Milan fashion houses from Boss to Marras mute the color story for next summer

MILAN (AP) — Milan designers dipped on Wednesday into neutrals and muted tones for next summer — reflecting both a conservative streak in troubled times and a move toward thoughtful production of garments that can anchor any wardrobe.

Boss revamped its trademark suiting with a more relaxed, even deconstructed, vibe that can take men and women from day to after hours. Antonio Marras created joyous silhouettes that harkened to the 1950s, an era long depicted as fun and carefree.

Here are some highlights from runway preview shows on the second day of Milan Fashion Week of mostly womenswear for Spring-Summer 2025.

Boss designer Marco Falcioni is sending a message to the fashion universe: Get out of the office.

“Being the boss means taking time off to rest. Resting is the ultimate luxury,’’ Falcioni, senior vice president of creative direction at the German brand, said backstage.

To encourage a better work-life balance in a frenetic world, Falcioni has relaxed the business suit, subtracting shoulder pads and jacket linings, and layering generously, for a less button-down vibe.

Trousers for men were at times cut off just below the knee, and for women cuffed to a cropped length. Worried about a summer chill? Then layer with leggings. Drawstring detailing on trousers and blouses gave the garments technical functionality. Women’s jackets wrapped prettily around the middle. Flat or heeled mules finished the looks, for him and her. A neutral color palette was offset by muted shades of green and blue.

Bags were left open, to show off the utilitarian compartments within, for keys, reading glasses and pens. They could be carried alongside a leather racket case or yoga mat strap, letting the world know the workday is done.

Swing dancers and a four-piece saxophone-led band set an upbeat tone at Antonio Marras’ runway show, which featured a summery collection celebrating picture postcard destinations.

Marras took a cue from the life of Italian actress Anna Maria Pierangeli, better known as Pier Angeli, who left her native Sardinia for Hollywood, where she started a romance with James Dean, with whom she often jetted to Acapulco.

Marras’ collection is a celebration of a night out on the town, with the female silhouette defined by full skirts, tight waistlines and exaggerated shoulders. Fringe tops and skirts swayed, and layered grass skirts rustled. For men, boldly shaped suits and more casual silky Bermuda short and shirt combos featured big tropical prints

While putting on a happy front, Pierangeli craved her mother’s approval for her romance with Dean, imploring her mother to “think about Jimmy,” according to an imagined exchange included with show notes. “I adore him, and he adores me.”

Perhaps with this doomed affair in mind, Marras kept the color story mute. Still, he added beading, sequin and shimmering gold and silver accents, a sign of hope.

A model wears a creation as part of the Antonio Marras Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Designer Antonio Marras accepts applause after his Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Antonio Marras Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

Models wear creations as part of the Antonio Marras Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Antonio Marras Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Antonio Marras Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Antonio Marras Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

Models wear creations as part of the Antonio Marras Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Antonio Marras Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Antonio Marras Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

A model wears a creation as part of the Antonio Marras Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

Dancers perform during the Antonio Marras Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno).

Models wear creation sas part of the Boss Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni).

Former soccer star David Beckham attends the Boss Spring Summer 2025 fashion show, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni).

Former soccer star David Beckham attends the Boss Spring Summer 2025 fashion show, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni).

Former soccer star David Beckham attends the Boss Spring Summer 2025 fashion show, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni).

A model wears a creation as part of the Boss Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni).

Models wear creation sas part of the Boss Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni).

A model wears a creation as part of the Boss Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni).

A model wears a creation as part of the Boss Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni).

A model wears a creation as part of the Boss Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni).

Models wear creation sas part of the Boss Spring Summer 2025 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni).

BERLIN, Vt. (AP) — This fall, hundreds of the most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness in Vermont must leave state-funded motel rooms where they’ve been living as the state winds down its pandemic-era motel voucher program. The move is prompting outcry from municipal leaders and advocates who say many don't have a place to go.

The biggest exodus — about 230 households — is expected on Thursday when they reach a new 80-day limit stay in the motel rooms that the Legislature imposed starting in July. Those affected include families, people with disabilities, older individuals, those who are pregnant, and people who have experienced domestic violence or a natural disaster such as a fire or a flood.

