At the end of last season, Anna Wintour made a plea for briefer European fashion weeks. Predictably, Paris told her where to go, but Milan has attempted to do what she asked. Wintour’s argument is that only the big names are of real interest and fashion weeks are cluttered with worthy but boring designers. They have their place, but it isn’t on an international catwalk. After all, who do you really care about — Mila Schön or Gucci? Krizia or Cavalli?

So, let’s start with Gucci, where Frida Giannini presented her first collection. Time has finally been called on the legacy of Tom Ford, and this collection replaced his high-octane sex with something simpler and longer-lasting. No more rich-bitch flash: instead, a gentler, more realistic approach to femininity. Influenced by 1940s shapes, colours and patterns, these were dresses that could have been worn by the young Lauren Bacall, but were more modern than anything seen at Gucci since Ford’s fall from grace.

The same gentle mood reigned at Burberry Prorsum, where Christopher Bailey produced a collection so English and seemly that Jane Austen would have been beaming. There was nothing startlingly new; instead, he concentrated on developing earlier statements about English upper-class taste. Capes, big brass buttons, skinny knits belted over print dresses, together with marvellously subtle colour combinations — mustard, coffee, brown and navy, spiced with pistachio and lime — made for one of the most beautiful collections in Milan.

Marni also opted for consolidation, giving us its trademark one-size-too-small belted coats, worn over dresses with deep hems in contrasting colours. Understated and simple, these clothes are gentle, modern and totally accessible. Still, both Marni and Burberry need to move forward again next season.

This approach to femininity, which puts overt sexuality on the back burner, was a key part of the mood in Milan. We saw it at Alberta Ferretti, where the Greek pleats of last season were given an Arts and Crafts feel. This youthful, yet whimsical, elegance is a hard look to pull off, but Ferretti does it without compromising her vision.

A vision that is becoming static is that of Jil Sander. It is the label’s second season without a designer, and the strain is beginning to show. Putting rows of false pockets on clothes that stem from one of modern design’s purist sensibilities doesn’t move anything forward, any more than adding trellis to the bodywork of a Bentley might. It is abundantly clear that the Jil Sander label is overdue for the input of Raf Simons, who joins as designer next season.

So much for the puritans. What about the cavaliers who give Milan its unique fashion profile? These are the designs for wannabe footballers’ wives, for the ones who couldn’t care less about taste as long as their clothes pack a punch. Cavalli is king with these gals, and this year, his collection was one of the cleverest in Milan. Beverly Hills-inspired, the usual lampshade frills were joined by black-and-white gingham, diaphanous Berber stripes and full-skirted evening dresses split up the front to reveal hot pants. It was a show of controlled exuberance, pulsating with pace.

Sadly, DSquared, a label that once matched Cavalli in energy, is flagging. The brothers behind it have been in love with the Wild West for too long — we’ve had enough hipster jeans and leather chaps to last us for years. It’s time to change the record.

That is what Donatella Versace has done. Taking her inspiration from Palm Springs and the confident lifestyle it suggests, she kept her usual figure-emphasising shapes, but made them softer and more romantic. Out go lime and shocking pink, in come smoky brown, blue and — can you believe it? — beige. The result is an elegant sexiness that has put Donatella up there with Milan’s frontrunners.

Way ahead of them all is Miuccia Prada, who produced the one really good collection of the week — and one of her best. Giving us her unique brand of decorative minimalism, she was at her chic, subtle peak. Using elements as disparate as an overscale man’s shirt minus collar, gathered and sheared yokes on coats, and asymmetrical accordion pleats, she created a collection as elegant as it was personal. Nobody else in Milan produced anything so coherent and prophetic. Her mastery of this city is total. No wonder press and buyers fawn at her feet.

All of which made the disappointment at Dolce & Gabbana even harder to accept. Celebrating 20 fantastically creative years, their show should have been the high point. Sadly, it was the opposite: a riot of crude colours, ugly shapes and fussy detailing. Let’s hope this season was nothing more than an aberrant glitch in a superb career, and that Dolce & Gabbana will be back up to speed next time. It isn’t only Milan that needs them: the whole fashion world looks to them for the audacity, wit and glamour that made them world leaders, a position I hope they will hold for many years to come.

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