String Dresses, Biker Chicks, & Glamthleisure: A Look At Milan Fashion Week

It's easy to get lost in the wild and crazy side of Milan Fashion Week: the supermodel reunions, the walking floral bouquets, the bejeweled chin straps. Not that there's anything wrong with that — we live for those fantastic moments that can only be lived at a runway show, because the fantasy level is way too high for real life — but underneath all the wonder and hoopla are real clothes. You know, ones we will get married in, ones we will go to work in, even ones that will define the year and say something about the state of our culture at that very moment.

Beyond eating all the pasta, pizza, meats and cheese platters and gelato, there was a lot to take in at Milan Fashion Week: beautiful locations, an upbeat spirit that permeated every presentation and show, and all our favorite songs that played at the shows (Suzanne Vega at Prada, Tears for Fears and Pat Benatar at No. 21, TLC at Missoni). And then, of course, there were the clothes: the throwback logos at Fendi and Max Mara, the wackadoodle multi-color string dress at Vionnet that may not even qualify as a dress but was still beautiful, the way all the girls at the Attico presentation were dripping with attitude. More importantly, almost every single show featured a truly diverse cast — from new favorite Hiandra Martinez who rocked cornrows at a couple shows, to HoYeon Jung whose Kool Aid-red hair was a real throwback to our high school days, Milan has really embraced the race issues that until recently seemed like they were only a concern in America.

When the world feels so heavy every day, Fashion Month can proof that there's still so much beauty in the world. But even more, that there is power in harnessing that beauty, whatever it may mean to you. Here's what it means to us.