The central axis of the collection is the contradiction any Milanese lives through in their daily passage across the city: the brutalist architecture of its streets set against the vitality with which its inhabitants move through them. In this vein, everyday wear opens the show with tailoring that absorbs that brutalist essence. Blazers, in stone tones and severe silhouettes, feature wide shoulders reminiscent of eighties power suits. Following Milan's air, waists narrow while trousers fall wide and fluid, creating a shape that lays bare the collection's contrast.
Intrecciato, the house's signature technique, is another anchor point of the collection. Coats carry details in interwoven leather rather than fabric. For Louise Trotter, the idea of durability and intergenerational heritage matters deeply. The nostalgia embedded in a father's worn shoe, or a nonna's evening bag, all become objects that narrate their own stories.
Among the bags, Intrecciato appears in new silhouettes alongside a fully transparent latex or PVC shopping bag. Footwear is another element worth noting, almost entirely flat this season: references to jazz shoes in soft leather and tasselled loafers in black, alongside the classic ballet flats trimmed with metal spikes.
The colour range stands out against a set designed entirely in red, like an old theatre adding Milanese energy to the collection's atmosphere. The platonic love story between Maria Callas and Pier Paolo Pasolini permeates both the silhouettes and the tone of the collection. The pieces move between earth tones, black and various concrete greys, anchoring us once again in Milan's brutalism.
Having crossed the streets of Milan's industrial quarter, we move to a neighbourhood rich in history and texture. Almost suddenly, with a subtle transition set out piece by piece, the focus shifts to texture, and there is plenty of it. This textural presence continues Trotter's tactile fascination, first seen in her summer collection with fibreglass and effects layered over the intrecciato.
Against the space's passionate red, fringes, furs, knitwear, and braided or smooth leather stand in contrast, taking on new life against the red backdrop. The fibreglass coats return with the same dreamlike quality, catching the light in a way no conventional fabric could reproduce.
As night falls, the house's most traditional craftsmanship takes full control. None of the pieces evoking fur or feathers use real material: everything has been built by hand from silks, fil coupé, specialised knitwear and highly complex technical fibres. The result is garments that come alive through movement, presences that seem to breathe under the room's light. Among the standout pieces, a red mohair dress emerges, white fur coats appear, and the show closes with synthetic feather dresses in red and cobalt blue.
