Milan Fashion Week opens with light, ethereal yet grounded looks from Fendi, Ferretti and Marni

MILAN (AP) — Just as the northern hemisphere starts the wardrobe transition from summer to fall, runway shows in the world’s fashion capitals seek to stir the imagination, and desire, for the next warm weather season.

Milan designers have been ambiguous about seasons in recent fashion weeks, with summer collections not corresponding to the soaring temperatures. That was not the case during the first day of Milan Fashion Week previews on Tuesday, featuring diaphanous, dreamy summery dresses, alongside crisp cotton.

Here are highlights from the first day of Milan Fashion Week of runway previews of mostly womenswear for Spring-Summer 2025:

Fendi honored its upcoming centenary with a Spring-Summer 2025 collection that paid elegant homage to the founding era, from art deco detailing to a flapper silhouette, light on the fringe.

In snippets of conversation that punctuated the show's soundtrack, Silvia Venturini Fendi emphasized the matriarchal lineage that has made her the third generation to play a key Fendi role. “My mother was the energy of the house,” Venturini Fendi recalled.

The collection by Fendi womenswear artistic director Kim Jones sought to spotlight “100 years of very chic Roman women," combining ready-to-wear with artisanal detailing of couture. Diaphanous dresses with art-deco embroidery were grounded with boots. Slip dresses were turned upside down as skirts, worn with a sheer top embellished with crystals. Knitwear defined the silhouette, under sheers or hugging the body over diaphanous trousers.

Bags by Venturini Fendi, artistic director of accessories, were soft and huggable, often carried in triplicate.

Alberta Ferretti showed her summery creations in the courtyard of a former cloister, now a science museum, with an elegant dome rising in the background, the juxtaposition emphasizing the artisanal heritage in her collection.

Instead of embellishments, Ferretti focused on technique. Laser cut cotton created an almost lace effect. Individual cotton leaves were stitched together as dresses or accents on bodices. Pleating elevated dresses, while boxer shorts gave a casual flair.

The day looks were in earthy tones of sand, ecru and black. For evening, chiffon dresses flowed in bright shades.

“They are real summer clothes, because the world in the summer is very warm. I know a show is supposed to be a show but reality is important,’’ Ferretti said backstage.

Marni maintained its zany heritage under creative director Francesco Risso, with a wardrobe of whimsically tailored everyday looks for him and for her.

The female silhouette was swathed in form-fitting dresses and skirts, often with deep back slits, sometimes with a mermaid flair. Feathers, boas and crystal embellishments were pretty, and sometimes off-beat accents.

For him, broad shouldered jackets contrasted with skinny trousers. An off-skew bow on a chiffony blouson was kept aloft through some sartorial trickery.

Mixing art with fashion, models emerged in threes, and wandered through the showroom full of wooden chairs on conversational groups to a percussive piano trio.

A sense of Marni whimsy permeated the collection, partly but not only through a series of hats with a yesteryear military flair made light with feathery accents. Risso appeared to confirm his Napoleonic intentions, taking a bow with his hand thrust inside his jacket.

“We like things that are bold,” Risso said after the show.

Normani, left, and Shailene Woodley attend the Fendi Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Alberta Ferretti Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

Model Ashley Graham arrives to attend the Alberta Ferretti Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Alberta Ferretti Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Alberta Ferretti Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

iA model wears a creation as part of the Alberta Ferretti Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Alberta Ferretti Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

Models wear creations as part of the Alberta Ferretti Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

Models wear creations as part of the Alberta Ferretti Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

Models wear creations as part of the Alberta Ferretti Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

Models wear creations as part of the Alberta Ferretti Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Alberta Ferretti Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Alberta Ferretti Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

Models wear creations as part of the Alberta Ferretti Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

Marina Abramovic, second from right front row, attends the Fendi Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

Marina Abramovic attends the Fendi Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Fendi Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Fendi Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Fendi Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Fendi Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Fendi Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Fendi Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Fendi Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

Models wear creations as part of the Fendi Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

Models wear creations as part of the Fendi Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

The path for the NFL's Washington Commanders to return to the nation’s capital is clear after an on-again, off-again saga in Congress ended early Saturday with a postmidnight reprieve.

