Spotted in Milan: 5 Stylish Autumn Trends the City's Best Dressed Are Wearing Now
I've spent the past week street style spotting in Milan. These are the five chicest autumn trends I spotted in the city.
Home to Prada, Bottega Veneta and Fendi, Milan has some serious fashion credentials. The city has long been a breeding ground for some of the industry’s most influential designers, and when Fashion Week rolls around, the creativity that runs through the city year-round reaches another level. With the world’s best-dressed descending on Milan, excellent outfits are pretty much guaranteed.
Of the “Big Four” Fashion Weeks, Milan has always struck me as the most glamorous. There’s a little more drama, polish and, yes, glitz to the way its fashion crowd dresses, which makes street style spotting particularly fun. After spending the week keeping an eye on the best looks outside the shows, I’m here to report back on the trends that are really taking hold in Milan right now.
From the skirt silhouette that’s having a particularly big moment in Italy to the non-boring neutral I spotted everywhere, these are the five Milan Fashion Week street style trends worth knowing about now.
5 Milan Fashion Week Street Style Trends to Copy Now:
1. Whispy Skirts
Style Notes: Few trends have made as much of a splash in Milan this Fashion Week as the pencil skirt. But among the sea of knee-grazing, streamlined styles, one particularly chic iteration kept catching my eye: gauzy skirts.
Whether it was an opaque pencil skirt finished with a wraparound layer of tulle or an entirely sheer style, transparent style, gauzy elements were woven through some of the best looks I spotted on Milan’s streets, adding a little movement and softness to what could otherwise be a very polished, prim silhouette.
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2. Cummerbunds
Style Notes: Borrowed from the boys, wraparound, waist-cinching cummerbunds made a surprisingly strong showing among Milan’s street style crowd this week. Traditionally used to bring structure to formal menswear and tuxedo dressing, the glossy waistband is being given a more relaxed fashion-person spin.
I spotted them worn over blazers to cinch in the waist, as well as in place of a belt with jumpers and trousers on repeat this week.
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3. Pink Shirts
Style Notes: Whilst a classic button-down remains a Milanese wardrobe essential, I noticed that many of the best-dressed attendees had swapped their usual gleaming white styles for a pink version instead.
An easy wardrobe switch, pink shirts bring colour and energy to an otherwise classic outfit, looking particularly good with tailored trousers or blue jeans. If the white shirt is starting to feel a little predictable, this might be the update to try.
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4. Polo Shirts
Style Notes: Sorry, T-shirts. Goodbye, tank tops. Polo shirts are shaping up to be the Milanese fashion person’s casual top of choice this season.
I spotted the sporty staple worn with everything from skirts to trousers and jeans, bringing a slightly preppy energy to otherwise polished looks. After seasons of the humble tee dominating off-duty dressing, the polo feels like a much fresher way to approach the everyday basics in your wardrobe.
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5. Chunky, Colourful Scarves
Style Notes: As temperatures dip, Milan’s fashion crowd is already trading the lightweight cotton scarves that completed so many summer looks for chunkier, wind-proof wool styles.
Brightly coloured and generously wrapped around the neck, these scarves offer an early hint at what’s coming for autumn/winter dressing. So, if you’re in the market for a new scarf, this is your sign to skip the neutrals.
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Natalie Munro is Who What Wear UK’s news writer and has worked in the fashion industry since she graduated with a degree in Journalism from the University of the Arts London. Natalie’s experience in the industry spans journalistic and styling roles that have seen her work for publications including British Vogue, Conde Nast Traveller, Vogue Ukraine, AnOther Magazine and Elle UK.
With an interest in uncovering the latest fashion trends, Natalie takes a leading role in identifying news for Who What Wear UK. Reporting on a daily basis, Natalie focuses on trends on and off the runway, as well as street style and celebrity fashion. Natalie also creates content for Who What Wear’s social channels including TikTok and Instagram on a weekly basis.