​Elsewhere in Milano: MM6, Tod’s, Valextra, Sara Battaglia

From the street runways to art museums, from haute gamme boutiques to happening pop-ups, Milan Fashion Week had a busy few days with MM6, Tod’s, Valextra and Sara Battaglia.

MM6: Post-its and polished

MM6 is all about balancing conceptual fashion with cool clobber, rarely more so than this Thursday in Milan, where the collection was presented on a cobblestone street.

Like its big brother Maison Margiela, MM6 has lots of insider signifiers, notably the white and whitewash. So, the ushers and PRs all wore white lab coats, and the pavement and part of the street were done in whitewash.

Making a suitable catwalk for this collection — the arty diffusion line of fashion’s most famous concept brand, whose cast all walked with mirrored visors down Via Borgospesso, a central Milan backstreet probably best known for the restaurant Bice, a famed fashionista eatery.

In the most unexpected color palette of the season: Post-it hues of faded yellow, light turquoise or baby blue.

What worked best were the perfectly worn rawhide leathers in burgundy or coal, worn with see-through skirts that revealed cami-knickers underneath. Or the cunning trenches, whose entire shoulders morphed into transparent blouses. Or the cool anthracite cocktails, again finished with a gauzy neckline and floral bra.

Juxtaposition is always at the heart of Margiela, one of four runway brands within fashion holding company OTB, along with Marni, Jil Sander and Viktor & Rolf.

For dudes, in a co-ed show, there were eggshell blue suits over foamy sweatshirts, finished with a fabric laundry ticket, or beige spy coats worn with bitter orange pants and matching cyclist’s waist packs.

The founder Martin Margiela’s fondness for offbeat footwear was also apparent in some great pumps with displaced heels, or leather loafers with knobby heels. A wardrobe that ranged from office and meeting to lunch and cocktails. Just like the music, which leapt from Velly Jones’ willfully eccentric tune “Stopp, Seisku Aeg!” to Nina Simone’s “Who Knows Where the Time Goes.”

At the finale, no designer took a bow, respecting the founder’s pathological sense of privacy. Before the cast and half the audience marched around the corner to discover a cool new Margiela store in a courtyard on shopping mecca Via Spiga.

Tod’s: Gommino glory

A swish and smooth collection at Tod’s this season, staged inside art foundation MAC, where guests were greeted by a dozen artisans carefully creating vanilla-hued versions of the house’s famed Gommino moccasin.

The same color as the runway and suede bench seats, where there sat multiple reminders of Tod’s continued pulling power — Naomi Watts, Michelle Monaghan, Poppy Delevingne, Kaya Scodelario and uber model Iman.

Celebrating Italian artisans, the invitation was a cardboard copy of a Gommino pattern, and the photo call was a perforated wall — just like the moccasin’s sole. In case you didn’t get it: the wall read, “Leave Your Mark.”

And most models wore a punchy new saddle-stitched version of the Gommino, along with an impressive array of T Timeless bags — again, some of which were finished with saddle stitching.

Tod’s expertise in leather was the leitmotif of the collection, where creative director Matteo Tamburini skillfully played with a plethora of skins — lambskin, suede and rawhide. Simple sheaths with front flat pockets, or hyper-attractive Pashmy jackets.

Though his most eye-catching look was a black oversized trench with contrast white seams, or an excellently draped black wrap dress with white trim, worn with authority by veteran Mariacarla Boscono — one of several mature models to walk in this show.

Apart from a few mannish broad-striped cotton shirts with complementary canvas totes, everything was pretty much made of leather, as Tamburini insisted on a tight focus.

Driven on by racy music like “The Rest Is Noise” by Jamie xx, the cast meandered around the runway looking composed and rather wealthy. Though one could not help thinking that while it’s great to celebrate Italy’s unique artisanal skills, one also needs to take a few more risks with the clothes.

Valextra: Iside, large and small

Evolution at Valextra, which unveiled two new versions of its Iside bag, along with some smart fresh treatments.

In order of size, the Iside Editor — a larger version — featured the bag’s newer, softer feel and came with suede lining to lighten up the load.

While the Iside Tin is a smaller version, its name comes from the Milanese expression for a cute child.

Both come with suitable crossbody straps — the Tin with a shortened version, allowing a lady to tuck it under her arm.

“It’s all about effortless,” explained CEO Xavier, who was keen to point out the various new treatments, like the textured Senso nubuck, or taking the house’s signature calfskin Millepunte leather and giving it a hammered treatment known as Martellato — imparting a softer, almost powdery hand.

Sara Battaglia: The sisters are doing it for themselves

One store grabbing attention is the all-red new boutique of Sara Battaglia, with lots of plissé and an ebullient designer, who is expecting her first child in December.

Located at 1B Corso Matteotti, the store has plissé red walls, where plissé is “the visual metaphor for the complexity of being a woman, and a positive message about women’s freedom and strength,” explained Battaglia.

Every piece — from the crushable techy sheath dresses to plissé Mantero silk scarves — is designed to fit inside the Plissé Bucket Bags, which hung on the walls.

Created to showcase the brand’s latest drop, the store offers some very cool reversible bicolor plissé dresses designed to be worn front or back.

Alongside the dresses, two sunglass styles — Hope and Fire — featuring plissé details were crafted and come in cases created in collaboration with Dritto Filo, which supports the economic independence of women survivors of violence.

The theme of sisterhood runs throughout the store, whose all-red design represents strength and defiance in the women’s rights movement — and the fight against domestic violence in Italy.

In addition to the presentation during Fashion Week, the drop is also available through the brand’s DTC channels with a See Now, Buy Now approach. The drop is also available at OONCONVENTIONAL in Milan and through a selection of retail partners.