Sport, in all its variations, has become a big theme for Milan.
Versace used it as a tool by which to show power, specifically the strength of women, with a specially-written feminist manifesto to drive home the point.
'This show, this show is for the women taking chances. Take the leap, if we do nothing, we get nothing,' a woman's voice said over house music as Serena Williams sitting front row cheered on a lineup of catwalk majors including Naomi Campbell, Adriana Lima, Jourdan Dunn, Carmen Kass and Gigi and Bella Hadid (the sisters are everywhere this season.)
Basically, the room was heaving with girl power, with strong, athletic clothes to match: clingy nylon dresses made sexy with ruching and drawstring pulls (it sounds wrong, but looked great on the body) and a slouchy, blingy gown made of crystal chain mail, worn with colourful performance sandals (again, sounds wrong but looked entirely covetable.)
'Sportswear is the future of fashion; to make it unique and luxurious is the challenge I took this season. This is a collection that is all about a woman's freedom: freedom of movement, freedom of activity, freedom to fight for their ideas, freedom to be whomever you want to be,' Donatella Versace said in a statement post-show.
It struck exactly the right note in a year in which women have been the big history makers, from the endless string of female athletes who slayed the Rio Olympics (Simone Biles and the entire U.S. gymnastics team, GB boxer Nicola Adams, American swimmer Katie Ledecky, Syrian refugee swimmer Yusra Mardini, the list goes on and on) to Hillary Clinton's run for presidential office. And further proof that the spring/summer '17 shows really have become one big woman crush week.
