PAUSE Highlights: The Best Shows From Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2026

Milan Fashion Week always delivers a captivating glimpse into the future of menswear, and the Spring/Summer 2026 collections were no exception. From Prada’s innovative “no concept” approach to Dolce & Gabbana’s embrace of the pajama, designers redefined modern masculinity with fresh perspectives. Saul Nash explored intimacy through movement, while PDF delved into themes of freedom and self-expression. While this season wasn’t the busiest one for Milan, there were many standout moments. PAUSE dives into the highlights of the season that you might missed.

Saul Nash’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection, “EMBRACE,” explored themes of gesture, intimacy, and human connection at Milan Fashion Week. The London-based designer continued his focus on movement, blending sportswear, tailoring, and military wear with a sensual touch, explaining that the collection examined interaction through the interplay of firm and soft fabrics.

The designs were crafted to move with the body, blurring the lines between structure and softness. Key pieces included military-inspired flight jackets with kinetic cuts and trousers with adjustable waist closures. In contrast, Bemberg boxy cupro shirts draped elegantly, and hooded sports jerseys incorporated draped mesh, softening masculine shapes. The colour palette featured gentle greys, purples, and pale yellows, while hand prints on compression tops and intertwined figures on denim twinsets visually depicted the idea of an embrace.

For Spring/Summer 2026, Dolce & Gabbana introduced “Pyjama Boys,” redefining modern masculinity by making the pajama an unexpected hero. This collection was a thoughtful nod to the house’s 90s archives and core identity, reinterpreted with a relaxed yet impeccably tailored feel that aligns perfectly with today’s comfort-focused daywear.

Crafted from airy cotton jacquard with subtle stripes, these pajamas moved beyond nighttime wear, embodying a chic, effortlessly crumpled look. The palette was refined, with beige, cream, light blue, green, brown, and black, playfully punctuated by polka dots and leopard print. Silhouettes were loose and deconstructed, featuring wide-leg trousers, oversized shirts, soft tailoring, and 80s-inspired leather pieces, all offering a fresh, relaxed take on masculinity.

Fiorucci’s new collection, “Piazza Fiorucci,” created an imaginary space where desire and irony reshape the body. The collection unfolds as an expansive fashion installation, a self-contained, illogical universe that draws inspiration from Milan’s Via Paolo Sarpi. Artifice is key; nothing is meant to appear natural. Instead, everything is deliberately exaggerated, as if seen through the eyes of an aesthetic child, reinterpreting the world with a free, absurd, and brilliant visual logic resulting in a fresh, dynamic collection with relaxed silhouettes and playful touches.

For Spring/Summer 2026 menswear, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons presented a refreshing shift at Milan Fashion Week. They called it “a change of tone,” softening the usually stark Prada Foundation with unexpected flower-shaped rugs. This provided a gentle backdrop for a collection that took classic pieces and interpreted with a “no concept”

Moving away from muted colours, Prada embraced a vibrant palette of apple green, canary yellow, bright red, and vivid pink. While trench coats and military-inspired jackets were present, the standout items were the mini bloomer shorts. These slightly puffed, versatile shorts are set to be a summer essential, offering both comfort and a touch of defiance. Chic joggers and the return of signature turtlenecks also featured, contributing to the collection’s overall effortless and light silhouettes.

Prada also unveiled a range of accessories poised to influence summer trends. Beyond updated boat loafers and cut-out black leather loafers, the collection brought back men’s flip-flops and new silhouettes in soft colors. Hiking bags and backpacks sparked a desire for travel, However, the undisputed star accessory was the oversized straw hat. Offered in both refined and raw versions, its generous size added a bold, unapologetic seaside vibe to the entire collection.

Domenico Formichetti presented PDF’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection, “FREE-DOM,” at Milan Fashion Week, drawing inspiration from his personal feeling that “sometimes my mind feels like a cage.” The young designer, known for his bold designs, channeled this sense of confinement into a powerful expression of liberation.

The show took place in a stark prison yard, where models paced within a cage, symbolizing the designer’s “trapped thoughts, doubts, and desires.” Formichetti explained that creation is his escape, and that the collection aims to break down internal boundaries. Vibrant colours now appeared on sharper silhouettes, complemented by tonal textures and refined footwear, while a diverse community of cultural disruptors walked the runway, embodying the collection’s theme: “release as a communal act.”

Simon Holloway’s Dunhill Men’s Spring 2026 collection drew inspiration from an eclectic mood board, featuring British royalty like the Duke of Windsor alongside rock icons such as Bryan Ferry. This blend led to a show that felt both current and approachable, set in a private garden where even a charming Weimaraner made an appearance.

The collection was effortlessly appealing, showcasing handsome driving jackets and trenches. The clothes felt modern and more accessible than usual, with repp ties subtly askew and baseball capsadding an irreverent touch to suits. Holloway described it as “the formal undone, the classic made rakish,” a story of impeccable menswear worn in both highly coded and carefree ways, culminating in a striking silk and wool smoking jacket worn with two majestic Russian Hunting Sighthounds.