Milan fashion week: An elegant ending

Dolce & Gabbana went back to basics. Guardian fashion editor Jess Cartner-Morley said: "The show opened with a sequence of immaculate black jackets in subtly different shapes and lengths, paired with knickers or lace shorts, and styled with simply pinned-up hair and classic black satin courts. It was a bold move which shone the spotlight on the immaculate construction and subtleties of style of the jackets." Photograph: Alberto Pellaschiar/AP Photograph: Alberto Pellaschiar/guardian.co.uk "As the collection segued into eveningwear, Dolce & Gabbana classics appeared one after another - leopardprint, black lace, red roses ..." Photograph: Max Rossi/Reuters Photograph: Max Rossi/guardian.co.uk "... a new cocktail dress shape emerged, a swathe of bright fabric, draped at the hip, with black lingerie straps at the neckline. It came first in claret velvet, then bottle green; later it became more elaborate, with panels of lace, silk and velvet; but each fabric and colour demonstrated the Dolce skill in balancing what they call “the sacred and the profane” - which roughly translates, in clothes, into the elegant and the saucy." Photograph: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Filippo Monteforte/guardian.co.uk Designer Frida Giannini described the Gucci show as "controlled opulence" Photograph: Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Christophe Simon/guardian.co.uk Jess said the collection was: "a refreshingly clean and simple vision of what Gucci stands for now, in 'house' colours of camel, cloud-grey, tobacco, chocolate, ivory and - of course - black." Photograph: Alberto Pellaschiar/AP Photograph: Alberto Pellaschiar/guardian.co.uk It was just a shame that the means by which trousers were promoted to eveningwear was, almost without exception, the addition of a fur coat Photograph: Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Christophe Simon/guardian.co.uk In contrast to the pared-down looks at Dolce & Gucci, the Versace show was all about bling Photograph: Matteo Bazzi/EPA Photograph: Matteo Bazzi/guardian.co.uk The razzle-dazzle sat rather uncomfortably with the rest of the MFW vibe Photograph: Antonio Calanni/AP Photograph: Antonio Calanni/guardian.co.uk Brightly-coloured gowns at the finale of the show Photograph: Matteo Bazzi/EPA Photograph: Matteo Bazzi/guardian.co.uk The Emporio Armani show created visual impact with pairs of models in identical or complementary outfits Photograph: Fabio Bucciarelli/Empics Entertainment Photograph: Fabio Bucciarelli/guardian.co.uk The same dress in two different colours, worn with matching accessories Photograph: Matteo Bazzi/EPA Photograph: Matteo Bazzi/guardian.co.uk The designer liked the trick so much, he repeated it in his higher-end Giorgio Armani show Photograph: Andrea Raso/Empics Entertainment Photograph: Andrea Raso/guardian.co.uk This time, the models also had matching hairpieces that resembled dreadlocks Photograph: Matteo Bazzi/EPA Photograph: Matteo Bazzi/guardian.co.uk The Moschino show began with a rather chic, secret agent look Photograph: Fabio Bucciarelli/Empics Entertainment Photograph: Fabio Bucciarelli/guardian.co.uk But this soon gave way to some less restrained outfits Photograph: Matteo Bazzi/EPA Photograph: Matteo Bazzi/guardian.co.uk Culminating in this rather bizarre ensemble Photograph: Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Christophe Simon/guardian.co.uk Jil Sander was another collection that embraced the new simplicity Photograph: Antonio Calanni/AP Photograph: Antonio Calanni/guardian.co.uk Hemlines were super-short, but sensible fabrics and scraped-back hair underlined a grown-up feel to the clothes Photograph: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Giuseppe Cacace/guardian.co.uk Roberto Cavalli , on the other hand, showed an entirely eccentric collection Photograph: Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Christophe Simon/guardian.co.uk Instead of reining himself in, he completely let loose, piling prints and fabrics on top of each other like they were going out of fashion. Which, let's face it, they probably were Photograph: Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters Photograph: Alessandro Garofalo/guardian.co.uk