Prada and Gucci are retailers' top picks from Milan's spring 2027 shows

Retailers have named Prada and Gucci as the standout collections from Milan Fashion Week's spring 2027 shows, according to a survey of buyers gathered after the week's presentations. The skirt emerged as the defining garment of the season, with maximalist embellishment and heavy craftsmanship running through the strongest collections.

One buyer's must-have list called out Prada's 63 runway skirts specifically as the item to collect this season, ranging from pleated and pencil styles to printed, bejewelled, leather and nylon versions. Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons built the entire show around the silhouette, with Velcro-fastened styles praised for their practicality across sizes.

Prada is renowned for high-quality leather goods, apparel, footwear and accessories, and it belongs to the Prada Group, which we reported keeps just five brands after decades of resisting the acquisition sprees pursued by LVMH and Kering. That focus made the skirt-only concept possible in a way a broader portfolio might not.

Gucci won a separate category outright: best presentation concept. Buyers repeatedly described its decision to stage the show inside an actual Gucci store as the smartest idea of the week, turning the retail experience itself into the storytelling device and putting the end customer at the centre of the format.

Bergdorf Goodman's Linda Fargo called the format a genius way to manifest what she termed the coalescing rebrand, while another buyer said it invited shoppers into the world of the Gucci customer and reminded everyone of the magic a store can bring. Gucci also showed triple horsebit corset belts, shoulder bags and an oversize leather bomber.

Bottega Veneta placed close behind the two leaders across multiple buyers' favourite-collection lists, praised for craftsmanship under Louise Trotter and for a lighter, more optimistic mood. Its presentation inside Milan's Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, alongside Loro Piana's own show there, was singled out as intellectually and sensually rich.

Victoria Dartigues of Galeries Lafayette said Milan felt confident, cohesive and energised, with impressive fabric research bringing freshness to wearable pieces. She said the strongest collections paired heritage with modernity and sensuality without excess, giving clothes both immediate appeal and lasting value for customers.

Fargo added that many Milan houses looked in the mirror this season, leaning on their own established codes rather than chasing novelty. Prada was unmistakably Prada, Jil Sander was very Jil, Ferragamo was exactly what buyers expected, and Gucci was, in her words, so Gucci across the calendar.

Beyond the two front-runners, buyers flagged Jil Sander for modernist restraint, Fendi for its embellished Baguette bags and undone styling, Brunello Cucinelli for its best-ever spring collection, and Marni, under Meryll Rogge, for balancing invention with the brand's established quirkiness.

Trend themes were spread across houses rather than confined to any single label: Bermuda shorts, boudoir dressing with bra tops, slips and sheer fabrics, crocheted looks, animal and floral prints against strong tailoring, and utilitarian cargo pants all featured in multiple buyers' notes on the week.

Colour moved away from the bold primaries of recent seasons toward pastels, with lilac, pistachio and lemon described as dominant, used to check noisier silhouettes and prints rather than as a safe default. Industrial materials also appeared, including rubber at Ferragamo and Velcro at Prada.

Onitsuka Tiger built a fully branded roadside-attraction world along an imagined Route 66, complete with a gas station, cafe and a supermarket where its Mexico 66 sneaker was shrink-wrapped on a shelf like fresh produce, a concept one buyer called playful and unexpected.

One buyer described budgets as up for the most emotional and compelling collections and said confidence about the season ahead was high, while another noted that Milan brands have grown sophisticated at turning show concepts into commercial, full-category assortments rather than one-off spectacle.

The mood, several buyers said, was less about chasing what is new and more about houses returning to their own archives. Gianvito Rossi marked 20 years with a cocktail party presenting reimagined iconic styles, while Moschino's Simone Rizzo and Loris Messina staged their debut collection among 400 street characters.

This follows our earlier coverage of Prada's eight-floor Galleria flagship in Milan, which opened on 23 September and links its stores underground with a permanent brand exhibition, and comes as Prada Group works through the integration of Versace, bought for 1.25 billion euros in December 2025.

That Versace deal, roughly 40% below what Capri Holdings paid for the house in 2018, marked Prada's first major acquisition in 25 years and was intended to add maximalist glamour the group's five-brand portfolio otherwise lacked, alongside Miu Miu's retail sales passing one billion euros in 2024.

No buyer offered a specific sales or order figure for the season, and the survey stopped at qualitative reaction rather than committed volumes. The next test comes in Paris, where the spring 2027 calendar continues and where several buyers said they were headed directly from Milan.

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Images: Prada