The Butterfly Effect | Issue 15
G Force
Has Demna been tamed?
His first official runway for Gucci hit Milan Friday and the mood was—dare I say—restrained. A ‘90s grunge backbone, softened with romance and a whisper of goth. Low-slung trousers. Monochrome. Minimal pattern. Logos dialed back.
Look 5’s fitted black skirt suit was divine. Structured. Sharp. Restrained. Almost shockingly Carolyn-coded. A clean pivot for Gucci.
The grey slip dress felt familiar in the best way. ‘90s nostalgia, elevated with an ivory croc-embossed bag and Horsebit pumps. Less thrift store, more legacy house.
Look 13’s black satin pantsuit stole the show. Cropped, cinched blazer. Low, straight trouser with the faintest flare. The kind of pieces that don’t beg for attention. They hold it.
Not entirely logo-free, of course. This is still Gucci. Monogrammed tights made their appearance. Sheer body-con. Leather. Fur. The occasional sequin. The rocker undercurrent remains.
But the chaos has definition now. It doesn’t fall; it cuts.
And just like that, Demna brought Gucci—once thought drifting—back to center field.
Spike.
Falling Star
Prada—normally my North Star—fell a little flat.
Miuccia and Raf, who can usually do no wrong, sent a mass of bright colors, pencil skirts aplenty, layers, sequins, and embellishments down the runway. But overall, the collection lacked cohesion and focus.
The colors? Noisy hits of fuchsia, bright yellow, chartreuse.
The embellishments? Competing.
The layers? Unbalanced.
In a room full of shouting, no one is heard. It becomes a cacophony of noise.
The shoes themselves were artful.
But stacked against embellished skirts, deconstructed fabric, tulle, and heavy, primary-colored knits, they were lost in translation.
Heavy sweaters tucked into feather-light sheer skirts felt mismatched and clunky—weight against air, volume against volume.
That isn’t to say the collection lacked bright spots.
Look 33—a black sweater layered over a blue button-down, detailed with a monogrammed script “P” and green cufflinks—felt considered. The tulle-edged short ensemble beneath might have benefited from one of the many pencil skirts instead, but the restraint—relative to the rest—worked.
When pared down, quieter, more deliberate, Prada remembered its strength—their North Star.
Femme Fatale
Fendi’s Maria Grazia Chiuri took Milan by storm in a debut that felt restrained, chic, and unmistakably classic. Black dominated—but never bored. Texture, sheer fabrics, and exacting tailoring breathed life into the darkness.
Look 18 was a standout: a camel trench layered over a quilted black jacket peeking from beneath, finished with a black fur collar. The heels—black with a beige high-vamp ankle and matching tan sole—offered a whisper of warmth that echoed the trench.
Color appeared deliberately: camel, butter, pale blue, ivory, a restrained red, burnished gold. Never loud. Always considered.
Draping remained disciplined. Silhouettes favored columns—slip dresses and two-piece sets cut to flatter without fuss. Minimalism here wasn’t stark; it was sculpted.
Columns repeated enough to make one wonder—are we all watching Ryan Murphy’s Love Story?
Let Erdem Eat Cake
While the rest of us were binging Love Story, Erdem Moralıoğlu may well have been watching Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. His 20th anniversary collection was a joy-soaked ode to romanticism—brocade, silk, and unapologetic texture.
The silhouettes were sumptuous yet structured, cinched at the waist and flaring at the hip, some culminating in ballgown skirts that skimmed just above the ankle—revealing the faintest glimpse of skin.
Feathered trims and tactile details pulsed with life, each look more decadent than the last.
The fabrics were rich and weighty, but cut with a modern hand. Look 36—the standout—paired an embroidered white corset with a silk floral ballgown skirt. The palette leaned historic—blush, rose, ivory, tea-stained black—while the subtly frayed hem felt entirely of the moment. The tension between eras was exquisite.
Erdem described the collection as “a continuous exchange between past and present, memory and imagination.” He achieved exactly that.
And in the words attributed—though falsely—to Marie Antoinette:
Let them eat cake
Rocha: Romance Reconsidered
Simone Rocha’s London show was a study in froth and friction—ruffles, stays, texture, and unapologetic volume.
Some looks floated—sheer and weightless (Looks 1, 2, and 47)—while others grounded themselves in thick leather, shearling trim, and layered construction. Black and white anchored the palette, punctuated by buoyant hits of acid green and red. What should have clashed instead cohered, disciplined by Rocha’s assured hand.
Satin ribbons trailed from voluminous dresses and tailored suiting alike, leaving an undulating scarlet wake in the models’ path.
Look 54 stopped the show: glossy red laces streaming against an ivory gown—structured yet diaphanous. Softness and severity in perfect alignment.
Romance, reconsidered—and controlled.
Burberry: In the Trenches
Burberry hunkered down in the trenches.
Trench coats, of course—the house refocused its lens on outerwear, leather, and texture. The palette was restrained: black forward, deep plums and mulberries, navy, cobalt, the occasional flash of ivory. Pattern was nearly absent, with the traditional plaid subdued—surfacing briefly on coats and again in a handful of fur-trimmed scarves.
Details were similarly pared back: ruffled lapels, leather belts and collars, subtle fur accents. Less spectacle, more structure.
A return to roots. A reminder that Burberry’s strength has always been in the cut of a coat.
From London to Milan
Across cities, excess returned—but under supervision. Think ’90s minimalism à la Versailles.
If Milan tightened the stays, London leaned into romance and softened the edge, offering a fresh take on brocade and tulle.
Even at its frothiest, structure held firm—editing volume before it could overwhelm.
The message was clear: extravagance is back. But disciplined.