The third day of Milan Fashion week was utterly Italian. Moschino lived up to their ostentatious reputation, Versace was for Italian glamazons, and Iceberg and Blumarine were non apologetic regarding their over-the-top fabulousness. C’N'C Costume National endorsed the season’s sport luxe trend to capacity and Etro went against house tradition and digitised their signature paisley prints.

Moschino was a stand out today. Rosella Jardini mixed elements of Spanish Corrida with the American South West with great bravado and success. Matador jackets were superbly embellished with tiny bells that rang down the catwalk. Trousers were super slim, creating a streamlined silhouette perfect for dodging raging beasts. Elements of Navajo beading and tassels added texture to the formal palette and made the collection move away from being too costume. Injections of brilliant yellow added a flamenco spirit to the collection, especially when edged in black lace on full skirts. Dresses came in a foray of styles from embellished LBDs to ruffled wrap  dresses. Jewelery was traditionally gold for the house with the addition of crucifixes to keep one protected in the face of danger. Olé!

Just as Moschino stayed true to their house practices, so did Donatella Versace. Donatella emphasised everything she has focused on at the house of Versace. Namely the seashell starfish print, canary yellow and aqua blue pastels and gold studs on leather. The whole collection was built around dresses and three piece outfits. The three piece outfits comprised of jacket and midriff with a skirt or a top. They were matchy-matchy in a good way. As each model vamped down the runway one couldn’t help but smile at the hair styles and tans they were sporting which were completely Donatella, not to mention the fluorescent-lit runway which triggered thoughts of solarium lights. In total the collection was strong and beautiful and perfect for creating brand hype before the Versace H&M retail bomb drops.

In contrast to Moschino and Versace’s homage to tradition, Etro was quite the opposite. Veronica Etro dismissed the paisley print the house is famous for and digitised it until it was almost unrecognisable. The print however was not the core of the collection. The core was the references to 1920s. The references were achieved in a soft and feminine way with beaded flapper style gowns complete with fringing, which is becoming a micro trend detail for the season. The collection was a fresh direction for the house and one of the most ladylike and opulent interpretations of the 1920s trend so far.

If Etro was refined, Iceberg and Blumarine were the opposite. Loud and louder you could call them. Both brands capitalised on the floral trend with oversized flowers in prints and appliqués. Iceberg was more candy in their hues and worked in over sized palettes that covered silk bomber jackets and gowns. Iceberg also brought out a woven ribbon story which was fun and had a great texture. Pencil skirts and cropped trousers, the seasons musts, were featured through out and silhouettes were often balanced with a looser upper slender lower. Blumarine took it up a notch on the floral scale with high octane floral 90s collection.  Flowers came in colourful prints, as appliqués on hooded dresses, in sequins covering entire garments and bike pant bumbag cropped jacket ensembles that screamed mad. Definitely an ode to flower power love children.

Lastly we couldn’t have a day of SS12 without someone doing a sports luxe inspired collection. Today the sports luxe award goes to C’N'C Costume National. Models walked down the runway to rocking live band Avius in outfits that were accomplished from the cuts, fabrications choices and mix of colour. Tangent’s favourite take on sport luxe so far.