A new 1,110-room cap on the number of motel rooms the state can use to house those people in the warmer months from April through November also kicked in Sunday. Some households who still haven't used up their 80 days have been denied rooms because there's no space, advocates say.

In the central Vermont area of the cities of Montpelier and Barre, around 100 to 140 families will be leaving motels this fall. The state estimates that about 1,000 households will be out of motels statewide, said Jen Armbrister, outreach case manager for the Good Samaritan Haven in Barre.

Shelters in the area are consistently full and advocates are racing to find housing in a state with a housing crisis that had the second highest per capita rate of homelessness in the country in 2023, according to an assessment from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“I can’t tell you how many families I’ve sat down with and said I really pray that I would never have to have this conversation with you but we don’t have any solutions,” Armbrister said. She's had to tell them that if they don’t have somewhere to go, the best she’s able to do is put them on a list to get a tent and sleeping bags. But there's nowhere nearby to camp.

The households will be eligible for motel housing again on Dec. 1 as winter sets in. But until then, some don’t know where they will live.

Nova and Bruce Jewett must leave the Hilltop Inn in Berlin on Oct. 1. Bruce Jewett, 63, is a disabled veteran who has cancer and can't camp because of a back injury.

The couple have been looking for housing but say there's none available. They're always put on hold, or told that someone else is looking at a place or that it's been rented, he said.

“It bothers me because I'm a veteran and I don't believe that veterans should be having to deal with this,” he said.

Heidi Wright, 50, must leave the Budget Inn in Barre on Sept. 28. She has seizures, as well as depression, anxiety and emphysema, and she said doctors have talked about putting in a pacemaker.

“My hands are tied ... and I don't know what I'm going to do,” she said.

People are getting desperate, said Armbrister, who met with Wright on Wednesday and told her she would do everything she can to keep her housed.

"There’s no solutions. We’re meeting as much as we possibly can with different organizations, and teams to try to figure this out but nothing’s come up yet for a solution," Armbrister said. “It’s really super sad. It’s traumatic.”

On Wednesday, leaders from more than a dozen Vermont cities and towns called on state government to do more to address the rising rate of homelessness and problems associated with it. They say local governments and service providers are left to deal with the impacts and that municipalities don't have the expertise or resources to handle them.

“Our first responders cannot keep up with the calls, our residents are reluctant to use public spaces, our limited staff are left cleaning up unsanitary messes, volunteers are exhausted, and our nonprofit partners are at a break point,” Montpelier City Manager William Fraser said in a statement.

The state has been attempting to wean itself off the hotel-motel program for a number of years now without much success, Republican Gov. Phil Scott said at his weekly news conference on Wednesday.

"It's just not sustainable on a long-term basis," he said. “It's a difficult situation. (I) understand the point of view of the municipalities as well, but we don't have the resources either and so we're in the position we're at," Scott said.

The long-term approach is trying to establish more shelters, he said, although he added that when the state set up emergency shelters last spring during another reduction to the motel program, few people used them.

While Vermont is working to create more housing, it can't come soon enough.

A shortage of apartments for rent in Vermont contributed to a tripling of the number of Vermonters experiencing homelessness between 2019 and 2023, according to a recent state housing report. City and town leaders say the number of people experiencing homelessness is more than 3,400, up from the 1,100 the state reported in 2020.

Vermont has a rental vacancy rate of just 3% statewide, and it's an estimated 1% in Chittenden County, which includes Vermont’s largest city of Burlington and is the state’s most populous county.

To meet demand, house people experiencing homelessness, normalize vacancy rates and replace homes lost through flooding and other causes, the state will need to create 24,000 to 36,000 homes between 2025 and 2029, according to the most recent Vermont Housing Needs Assessment.

Bruce and Nova Jewett, who are experiencing homelessness, sit at the Hilltop Inn in Berlin, Vt., on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, where they have been living and will have to leave by Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)

Heidi Wright, right, who is experiencing homelessness and must leave her state-funded motel room by Sept. 28, 2024, talks to Jen Armbrister, an outreach case manager for the Good Samaritan Haven in Barre, Vt., on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)

Bruce and Nova Jewett, who are experiencing homelessness, sit at the Hilltop Inn in Berlin, Vt., on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, where they have been living and will have to leave by Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)