Fendi lets sun shine on post-Lagerfeld era, glancing back

A naïve streak is running through the collections on preview during Milan Fashion Week — with a return to simpler times, yesteryear prints and patterns and unfussy silhouettes.

Checked gingham is making a comeback, while crushed velvet is making inroads into the summertime wardrobe as fashion takes comfort in nostalgia. Raffia bags and weave details also are on display.

Highlights from Thursday previews for Spring/Summer 2020 womenswear collections:

Model Bella Hadid wears a creation as part of the Fendi Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

THE SUN SHINING ON FENDI

Fendi seemed to have an atavistic, perhaps artistic, need to return to the brand's ready-to-wear roots in the mid-1960s to confront the first collection since the loss of Karl Lagerfeld, the brand's founding womenswear designer from 1965 until his death last February.

The new collection by Silvia Venturini Fendi drew on easy 1960s mom styles, like quilted jackets and matching mini-skirts, garden floral cropped raincoat and skirt and easy-to-wear terry-cloth skirts and canvas jackets. Woven bags and matching woven sweaters had a nostalgic, almost naïve feel, countered by a plunging V-line and translucent print mini or matching macrame weave skirts.

Models wear creations as part of the Fendi Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

Florals and gardening references tied in neatly with the menswear Spring/Summer 2020 collection previewed last June in Milan. A series in golden honey yellow and brown gave a down-to-earth buzz to a checked fur coat, or gingham dress with short-sleeved fur in matching trim. For the queen bee, there was a fur-check intarsia coat, with sheer checked skirt and a cropped marigold knit top. The look finished with bug-eye glasses, fastened with a librarian eyeglass chain bearing the double FF logo, and large brim prairie bonnets.

The 1969 hit "The Age of Aquarius" played throughout the show, setting an optimistic tone for Fendi's debut collection flying as the solo headliner. And she took her bows standing in front of the image of a rising orange sun to the companion melody "Let the Sunshine In."

THE LIGHTNESS OF EMPORIO ARMANI

A model wears a creation as part of the Fendi Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

Giorgio Armani says he wanted to dress his Emporio Armani woman in air. He just about succeeds.

The Spring/Summer 2020 collection was a study of lightness and movement, softness in materials, silhouette and color palette.

"It is difficult to define beauty," the designer said after the show. "There are many women who can be beautiful in their own way. Once there was the beauty of the woman with the cigarette. Today women can be different, differently beautiful."

A model wears a creation as part of the Fendi Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

Opening the show and setting the tone, an airy trench floated over a transparent pink top and gray crushed velvet trousers, anchored by an urban pill-box crossbody bag.

The youthful-dressing Emporio Armani woman can show some skin in a velvet bra-top and matching trousers, unified with a double-breasted pink blazer. A wide-trouser jumpsuit in denim blue had a hippie feel with a cropped crushed velvet jacket. Tulle tops danced over silky trousers, accented by a tangle of beads. By nightfall, a silvery mood descended with a metallic sheen on organza trousers and gathered zipper jackets, accented by chain-mail earrings and breast-plates recalling the 1970s disco era. Footwear included pointy flat mules, high-top sneakers and knee-high military boots.

"There's a need for air, attention to nature and, most of all not, to be swept away by the vortex of novelty that sometimes can be too intellectual, other times too basic and yet other times suffer an excess of eclecticism," Armani said. "Let's return to being more normal, thinking of the men and women who live around us."

A model wears a creation as part of the Fendi Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

I SPY MAX MARA

Max Mara pays tribute to the under-represented female spy in the latest collection, taking a cue from British feminist writer Natasha Walter who reasons "fiction needs more female spies. After all, women are trained to keep secrets."

The secret of the Max Mara Spring/Summer 2020 collection was discipline. The looks had a military appeal, balanced with silky flowing femininity.

A model wears a creation as part of the Fendi Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

The centerpiece look was Bermuda shorts, tailored shirts and matching monochrome ties, worn with matching sheer knee socks and pumps. The all-black version was nearly martial in its impact, while a series in pastels softened the impact considerably. Taking the feminine counterpoint were a series of silky skirts in sexy diagonal tiers worn with billed caps and knee-high boots, all in trademark monochromes of pastel.

Mixing it up with some prints, the collection also paired masculine Prince of Wales jackets with feminine paisley dresses, and a silky polka-dot series had a tromp-l'oeil catch-me-if-you-can effect. The looks were styled with tight twin braids and dark lipstick — contrasting innocence with a femme fatale touch.

