The Best Looks From Milan Fashion Week Spring 2016

Let's put this in perspective: Giorgio Armani is 81, and is celebrating his 40th anniversary in the fashion game. Which means he was 41 when he launched his own label—seems positively ancient by today's millennial standards. But whatever experience he had gained, first as a med school student learning discipline and absorbing the human form and then as a window dresser, served him exceedingly well as he basically conquered fashion, created a one-named brand and dressed nearly ever star in the Hollywood galaxy.

Through it all, he has kept a singular focus on what his aesthetic is. For his Emporio line, shown a few days ago, it's younger, less expensive and trendier. For Privée, it's Italian couture. For his signature collection, it's beautifully made clothes meant to be a modern woman's morning-to-night, seven-day wardrobe. Spring's runway tapped into some of the key messages coming out of Milan (red-white-and-blue, stripes, sportiness), but didn't feel like anyone else.

His Gigolo suitings still look refined and rich, even as he loosens things up, throws in some gauzy trousers to sex things up a bit and adds in embroidered tops to make it more of an evening affair than an office one.

Maybe it's because 40 is a big number—mid-life, as it were—that Armani wanted to show his youthful hand (did anyone catch him playing guitar and holding his own with none other than Eric Clapton during his book launch party?) with a parade of cuffed shorts that were teamed with embroidered camis or pinky blazers, frothy party cocktail dresses and mini skirts that showed leg but not too much.

The beadwork in jazzy little dresses and evening jackets felt like something out of Privée and tapped into the festive mood at Armani these days. There's a lot to celebrate, after all. Forty years is a long time to do anything, let alone run your own fashion brand. And to further understand how keenly good he is this game, the Maestro, as he's known, is still on top of his own self-made empire. He's the boss — both the creative and financial head of over 10,000 employees and is reportedly personally worth over $7 billion. So, Mr. Armani, we're sure you're already working on Fall 2016's patterns and putting the final touches on a gown for an A-list star, but just take a minute and enjoy your remarkable career. Because we're looking back at it, and it looks molto bene.

Angela Missoni had everyone seeing stripes—or more of them, at least—at her Spring Missoni collection. As Milan has taken to this pattern in particular, this bodes well for a house that kind of built its reputation on variations of the line: zig zag, optical, thisaway, thataway, up-down...

The runway here was sporty, with striped knits in every color (though heavy on a Yves Klein-ish blue) popping up in collared shirts, caftans and lodes of maillots and bikinis. Even the shoes looked striped in their caged sandal construct.

Otherwise girls walked in high-top sneakers (another nod to America) and everything from body con long columns to vertically-striped and pleated dresses—also seen a lot this week.

Missoni could have boxed herself into a very small, tight corner by sticking to a striped idea within her already knit world. But there was a deep bench of looks here for clients who have different needs, are of different ages and figures. Leave the maillots for the hardbodies and the caftans for the shy types, Missoni's message was. There's even polos and loose pants for the sporty girl who idolizes that outdoorsy Hepburn vibe. Albeit a colorful striped one.

And it wasn't all just about getting in line. Missoni did offer up jersey-like tank dresses with a melange of animal motifs, that were also worked into some sexier-than-though skimpy bikinis.

When Massimiliano Giornetti does peasant for Salvatore Ferragamo, you can assume that it won't be the usual hippie-sprite affair. No. Those references will be smartly veiled and folded into the house's uber refined aesthetic, one that Giornetti continues to push in an even more sophisticated direction. Which is not to say that it was boring. Far from it. He just doesn't play to tricks. So his feathered dresses and skirts, for example, are done in soothing olives and black, in trim ladylike silhouettes, and paired with sandals that tie up the ankle and sport an athletic-inflected sole.

Intarsia striped knit dresses with tiny frills came out, a subtle nod to Seventies chic. Meanwhile ruffles and tiers in varying sizes cropped up on monotone chiffon dresses, cotton strapless maxis and in the exaggerated bodices of strappy tops worn with either black leather pants or crisp white knee-length shorts.

Black was a dominating color here—mixed in with olives, mustards and reds—softened by the bohemian nature of how voluminous pleated capes tied or cropped pants with slit details also tied mid-calf or the way accordion pleated dresses moved freely.

There were a ton of capes, mostly knit and worn layered over tonal ribbed knit dresses and skirts. Everything was long and longer, hitting at the ankle to show off the ankle-strap shoes and gladiator sandals.

Striped dresses hit a perfect summer note but stayed firmly within the realm of the elegant in relaxed A-line shapes and lovely colors.

Massimo Giorgetti has had a busy week. Just days after presenting his debut collection for Emilio Pucci, he showed MSGM. And while you could see the common thread (looser shapes and flying straps and fringe), the two couldn't have been more different. While Pucci was all about the aquatic life, MSGM was about what California kids do in pools without water—skateboard.

The cult classic Lords of Dogtown played a big role both in how Giorgetti layered separates and in the youthful laissez-faire attitude towards styling. He plucked elements of skater life and gave them new life on the runway—plaid-on-plaid tunics and pants or plaid skirts paired with layers of thin ribbed tanks and henleys.

While chains toughened up bags and clothes, as they dangled and swooped from hip to leg, sneakers grounded the entire collections. But this is Milan, so said sneakers were done in exotics. This push-pull of street vs high end played out in the clothes and how he combined ideas. Like loose board shorts worn with overtly ruffled tops.

Giorgetti employed the double ruffle all over the place, using it to pep up basic minis or SoCal-worthy beach tops, maxi skirts and minidresses that were worn over t-shirts.

Right now, the Italians in general seem to be fascinated with America, whether that's the brash flag-waving patriotism of red-white-and-blue-ism, Hollywood glamour or its always-inspiring subcultures. Which just makes Spring a treat for those who still have their shredded plaid shirts, beat-up Vans and sticker-covered skateboards still stored in their high school closets. Nostalgia, when done right, can be a powerful thing.