The U.S. Senate passed a resolution to transfer the land including old RFK Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia. The D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act passed by voice vote at roughly 1:15 a.m. after more than a year of lobbying and support from Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., district Mayor Muriel Bowser, Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

“We are extremely grateful that our elected officials have come together on a bipartisan basis to give Washington, D.C., the opportunity to decide on the future of the RFK Stadium site," Harris said. "This bill will create an equal playing field so that all potential future locations for the home of the Washington Commanders can be fairly considered and give our franchise the opportunity to provide the best experience for all of our fans.”

The RFK Stadium land provision was part of Congress’ initial short-term spending bill Tuesday before it was torpedoed by President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the latter of whom amplified misinformation about the site on his social media platform X. Two versions of the House's slimmed-down bill, including the one that passed Friday night to avoid a government shutdown, did not include it.

Giving the local government control of the land for the next 99 years allows for the decaying husk of the old stadium to be torn down and the site redeveloped for any number of things. One of the possibilities is a football stadium and surrounding entertainment options at the franchise's former home.

Bowser called it “a win for D.C., for our region and for America.”

“Everybody loves a good comeback story — and that’s D.C.’s story,” she said.

All that awaits is President Joe Biden's signature to become law. Comer went as far as saying that Senate passage of the bill is “a historic moment for our nation's capital.”

“If Congress failed to act today, this decaying land in Washington would continue to cost taxpayers a fortune to maintain,” he said. “Revitalizing this RFK Memorial Stadium site has been a top economic priority for the city, and I am proud to have partnered with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to get this bill across the finish line and to the president’s desk. This bipartisan success is a testament to the House Oversight Committee’s unwavering effort to protect taxpayers and our full commitment to ensuring a capital that is prosperous for residents and visitors for generations to come.”

Playing in Washington again is no sure thing. The Commanders are considering places in the district, Maryland and Virginia to build a stadium in the coming years.

Their lease at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, runs through 2027. Harris called 2030 a “reasonable target” for a new stadium.

The team played at RFK Stadium 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) east of the Capitol from 1961-96 before moving to Maryland. Harris and several co-owners, including Mitch Rales and Mark Ein, grew up as Washington football fans during that era, which included the glory days of three Super Bowl championships from 1982-91.

Part of the way the provision got into the bill initially involved an agreement between the team and Maryland to tear down the current stadium in a timely fashion and redevelop the site with a project of equal economic impact, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press earlier this week on condition of anonymity because the deal was not being publicized.

After the Senate greenlit the RFK Stadium land transfer, Maryland Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, both Democrats, said they continued to believe their state's partnership with the team should continue long into the future.

“After working to level the financial playing field, and receiving assurances that should the team move they will redevelop the existing site in a manner that meets the needs of the community, tonight we supported the proposed land transfer legislation,” Cardin and Van Hollen said. "We have always supported the District’s effort to control its own land, and through regional discussions and cooperation, our concerns with this proposal have been addressed.”

The team has played games in Maryland since 1997 and practices in Ashburn, Virginia, not far from Dulles International Airport.

A return to the district would be another victory for Bowser, who on Thursday celebrated the start of an $800 million downtown arena renovation that is keeping the NBA's Wizards and NHL's Capitals in town. At that news conference, she took aim at Musk for sharing incorrect information on X, formerly Twitter, about taxpayers footing the bill for a new stadium.

“It was stated that the (continuing resolution) contains $3 billion for a stadium,” Bowser said. "All wrong. There are no federal dollars related to the transfer of RFK, and in fact the legislation does not require or link at all to a stadium. We’re talking about how the District can invest in removing blight.”

Musk reshared an inaccurate post saying: “Buried in the 1,547-page omnibus bill is a provision to facilitate a $3 billion NFL stadium in Washington, D.C." with the message, “This should not be funded by your tax dollars!”

The bill specifically prohibits the use of federal funds for a stadium on the site, “including training facilities, offices, and other structures necessary to support a stadium.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

FILE - A vehicle pushes up pikes of snow after trucks dump their loads of snow in the parking lots of RFK Stadium in Washington, Monday, Jan. 25, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)