Madonna, metallics and mayonnaise: Standout trends and moments from the spring/summer fashion week runways

From trench coats and bomber jackets to the Wu-Tang Clan and animal-shaped beanbags, shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris were certainly creative

Madonna at Dolce & Gabbana spring/summer 2025 show during Milan Fashion Week. AP Photo

The big four fashion weeks for spring/summer 2025 – in New York, London, Milan and Paris – concluded on Tuesday, meaning that next season's trends have been revealed. They are as varied as the cities and brands that have championed them. Hip-hop roots, playing with drapery and pretty ties are just some of the style cues laid out for the season ahead.

Amid tough metallics and truly unique headwear, there is a softer, more feminine take, seen via floral motifs and exaggerated silhouettes. From molten metals and padded hips to a new version of outerwear, here are the best, most fashionable takeaways from the recent runway shows – and some celebrity guests and wacky moments of note.

Corsets and cutouts

Tightly laced torsos appeared at Schiaparelli, with models squeezed into corsets, while Dolce & Gabbana reprised its famous satin corsetry of the 1990s. Victoria Beckham nodded to the idea with high-cut swimwear worn under trousers, while Ganni wrapped bodies in sashes that felt like obis.

Feathers and ruffles

Feathers and ruffles appeared as rounded looks this season, with Alexander McQueen sending out an egg-shaped coat made from ostrich feathers and Stella McCartney offering a vegan alternative as a bubble dress that looked like it was spun from candy floss. Chanel, meanwhile, presented a chic alternative: a dress given elegant volume via tiered fringing.

Bomber jackets

The bomber is a wardrobe fail-safe – perfect for toughing up a dress or adding attitude to a trousered look – but this season gave it a new focus. This was best seen at Louis Vuitton, which added a dash of sensuality with a peplum hem and rounded sleeves. Miu Miu, meanwhile, shrunk it down to micro proportions.

New bohemia

Languid and laid-back was the beautiful mood captured at Chloe, with fluid fabrics, flowers and lace. This was echoed at Chanel via a maxi dress finished with a pretty black ribbon. At Zimmermann, there were more florals, plus tops, skirts and dresses finished with rippling hems, while at Valentino it was a mood of elevated, exquisite hippydom.

Hard vs soft

A big moment across the runways has been the juxtaposition of hard against soft. Dior perfectly caught the mood when it opened its show with Italian archer and artist Sagg Napoli shooting arrows down the runway, demonstrating the hard and soft side of modern womanhood.

Rabanne mixed metallic panels with sheer, floaty chiffon, while Balmain snatched in waists with metal belts about the width of a hand. Versace, meanwhile, moulded second-skin dresses from metal links and covered them with flowers.

High shine

High gloss, metals and mirror finishes were huge across the four fashion weeks. At Prada, there were plenty of polished looks, while Bottega Veneta crafted molten metal-esque into slip dresses. Burberry embraced metallic sequins. Erdem looked to pearlescent finishing on skirts, and Saint Laurent used metallised jacquard cut into boxy jackets.

Power of the trench

A seasonless classic, the trench is enjoying a Milanese renaissance with the likes of Gucci, Tod's, Dolce & Gabbana, Ferragamo and Roberto Cavalli all sending versions down the runway. Over in Paris, Hermes also offered its own take, in super-soft suede.

Supersized hips

Exaggerated hips speak of historical dressing and feminine energy, and this season the trend was seized on by Loewe, Balmain and Harris Reed, each opting for supersized silhouettes held out with hoops and shape tailoring. In London, Simone Rocha created its new outline by dressing models in ballerina tutus.

Back to the 1920s

All eyes have been on Alessandro Michele and his first outing at Valentino. Showing a collection that would be familiar to fans of the designer's time at Gucci – think tiered dresses, waistcoats and wide-brimmed hats – he also drew out refinement such as elevated references to 1920s flapper dresses. Similar nods to the Roaring Twenties also cropped up at Tom Ford, Sportmax and Fendi.

Ties, bows and drapery

Be it bows around necks at Ferragamo and Acne Studios, fastenings on the hips at Schiaparelli or knotted across the chest like Alexander McQueen, there were tied elements in every guise. Running from skinny scarves to voluptuous cloth wound about the body, this pretty detail seems set to rule next season.

Celebrity guests

American designer Tommy Hilfiger invited hip-hop royalty the Wu-Tang Clan to perform at his show (held on a decommissioned Staten Island ferry), while Maison Alaia made history as the first show held at the Guggenheim Museum. The guest of honour was Rihanna, who arrived clad in silver chain mail looking like Botticelli’s Venus.

Arsenal footballer Declan Rice walked for Labrum in a show held at the Emirates Stadium, while material girl Madonna was guest of honour for the Dolce & Gabanna show, and arrived fashionably late, dressed in a floor-length lace veil and fistfuls of high jewellery.

At Loewe in Paris, two guests stole the show even before it started. Actors Daniel Craig and wife Rachel Weisz arrived wearing baggy trousers, sunglasses and zany knits that made even the wildest influencer look dull in comparison.

Bold and bizarre

Of course, what is fashion week without off-the-wall moments? This season, Chopova Lowena unveiled a shoulder bag that comes with its own spoon and jar of Hellmann’s Mayonnaise in what is perhaps fashion's most wonderful collaboration. In Milan, Bottega Veneta seated its guests on beanbags made to look like animals, meaning that A$AP Rocky’s seat resembled a chicken and Jacob Elordi spent the show perched on a giant bunny.

Over at Versace low sling-back shoes came studded with perfume bottles in lieu of heels, while at Louis Vuitton models stomped down a runway made entirely out of Vuitton trunks.

Finally, Christian Louboutin's reveal, with the help of photographer and filmmaker David LaChapelle, took over the beautiful art deco Piscine Molitor swimming pool in Paris and invited a host of synchronised swimmers to perform. Entering the pool via a slide shaped like a Louboutin shoe (what else?), they executed their performance wearing high heels. While swimming. The perfect metaphor, then, for the demands placed on the modern woman.