Alberta Ferretti quite literally placed a 'woman made of strong stuff' at the centre of her AW18 show in Milan.

Friend to the designer, Lorenzo Quinn's work 'Gravity' hung in the middle of the runway at Rotonda della Besana.

Gravity at Alberta Ferrettipinterest
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Depicting a nude woman hanging from the hands of a man, encased in an aluminium structure, the work displays balance and strength between the sexes. Ferretti said of the artistic choice, it's 'a masterpiece that places the woman at the centre of the Universe, which for me, is a metaphor of reality.'

Alberta Ferreti Supermodelspinterest
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Supermodels such as the Hadid sisters, Kaia Gerber and Joan Smalls walked a runway that divided for the sculpture, reflecting her power.

Ferretti's collection echoed the work of art, with hardware embellishing many of the dresses and coats.

Alberta Ferretti AW18pinterest
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Hardy and practical, a Western thread was woven through many of the designs, with studded hats, strong shoulders and cinched waists nodding to the riders of a bygone era.

These elements weren't there to usurp the usual Ferretti sensuality and femininity though, with shimmering draped dresses, lurex blouses and sequinned co-ords firmly asserting themselves as a continuing staple of the designer's output.

Alongside the more sombre black and metallic palette, autumnal rusts and olive greens were paired with acid-washed double-denims and violet taffeta shirts.

Alberta Ferretipinterest
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Guido Palau, the global Creative Director of Redken, chose to celebrate and enunciate naturally curly hair, while others had theirs sleeked back in practical styles, parted in the centre and tucked behind their ears.

Global beauty director for YSL, Tom Pecheux, contrasted the 80s shapes and Grecian and Western references with a glamorous 60s eye liner flick. But, again, natural beauty was the order of the day, with fresh faces and bushy brows.

Joan Smallspinterest
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Ferretti said of the symbiosis of practicality and enchantment: 'Through my designs, I wanted to highlight character affirmation. I imagined a confident and assertive woman…I want to bring justice to women by respecting their natural elegance.'

The AW18 show was a blending of eras and origins, but the woman at the centre of it was constant - ever strong and ever beautiful.