Donatella Versace is not known for subtlety. So it was no surprise to see that the designer incorporated one of spring ’19’s already buzzing trends — neon — into her Friday night show at Milan Fashion Week.

The highlighter colors came in everything from evening gowns and top-handle bags all the way down to the shoes, many of which included a massive block heel that audibly clomped down the runway. Most of the neons were shown in a yellow (a hue Versace also used in her plaid-themed, Clueless-reminiscent fall ’18 collection), though there were also flashes of turquoise, lime green and orange, the last of which came in a patent-leather knee boot that seemed almost candy coated.


Other candy-like shoes came in the form of ankle-strap sandals with the same oversized block heel: Kaia Gerber walked the runway in a yellow version that came embellished with pastel dots resembling candy buttons.


The collection was not without a sneaker, but the most interesting athletic shoe was a chunky sandal with three velcro straps on the upper and a thick sneaker-like sole that used the chain motif the brand introduced earlier this year.

Ready-to-wear, meanwhile, featured many of Versace’s outrageous prints, updated to fit the neon color palette. The future — clearly — is bright for Versace.


