Fashion twins look to Hollywood for Milan show

On the closing day of Milan Fashion Week, Italian designer Giorgio Armani’s upcoming winter collection was aimed “not at the fashion icon, but her next-door neighbour”.

Entitled Fade to Grey, it featured sober and elegant suits that paired ankle-length trousers with single-button jackets in a palette of greys with flashes of lime.

Short and long dresses came in a similar array of black, grey and lime, as did handbags.

Shoes were feminine pumps with skinny heels or lace-up booties.

The brains behind the DSquared2 label, Canadian twins Dean and Dan Caten, sought inspiration from Hollywood.

“The story is about a woman, that was maybe a Hollywood diva, and then she had a breakdown and she’s going to go into this recovery home,” said Dean backstage.

“But she still has her jewels, and she is living her fantasy life and her glamorous life, she’s… in this perturbed and wonderful world,” added his brother Dan.

Taking their cue directly from the swinging sixties, the designers showed a collection packed with frocks and coats that looked like they had been plucked from the closets of Twiggy and Audrey Hepburn.

As usual there were plenty of embellishments with patches of fur trim, gemstone embroidery, luxurious python and leopard print.

And Blumarine designer Anna Molinari looked to Japan with a flowery and silky collection that also featured black tailleurs with gold embroidery and sexy leather trouser suits.

Fur was ever-present – among the strongest looks, there were floral dresses collared with contrasting fur and big fluffy coats in orange and purple.