, he loved the presentation concept for the Loro Piana collection that was set in the historic Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense at Palazzo di Brera. “The spectacular rooms provided a beautiful setting for the collection — a space I had never seen before in 30 years of coming to Milan,” he explained.

As for key trends, he’s backing skirts in a big way. This was “a message set by Prada but seen everywhere. Skirts and separates dominated over dresses this season. From pencil to pleated, mini to knee-length, sheer to leather, and understated to embellished — the skirt ruled the runway”.

And the tops to go with them? “Bras were ubiquitous as the top of choice, while lingerie-inspired looks were inescapable, with lace, silk and satin throughout the collections.”

And the strength of lingerie as an inspiration led on to the ‘barely there’ trend. “Sheer and transparent fabrics moved from day to night, appearing across tailoring and more formal silhouettes as well as eveningwear,” Longland said. “Balancing this, we saw strong tailoring, with exceptional jackets and coats ranging from form-fitting to boxy. Parachute trousers in fluid fabrics, draped scarf detailing on shirting and fringing also emerged as smaller trends”.

On the colour front, he said it was “A tale of two halves, as is often the case in Milan. Collections tended to sit on one side of a clear divide: either black and neutrals with very limited shots of colour, or a kaleidoscope of colour and print”.

When pressed to name his must-have item though, he said it had to be a bejewelled Prada skirt.

Overall, he was impressed by MFW’ saying: “A Milan Fashion Week without any significant debuts delivered a week in which designers elaborated on their established codes, whether long-standing or still relatively new. There were beautiful collections, but less drama and anticipation than in recent seasons. As always, Milan demonstrated the many ways Italian fashion is interpreted today, but with a consistent commitment to the magic and craftsmanship created by the hands of the people in the ateliers.”