The SS20 Collections To Covet

The spring/summer ’20 collections were not about attention-seeking trends or cerebral interpretations of incomprehensible themes, they were about shopping. Doesn’t sound that revolutionary, does it? Yet for years, designers haven’t necessarily put their customer first. Instead, they would give them what they wanted long before they actually knew they wanted it or, indeed, even liked it. But right now, fashion is about making sure the pieces you add to your closet each season are so beautiful and so timeless that you will want to – and can – wear them immediately and keep them forever. Designers and brands have revisited their core strengths to deliver the signature pieces they have long been loved for, whether that be the perfect trench, a little piece of summer escapism or the best-cut LBD you’ve ever slipped into.

But SS20 was also about something else we haven’t seen much of recently – clothes to have a really good time in. Dresses that demand you take them out, tops that will command attention, and bright and beautiful colors that don’t deserve to stay at home. This isn’t the season to spend hours getting ready, only to worry about the creases you’ll create if you sit at the party and end up leaving in the first half hour. Instead, go out and stay out, as many designers have ensured it will be a night (or many nights) to remember.

Alessandro Michele has been fashion’s maximalist king since he turned the Gucci house on its head when he was appointed creative director in 2015. But, for SS20, he surprised us all by stripping it back. Not to basics – let’s be clear – but by adopting a slightly less-is-more approach, he re-energized his Gucci once again. The signature color and decadence were unmistakable, but, this time, there was something more, once associated with the Gucci of old – sex appeal. Riding crops accessorized transparent black dresses, vinyl featured heavily, while seductively high slits in skirts, and tantalizingly low-cut leotards revealed acres of sleek skin. “They’re not sexy in my opinion,” Michele said. “They’re elegant.” Of course, in his hands, it couldn’t be anything but utterly desirable.

All eyes remain on Daniel Lee. Could he repeat the phenomenal success of his debut collection with his second runway collection for SS20? Well, of course he could. In fact, he served up even more pieces that racked up a waiting list just seconds after the final model exited the runway. Lee’s Bottega Veneta is true to the signatures, or “solidifying the icons” as he calls it, but he’s made the Bottega woman instantly recognizable. Powerful, though totally feminine; relevant, but not chasing a cool factor (though that has certainly chased her). His collection is a veritable must-have shopping list. The perfect leather trench coat, check; an asymmetric jersey dress so simple yet so effective, check; a nylon utility short suit that you would never have thought you wanted and now you can’t think of anything else, check. Lee is clearly enjoying reinventing the Italian house, and we are all desperate to be part of that fun.

A masterclass in craftsmanship, vision and true luxury, Jonathan Anderson’s SS20 Loewe was considered his best yet, and the bench was already set pretty high. The designer described the collection as ‘ethereal, aristocratic and poetic’, but beyond the essence of it, this is still fashion that you want to, and can, wear – exquisite lace dresses, exaggerated leather collars on exaggerated A-line coats, layered shirts that still feel pure and not overly designed, and an array of exceptional white dresses that you just want to own. You immediately know that you already own a piece of fashion history, for this is a collection that people will refer to, and lust after, for decades to come.