Milan Fashion Week SS27: The First September Without Him

Milan's September schedule has a shape that no amount of programming can soften. Giorgio Armani died on 4 September 2025, aged 91. The Armani show on 27 September falls just after the first anniversary — and it will be the first September collection the house has ever presented without him.

The Dates

Tuesday 22 to Monday 28 September 2026, per the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana. Sixty shows in total: 54 in person and 6 digital, with all presentations on the final day digital. Prada opens on the 22nd; Banke Kuku closes digitally on the 28th.

Armani Without Armani

Silvana Armani, the founder's niece, has taken on womenswear creative direction; her first collection was AW26, shown in March. The 27 September show is her first September outing in the role, and the first anniversary of his death falls three weeks before it.

One thing to disregard entirely: the story that Hedi Slimane was heading to Armani. It was rumour, sourced to a fashion insider in October 2025, never confirmed by the house, and comprehensively overtaken by Silvana Armani actually designing the collections.

Moschino's New Pair

Loris Messina and Simone Rizzo, formerly of Sunnei, present their first Moschino collection on 25 September. A two-person creative directorship at a house built on one man's sense of humour is a genuinely open question, and it is the schedule's most unpredictable slot.

The Absence

Versace is not on the calendar. Pieter Mulier left Alaïa to become the house's chief creative officer, and his debut is set for early 2027 rather than this season. It is a story about an absence, and worth being precise about — Versace has not been dropped from Milan, it is simply between designers in public. Boss is also absent.

Day by Day

• 22 Sept: Prada, Diesel, Dhruv Kapoor
• 23 Sept: Fendi, Jil Sander, Missoni, Etro, MM6 Maison Margiela, Antonio Marras
• 24 Sept: Max Mara, Marni, Alberta Ferretti, Roberto Cavalli, Emporio Armani
• 25 Sept: Gucci, Tod's, Sportmax, Blumarine, Moschino
• 26 Sept: Bottega Veneta, Ferragamo, Dolce&Gabbana, MSGM, Ermanno Scervino
• 27 Sept: Giorgio Armani, Marques'Almeida, Miguel Vieira, Milano Moda Graduate

Two Portuguese labels make their calendar debut on the 27th — Marques'Almeida and Miguel Vieira — which is a quiet but real widening of who gets to show in Milan.

What to Actually Watch

Two of the four shows worth structuring a week around are Gucci and Max Mara, both of which shot their bolt in extraordinary fashion earlier this year — Demna with his first Gucci runway in February, Ian Griffiths with the Shanghai anniversary show in June. September will show whether either was a one-off.

Milan's final day overlaps with Paris's opening day — a scheduling collision that happens most seasons and irritates everybody every time.

No Irish designer appears on the Milan SS27 calendar.

Hero photograph by fation hyso on Unsplash.