Okay, here’s a rewritten and expanded version of the Milan Fashion Week article, aiming for a minimum of 600 words, formatted with Markdown, and written in English.

Milan Fashion Week AW25/26: Escapism Takes Center Stage

In recent years, the Milan Fashion Week has often coincided with unsettling global events. The 2020 shows unfolded as the first cases of COVID-19 emerged in Europe, casting a pall over the glitz and glamour. In 2022, the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent shockwaves through the world, its impact even felt amidst the meticulously crafted collections. And in 2025, the fashion crowd watched on as the meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House was the talk of the town, with its own tensions and uncertainties. While the Milan runways themselves typically avoid overt political statements, the Autumn/Winter 2025-2026 season, presented from February 25th to March 3rd, saw a discernible trend among designers: a retreat from a troubled reality through the creation of fantastical worlds. The fashion show, in this context, evolved into a vehicle for conjuring imaginary realms, where clothing served not just as attire, but as a conduit for dreams.

This impulse toward escapism was palpable across various collections, each designer offering their unique interpretation of this thematic thread.

Marni: A Children’s Storybook Comes to Life

At Marni, the atmosphere resembled a whimsical children’s tale. Walls were adorned with vibrant paintings of wolves, foxes, and even winged pigs, creating a surreal and playful backdrop. The collaboration between designer Francesco Risso and Anglo-Nigerian painters Olaolu Slawn and Soldier Boyfriend, sparked by a chance encounter in London, proved to be a creative catalyst. Their month-long partnership birthed an eclectic and colorful collection, brimming with references to the animal kingdom and the natural world.

The collection’s textures and materials were just as imaginative as the artwork. Faux fur peeked out from the collar and edges of a rusty-hued peacoat. A fuchsia silk dress was inlaid with patches of hairy leather, adding a tactile and unexpected element. The neckline of a lemon-yellow dress was daringly “cannibalized” by a giant fabric flower, which coiled around the model’s neck like an exotic vine. The silhouettes, intricate and carefully constructed, conjured an air of mystery and otherworldliness, amplified by the backdrop of Slawn and Soldier Boyfriend’s fantastical creatures.

Etro: Myth and Hallucination

Animals also populated the Etro presentation, where the space was divided by a curtain displaying an unidentifiable bestiary, the creation of the Numero Cromatico collective. Designer Marco de Vincenzo explored the origins of life, drawing inspiration from the myths of ancient Egypt and the hallucinatory writings of William Burroughs. The result was arguably his strongest collection since his appointment in 2022, staying true to Etro’s signature aesthetic of opulent prints and vibrant colors.

Paisley and floral motifs were integrated into the lining of oversized faux fur coats, cascading down extra-long jeans, adorning fringed silk shawls, and embellishing quilted velvet robes. Brushed wool fabrics mimicked the shaggy pelts of wild beasts, while embroidery depicting an imaginary menagerie, a collaboration with Korean artist Maria Jeon, enveloped the bags. De Vincenzo masterfully balanced Etro’s heritage with a fresh, contemporary vision.

MM6 Maison Margiela: Noirish Spectacle

Breaking from the more introspective trends, MM6 Maison Margiela, the brand’s secondary line, took a performative approach. Instead of the typical stoic runway walk, models actively engaged with the audience, striking poses for smartphones, twirling, and dramatically flinging their coats over their shoulders. Dressed in trench coats with exaggerated shoulders, leather pants, long gloves, and towering heels, they resembled more characters from a film noir than everyday shoppers.

True to the spirit of Martin Margiela, the collection incorporated unexpected details and deconstructed elements. Linings were stitched onto the outside of coats, creating a visually arresting effect. Dresses were composed of two layers of fabric: a transparent mesh overlaying a knitted underlay, clinging to the body. These innovative ideas, while seen recently in other collections, served as a reminder of Martin Margiela’s pioneering influence.

Ferragamo: Dance and Light

At Ferragamo, models walked across a floor strewn with red rose petals in an enigmatic chiaroscuro lighting. Designer Maximilian Davis drew inspiration not from cinema, as one might expect, but from "Tanztheater," the German dance-theater movement that gained prominence in the 1920s and reached its zenith with choreographer Pina Bausch in the 1980s.

However, the stylistic translation of this concept was not immediately clear. The collection included slip dresses adorned with lace or fur, vermillion feathered dresses, draped coats in a more classic style, gray wool mini-skirt suits, and leather trench coats with officer-like shoulders. While Davis successfully created a distinctive atmosphere, the development of a cohesive and definitive sartorial language felt incomplete.

Bally: Routine and Rebellion

Bally, under the creative direction of Italian designer Simone Bellotti, explored the multifaceted meaning of the German word "performance," encompassing both efficiency ("Leistung") and artistic representation ("Aufführung"). Presented on the sixteenth floor of the Torre Velasca, a 1950s skyscraper with brutalist architectural features, the collection oscillated between normalcy and flamboyance.

A gray pantsuit was worn by a model with her face covered in silver glitter. A seemingly austere anthracite wool dress, revealed an open back trimmed with lime-green fur. A charming sleeveless cable-knit sweater featured exaggerated shoulder pads that extended beyond the arms.

Bellotti stated his desire to "explore the notion of routine." "At some point, we end up wanting to question habits, subvert them, dream and escape into a less precise and more instinctive world," he explained in the press release. An aspiration, that was clearly shared by many of his fellow designers this season, and spoke of a fashion week that looked towards fantasy over reality for inspiration.

This desire for escape was visibly shared by a number of his peers, underscoring the overarching theme of the Milan Fashion Week AW25/26 season: a collective retreat into fantasy as a response to an increasingly uncertain world.