Italian luxury label Prada said it looked to the past for its latest womenswear line at Milan Fashion Week on Thursday, presenting a collection that played with contrasts and feminine touches.

Designers Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons kicked off the fall/winter 2024 womenswear show, called “Instinctive Romance”, with an all black dress with flappy embellishments.

The creative duo cut dark wool skirts to reveal a white or colourful silky layer underneath or behind.

There were bomber jackets, a coat nodding to 1950s silhouettes and slim pencil skirts worn with fitting knits.

“We strive to create something beautiful and we cannot talk about beauty without looking at the past,” Simons said in show notes. “In this complicated moment, it is essential to know our history, who we are.”

The designers overall chose a slim silhouette: Some models wore buttoned up shirts tucked into floor-length skirts in soft pale colours.

Sleeveless dresses came in cream or pink, with floral embellishments. Some had bows, a feature also seen on the back of some skirts and on ribbon belts.

“We looked at the idea of ​​romance, which is perhaps still considered a taboo at the moment, especially in fashion,” Miuccia Prada said.

“The dresses in this collection reveal a sense of romance.”

Prada is known for its leather goods and models wore their handbags suspended from a strap on their lower arms. Hats were reminiscent of military caps, and some models wore small-framed sunglasses.

A selection of black looks wrapped the show, where a see-through catwalk overlooked a set designed to look like a stream and grass.

Giorgio Armani also used a lot of black for his second line Emporio Armani.

Models wore all black daytime outfits and eveningwear, some of which sparkled with silver or colourful shimmers.

He paired trouser suits with long shirts, offered an array of chic blazers and sleek coats as well as soft, floaty dresses in ivory with pink and blue prints.

Moon and star embellishments adorned some outfits, including the black creations for the finale where models carrying umbrellas walked under fake falling snow.

“I wanted to be consistent with my beliefs, clothes that you put on, there’s a few spots that are a little over the top… but I feel like it’s all very wearable,” Armani told reporters.

Milan Fashion Week, one of four stops during the month-long catwalk calendar, runs until Monday.