Milan Fashion Week 2017: The most dramatic dresses

Trust the Milan shows to amp up the drama.

milan fashion week runway best looks
(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Trust the Milan shows to amp up the drama.

New York Fashion Week and London Fashion Week are done, and Milan Fashion Week went out with a bang on Sunday with Dolce and Gabbana's Queen of Hearts-themed extravaganza.

We've touched down in Paris for Paris Fashion Week, the final shift of the fashion-month marathon. People, the struggle is real. Well, it really is when you've left your Balenciaga boots in the wrong suitcase and your selfie Boomerang attempt with Pierpaolo ended in disaster...but we digress.

Here are the Milan Fashion Week moments that we're still talking about...

Donatella brought the Freedom video back to life

milan fashion week runway best looks

Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
(Image credit: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

It was the moment that flooded a million Instagram feeds. Cindy, Naomi, Carla, Claudia, and Helena - the Fabulous Five original 1990s supermodels - were reunited on the Versace catwalk as a fitting finale to Donatella's tribute show to her brother Gianni.

It's 20 years since he was killed, and it's the first time DV has found 'the courage' (her words) to delve back into his archives. And the iconic Gianni prints that defined the early 90s were all there - wild baroque, chains, butterflies...and of course, the slithery silver chainmail dresses worn by the Super Squad.

Not much changes when you're that fabulous - apparently, the ladies were all still fighting over who should nab the coveted central position in the lineup (DV solved the problem by popping herself in there). Gigi, Bella, Kaia - watch and learn...

Miuccia Prada's comic superwomen

milan fashion week runway best looks

Rex

Prada examined the theme of 'girl power' quite literally with her use of comic-book heroines, drawn from the work of eight female artists of all ages, who were chosen for their depictions of women in 'a uniquely empowering way'. Artists included Brigid Elva, Stellar Leuna and the archive of Tarpe Mills, who created the first female action hero.

milan fashion week best runway looks

The show venue was lined from floor to ceiling in their art - stepping onto the set felt like stepping inside the pages of some alt-lit comic magazine. The clothes were a mash-up of Prada silhouettes - full skirts, brocade bustiers layered over shirting, knee-high socks (with a go-faster, sports vibe for SS) - with comic-book motifs collaged over the top, like a jacket with an Afro-haired character emblazoned across the back. Some highlights from our up-close look at the collection from the resee below...

Blooming Moschino!

Only Jeremy Scott could take an anodyne floral theme and turn it into something insane. In a great way. His ode to punky 80s Swan Lake ballet style and My Little Pony finished with a parade of walking flowers, including Gigi as a living, walking bouquet - tied up with a huge ribbon and complete with a message card.

Italy's Going Green

Milan Fashion Week came to a glamorous and very green end on Sunday night with the first ever Green Carpet Fashion Awards, at the fabulous Teatro Alla Scala. Led by Livia Firth's Eco-Age, in partnership with Italian fashion's ruling body, the event celebrated the notion of 'Made in Italy' and showed that the big guns are now well and truly on board with the sustainability message.

Awards for everything from 'community and social justice' to 'supply chain innovation' were handed out to brands big and small. New designer Tiziano Guardini beat stiff competition to scoop Best Emerging Designer for his designs - which use sequins made from crushed recycled CDs, obviously. Celebs galore graced the green carpet in specially-designed sustainable looks from houses including Prada, Valentino, Armani and Gucci, who dressed Dakota Johnson, below.

milan fashion week runway best looks

Getty Images
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Talking of Alessandro Michele...one final highlight was of course the SS18 show itself. Gucci brought back the 80s with pastel tracksuits and 3D glasses.

milan fashion week runway best looks

Left to right: Armani, Moschino, Prada

For more on-the-ground fashion inspo, see what celebrities like Anna Wintour, Alexa Chung, Penelope Cruz, Olivia Palermo and influencers like Chiara Farragni wear on the front row at the shows in our gallery.

Ermanno Scervino SS18

Ermanno Scervino SS18

Ermanno Scervino SS18

Ermanno Scervino SS18

United Colors of Benetton

United Colors of Benetton

Vionnet SS18

Vionnet SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Roberto Cavalli SS18

Roberto Cavalli SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Roberto Cavalli SS18

Roberto Cavalli SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Missoni SS18

Missoni SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Missoni SS18

Missoni SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Vionnet SS18

Vionnet SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Etro SS18

Etro SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Etro SS18

Etro SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Salvatore Ferragamo SS18

Salvatore Ferragamo SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Salvatore Ferragamo SS18

Salvatore Ferragamo SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Bottega Veneta SS18

Bottega Veneta SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Bottega Veneta SS18

Bottega Veneta SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Dolce and Gabbana SS18

Dolce and Gabbana SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Dolce and Gabbana SS18

Dolce and Gabbana SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Marni SS18

Marni SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Marni SS18

Marni SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

MSGM SS18

MSGM SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

MSGM SS18

MSGM SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Tod’s SS18

Tod’s SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Tod’s SS18

Tod’s SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Prada SS18

Prada SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Prada SS18

Prada SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Giorgio Armani SS18

Giorgio Armani SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Giorgio Armani SS18

Giorgio Armani SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Moschino SS18

Moschino SS18

(Image credit: Rex)

Moschino SS18

Moschino SS18

(Image credit: Rex)

Gucci SS18

Gucci SS18

(Image credit: Courtesy of Gucci by Dan Lecca)

Gucci SS18

Gucci SS18

(Image credit: Courtesy of Gucci by Dan Lecca)

Max Mara SS18

Max Mara SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Alberta Farretti SS18

Alberta Farretti SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Max Mara SS18

Max Mara SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Fendi SS18

Fendi SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Alberta Farretti SS18

Alberta Farretti SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Fendi SS18

Fendi SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Emilio Pucci SS18

Emilio Pucci SS18

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)
Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.