Boss makes a case for lilac at Milan Fashion Week

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 23 February 2020

The venue

Boss took over the Social Music City space and decked it in lilac, and models, including Irina Shayk, Bella Hadid and Doutzen Kroes, glided around an oval catwalk to the sounds of a live orchestra. The musicians performed a piece titled Down to Earth, composed by Henry Scars Struck, resulting in the most poetic walk we’ve seen this season.

The clothes

We all know Boss does tailoring, and does it well. But the AW20 collection – called Generations – was all about reworking old classics into a more modern and fluid aesthetic.

The tailoring was given a 2020 update thanks to sharp silhouettes in new fabrications and colours: chocolate coloured leather suits, two-tone coats and the most gorgeous navy silk dresses with cut out details. Knitwear was strong, with oversized scarves adding an interesting layer to slouchy knitwear.

Vivid red and coral accents added a pop of colour to the palette of cream and grey, and more unexpectedly, lilac was a fresh twist on autumnal dressing.

The accessories

This season saw the introduction of new bag styles and shoes which offered a luxe finishing touch to proceedings. We particularly loved the square-toe stretch fabric boots for her (there was a particularly lust worthy pair in tiger print), and tassel bags for him.

The FROW

Boss drew one of the most star studded crowds yet, rounding off Milan Fashion Week nicely. Cara Delevingne and Ashley Benson sat alongside Amber Valletta, Toni Garrn and Orlando Bloom.

The standout piece

Whilst I was in love with every chocolate-hued piece in the collection, the lilac colour has converted the purple-averse in me.

For this reason, I’m backing the lilac coat, beautifully paired with some olive knitwear.

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.