With New York and London Fashion Weeks done and dusted, editors, buyers and bloggers flocked to Milan to witness what the city’s designers had to offer.

The first major player to showcase was Gucci’s Frida Giannini. Gucci’s glam goths are responsible for the dark and dramatic look that is defining autumn winter 2012, but they are a far cry from her latest collection entitled “sharp azalea”. While many designers so far have embraced clean white and nude pallets, if Giannini has her way, spring summer is set to be a riot of high-octane colour.

The show started with a number of fuchsia pink ensembles; a retro belted coat; a bell-sleeved pant suit and a turtle neck mini dress. As the show continued, a smorgasbord of cerulean, mint and lemon outfits proved that there is still a lot more up Giannini’s sleeve. Unlike the typical Gucci collections with sexy plunge necklines and thigh high splits, this time around it was all about 60s inspired palm prints, tunics over trousers and flared sleeves, modernised by some eye-catching chocker neck pieces.

The first half of the show was dominated by exaggerated ruffles and impeccable detailing. Things got more subdued towards the end with the introduction of some slinky snakeskin mini dresses, sleek black dresses and finally a voluminous v-neck white maxi dress worn by Anja Rubik, reminding us of that sexy aesthetic that Gucci does so well.

Giannini has been at the helm of Gucci since 2006 and continues to breathe new life into the fashion house each season. See below for her last four ready to wear collections and it is clear to see how her designs are influencing the fashion industry.

Next up was Alberta Ferretti who presented beautiful, ethereal dresses that could easily have walked straight off the catwalk onto the red carpet. 

This collection brought the Little Mermaid to life; shimmering oyster pinks, intricate beading inspired by barnacles and organza sea foam dresses cascaded down the catwalk to a background video of mellow waves and bubbles.

Also seen were lady like and sophisticated draped pencil skirts, tulle peplums and beaded fringing. Models wearing frothy cap sleeved dresses and satin pants floated down the runway before the introduction of sea-weed inspired appliqué and a dramatic black gown worthy of Ursula the Sea Witch.

Sheer evening gowns and periwinkle blue pants continued on models with slicked back wet hair and bronzed, sun-kissed limbs. Shimmering turquoise mini dresses were then re introduced, looking as if they were waves catching the sunlight at the surface.

Then came the evening gowns in organza and chiffon which appeared as if they were trapped under embellished fisher man’s nets.

As awards season stars next week with the Emmy Awards taking place this Sunday, I doubt it will be long before one of these shimmering gowns is spotted on the red carpet.