Trussardi, one of Italy's oldest fashion houses, wants to fly you away with a collection unveiled yesterday that had plenty of abstract aeroplane motifs, clothes that billowed like parachutes and even a few re-imagined pilot jumpsuits. In her notes on the Spring/Summer 2018 designs shown in Milan, creative lead Gaia Trussardi, said the suits "are inspired by the free and enterprising spirit of great female travellers like Amelia Earhart". Never mind that things didn't work out so well for the American aviator. She and her co-pilot vanished eight decades ago over the Pacific while trying to fly around the world.

Trussardi's clothes had lots of silk, straps and belts. Abstract aeroplane silhouettes showed up on suits for men, who are increasingly common on what was once a fashion week reserved for women. Some half-a-dozen houses will show co-ed collections over the six-day marathon on Milan. There were also flat platform sandals with straps and gold buckles as well as plenty of high heels with straps that wrap around the ankles. The journey was a big inspiration for Trussardi, but so was the destination. Flower prints, like the flora of a tropical locale, made their way on to the clothes as did the perhaps less welcome fauna of what appeared to be snakeskin.

True to its roots-the house started in 1911 as a glove manufacturer- Trussardi showed off new accessories. The Gita bag has leather trim, a compact shape and details that bring to mind the labels and tags that accumulate on a well-travelled bag.

Jil Sander offers 'purity' antidote to Milan runway flash

The models sent down a spare outdoor runway on Saturday by the new creative leads at minimalist label Jil Sander were wearing white and flowing garb like that of a mystic, offering an antidote to the Milan fashion week flash. Husband and wife duo Luke and Lucie Meier's first show at the creative helm of the German-founded house also featured oversized suits and coats with none of the season's obsession with sequins and exotic prints. The designs were an embrace of "purity... we're not interested in excess at all," Canadian Luke Meier told reporters backstage after the show.

"I don't think we do it from the perspective of what is going on (in fashion). We do it from the perspective of what we like and what we feel is right at the moment." There was also a suggestion of innocence in the designs, with a handbag made to look like a school boy's books wrapped in a leather strap, and suits big enough to look like adult clothes on children playing dress up.

The Meiers, a rare married duo of co-directors, come from Dior for her and Paris-based menswear brand OAMC via iconic streetwear label Supreme for him. "Lucie and I work together very naturally," Meier told Vogue in June of his Swiss-born wife. "We have had an open dialogue about the approach to design for over 15 years and have often spoken of working together one day."

Bottega Veneta 'in da club' at Milan fashion week

Italian fashion house Bottega Veneta had Hollywood star Lauren Hutton bobbing her head to hip-hop on Saturday as it showed off a playful, nightclub-ready collection heavy on jewels, mirrors and fringe. The venerable Venetian outfit transformed a warren of rooms and halls at the 19th century Palazzo Archinto-now a school-into a sprawling runway at Milan fashion week. The co-ed Spring/Summer 2018 collection featured airy shirt-dresses, fringe strung with tiny glass beads and several slinky floor-length dresses covered in rhinestones. Kardashian mum Kris Jenner was front and centre, watching her daughter Kendall pass in a geometric-pattern swimsuit and shiny trench coat. Superstar Bella Hadid was on the runway too, after shows for Fendi and Moschino.

Angela Missoni shows feather-light sheer knits in Milan

It's a season of celebration and commemoration at Milan Fashion Week, in its fourth day Saturday. Angela Missoni marks 20 years as creative director at the family-owned and -run brand founded by her parents. Donatella Versace made an emotional tribute to her brother, fashion house creator Gianni Versace, to honor his contributions to the fashion world and his vision of female empowerment 20 years after he was slain. And Vogue Italia feted its new editor, Emanuele Farneti, with the party of the week inside a former customs station.

The Missoni superwoman

Angela Missoni's collection marking her 20th anniversary as creative director at her family's fashion house featured feather-light, often sheer, knits for a sleek silhouette. Nothing projected power more than the matching knit bodysuits and superhero-style capes. While Missoni may be most popularly associated with the zig-zag knit, the runway collection made amply clear the variety of patterns: vertical stripes, pretty eyelets, color-blocking, brand historic jacquards and even a Marilyn Monroe knit based on the Andy Warhol painting.

Colors started off in pale shades and got gradually stronger until they darkened to black. The spring-summer womenswear collection also featured hot pants, leggings and gauchos along with pretty summer dresses with 1950-style skirts or halter tops. Big sun hats with arching brims added drama to the looks, especially when paired with long, clinging sheer knits. "These are the lightest knits I have ever made," the designer said backstage.

For the first time, Missoni also included menswear alongside the women's looks, pairing sleeveless sunrise pattern knitwear with trousers, or a sunset pattern jacket with shorts. Scarves finished many of the men's looks. This has been a big week for Missoni. She was honored earlier by amfAR for her contributions to raising money for AIDS research. And Sunday night, she hosts party for 900 to mark two decades since she took the creative reins from her mother, Rosita. Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton was among those attending the runway show, held in a former factory yard under a tent of colorful foulards designed by American artist Rachel Hayes.-Agencies