3 Defining Moments of Milan Fashion Week SS 2026

Milan Fashion Week, held this September 2025, will be remembered for more than trends and silhouettes. It unfolded as a week of emotion, solidarity, and cultural resonance, setting a tone that extended far beyond the catwalk. From a farewell to one of fashion’s greatest masters, to acts of courage and defiance, these were the three defining moments.

Giorgio Armani: A Masterpiece at Pinacoteca di Brera

The fashion world gathered in hushed reverence at the Pinacoteca di Brera, where Giorgio Armani’s final show became both a celebration and a farewell. The late designer, who passed away earlier in the month, had personally choreographed the event as a testament to his lifelong devotion to Milan and to design.

Set against the Renaissance backdrop of Brera’s courtyard, the show unfolded with quiet grandeur. Lanterns illuminated the stone arches, while Ludovico Einaudi’s live piano performance accompanied a collection that echoed Armani’s signature restraint: fluid tailoring, ethereal dresses, and muted hues inspired by the streets of Brera and the Mediterranean island of Pantelleria.

The finale carried a deeply symbolic weight. Veteran Armani models returned to the runway, and the closing look bore an embroidered portrait of the designer himself. More than a collection, the event was an elegy, a reminder that Armani’s legacy is woven into the very fabric of Milanese style.

Fabio Porloid: A Runway of Resilience

New designer, Fabio Porloid, showcased at Catwalk Milan 2025 opening with elegance and purpose. His refined evening wear—cocktail dresses, gowns, and sweeping red-carpet creations—captured attention for their sophistication, but it was a special collaboration that left the most enduring impression.

In partnership with the association Barbara & Co, Porloid invited nurses, caregivers, and cancer survivors to walk the runway. These women, embodying both strength and grace, transformed the catwalk into a platform of awareness and resilience.

Barbara & Co’s mission is to support those living through oncology experiences, offering practical resources and community networks while advocating for improved public health facilities. Their presence on the runway turned fashion into testimony, proving that elegance is not only in fabric but in dignity and courage. The applause they received reverberated as one of the most heartfelt moments of the week.

Francesca Liberatore: An Urgent Statement

At Francesca Liberatore’s show, models emerged not from backstage, but via emergency escape stairs—a powerful symbol of urgency and disruption. The staging mirrored the themes of the collection: a meditation on global unrest and the role of fashion in bearing witness.

With Elisa performing haunting renditions of Everybody Wants to Rule the World and Mad World, the atmosphere was charged with poignancy. The collection itself mixed youthful wearability with symbolic design: protective bodices, layered textures, and the recurring motif of black roses.

Liberatore closed the show with a tribute to Giorgio Armani, tying together the threads of homage, social conscience, and artistry that defined the week.

The Spring/Summer 2026 collections in Milan were less about fleeting trends than about cultural memory and collective conscience. Armani’s farewell offered a timeless reflection on elegance and legacy. Porloid’s collaboration with Barbara & Co elevated fashion into an act of solidarity and awareness. Liberatore’s staging disrupted expectations, reminding audiences that creativity can carry responsibility.

Milan proved once again that fashion is not only about what is worn, but also about the stories, struggles, and triumphs that garments can carry.