milan fashion week

At Milan Fashion Week, the men of Dolce & Gabbana have a history of sending powerful-looking women down the runways. Whether it's with heavy contouring, royal-inspired headdresses, or bold eyebrows, the beauty look for the Italian luxury brand is almost a perfect blend of strength and femininity. In honor of its show later today in Milan, click through to see 11 of the most memorable beauty looks from Dolce & Gabbana's runways.

Peter Dundas's Emilio Pucci girl is always sexy, but this season, the designer kicked it up a notch. Minidresses and thigh-high boots (not to mention the models' Penelope Tree bangs) felt coquettishly '60s, while lace insets, keyhole cutouts, and sheer panels delivered plenty of peekaboo appeal. But these weren't just clothes meant for dance parties and evening soirees: there were also plenty of everyday pieces, too. Among the best of those were chubby coats in fur and wool, as well as some dynamite capes and printed silk blouses.

With Jil Sander back at her namesake label and Raf Simons settled in at Dior, doesn't it feel like the forces of minimalism just can't be stopped? Sander's Fall 2013 collection, shown Saturday in Milan, certainly made a strong case for that, anyway. Read on for more.

The rocker girl has found stylish asylum in Milan, and the Emilio Pucci Fall 2013 collection has supplied her with the latest way to dress with equal parts attitude and sex appeal. From the models' straight-across bangs á la Marianne Faithfull to the knockout thigh-boots, designer Peter Dundas crafted a '70s-inspired lineup rife with the label's signature deco prints, colorful furs, and animal prints. The wilder accents, like tasseled purses, wide waist belts, and ultra-embellished tops, were countered with subtler details, like sweet polka-dot netting and silky bow ties. Babydoll dresses, complete with keyhole cutouts, and leather hot pants provided the daytime glamour, while shimmery gold and sheer black minis were sent out as flashier evening options. As for the front-row fodder? While singer Rita Ora was in attendance — she wore Pucci exclusively on her tour — we can't help but think another singer (ahem, Beyoncé) might be interested in these wares. Click through now for a complete look at the Emilio Pucci Fall '13 collection.

Is the Roberto Cavalli woman getting tougher? For all the metal embellishments, the pointed shoulders, and the buttoned-up feeling of his Fall 2013 collection — there were no plunging necklines or overtly sexy statements to be found — you'd think the designer was dressing very chic warriors.

Read on for more about Roberto Cavalli's Fall 2013 collection.

Thomas Maier is running a business. His Fall 2013 show for Bottega, a refined collection of wearable, salable, but undeniably interesting clothing, took its cues from '40s style and architectural construction. His penchant for artistic gestures was apparent from the word go, when Raquel Zimmerman opened the show in a black crepe coat festooned with ruffles along the shoulder, but he dialed those impulses back for most of the pieces. Most of them were pure elegance: a strong-shouldered dress in ochre fell into pleats that created a drop-waist effect, while a white shift dripping in blue beading (worn by Joan Smalls) looked as confident as it was sparkly. It's garments like these, that so seamlessly blend art and commerce, that have turned Bottega Veneta into a billion-dollar business. Who can resist them?

Roberto Cavalli conjures up a tougher kind of cool girl for Fall 2013. Instead of overt sexiness, this is a more androgynous brand of glamour, with monochromatic print on print and gowns that trade curvaceous overtures for subtle revelations of skin with sheer paneling and form-grazing — rather than form-flaunting — cuts. There's something boyish in the suiting and more modest cuts, but none of it is any less striking, any less luxe, or any less glam. Thanks to multicolored furry toppers, studs, and brocades, Cavalli's girl is just as much the rock-and-roll goddess she's always been.

Maybe it was the waves, or the bold brows and strong lips, but in every look coming down the runway at Bottega Veneta Fall 2013, you could see a little Katharine Hepburn — that brand of elegance and confidence. It also had something to do with the dresses and coats — a lineup that bore a little resemblance to '40s femininity with bold shoulders on modest dresses cut to the knee; a rich red, brown, black, and golden-yellow palette; and lace-up oxford-style heels to complete the looks. Otherwise, there are probably not too many other similarities to be made in the collection; there's more attention to structure — more modern proportional play in cocoon coats or dresses with architectural ruffles sculpted from the waist down. Working primarily in satin and silk, with only touches of leather, Tomas Maier puts the focus on movement — the artistry is in the construction, the fold of fabric, the way the garment moves. Only sometimes is the art something more obvious, like the abstract patterns and embellishment applied to the line's cream-colored sheaths.

While Missoni's designs are often bursting with color and pattern, the designer typically prefers demure makeup and no-fuss hair on the runways. From funky braids to neon-bright lip hues, reminisce on some of the top beauty looks from the Missoni runways now.