Top runway models Candice Swanepoel, Gigi Hadid and Doutzen Kroes opened the show as a Charlie's Angels trio in Sherlock Holmes gray, made sleek with tight silhouettes accented by zipped pockets and cinched waists. Joan Smalls and Kaia Gerber joined Hadid and her sister Bella Hadid in the closing look of silky sheaths with tiered detailing and military caps. The four clasped hands as they walked backstage.

A model wears a creation as part of the Fendi Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

A model wears a creation as part of the Fendi Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

Model Bella Hadid wears a creation as part of the Fendi Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

A model wears a creation as part of the Fendi Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

A model wears a creation as part of the Emporio Armani Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoAntonio Calanni)

A model wears a creation as part of the Emporio Armani Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoAntonio Calanni)

A model wears a creation as part of the Emporio Armani Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoAntonio Calanni)

Models wear creations as part of the Emporio Armani Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoAntonio Calanni)

A model wears a creation as part of the Emporio Armani Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoAntonio Calanni)

A model wears a creation as part of the Emporio Armani Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoAntonio Calanni)

A model wears a creation as part of the Emporio Armani Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoAntonio Calanni)

A model wears a creation as part of the Emporio Armani Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoAntonio Calanni)

Designer Giorgio Armani accepts applause at the conclusion of the Emporio Armani Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoAntonio Calanni)

Models Joan Smalls, from front left, Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid and Kaia Gerber wear creations with other models as part of the Max Mara Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

Model Faretta wears a creation as part of the Max Mara Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

A model wears a creation as part of the Max Mara Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

Models are photographed backstage prior to the Max Mara Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

Models Candice Swanepoel, left, and Doutzen Kroes are photographed backstage prior to the Max Mara Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

Models Candice Swanepoel, from left, Gigi Hadid and Doutzen Kroes wear creations as part of the Max Mara Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

Model Kaia Gerber wears a creation as part of the Max Mara Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

Model Kaia Gerber wears a creation as part of the Max Mara Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

Model Gigi Hadid wears a creation as part of the Max Mara Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)

BEIRUT (AP) — The European Union announced Thursday an aid package for Lebanon of 1 billion euros — about $1.06 billion — much of which will go to boost border control to halt the flow of asylum seekers and migrants from the small, crisis-wracked country across the Mediterranean Sea to Cyprus and Italy.

The deal follows other EU aid packages for countries such as Egypt, Tunisia and Mauritania to fortify their borders. It comes against a backdrop of increasing hostility toward Syrian refugees in Lebanon and a major surge in irregular migration of Syrian refugees from Lebanon to Cyprus.

European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during a Beirut visit with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides that the aid distribution will start this year and last till 2027.

The bulk of the aid — 736 million euros — would go to support Syrian refugees “and other vulnerable groups” in Lebanon, while 200 million euros are meant to bolster Lebanese security services in enforcing border and migration control, according to figures provided by the Cypriot government.

An unspecified amount would go to Lebanese fishermen, to discourage them from selling their boats to smugglers.

Von der Leyen said the EU will also work on a “more structured approach to voluntary return" of Syrian refugees "in close cooperation with” the U.N. refugee agency. The bloc will continue to maintain “legal pathways” for resettlement of refugees in Europe, she said.

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati praised the package, saying that “Lebanon’s security is security for European countries and vice versa,” and that an escalation of the crisis ”will not be limited to Lebanon but will extend to Europe."

Lebanon, which has been in the throes of a severe financial crisis since 2019, hosts nearly 780,000 registered Syrian refugees and hundreds of thousands more who are unregistered, the world's highest refugee population per capita.

Lebanese political officials have for years urged the international community to resettle the refugees in other countries or assist their return to Syria — voluntarily or not. Lebanese security forces have stepped up deportations of Syrians over the past year.

Tensions further flared after an official with the Christian nationalist Lebanese Forces party, Pascal Suleiman, was killed last month in what military officials said was a botched carjacking by a Syrian gang. The incident prompted outbreaks of anti-Syrian violence by vigilante groups.

Meanwhile, Cypriot authorities complain the island nation has been overwhelmed by irregular migration of Syrian asylum seekers, many of them coming on boats from Lebanon.

The UNHCR in Lebanon said it had verified 59 “actual or attempted” departures by boats carrying a total of 3,191 passengers from Lebanon between January and mid-April, compared to three documented boat movements carrying 54 passengers in the same period last year. Usually, few boats attempt the much more dangerous crossing in the winter. In all of 2023, UNHCR recorded 65 boat departures carrying 3,927 passengers.

Cyprus has taken a new approach to halting the flow of migrants. Last month, it suspended processing of Syrian asylum applications, and human rights groups accused the Cypriot coast guard of forcibly turning back five boats carrying about 500 asylum seekers coming from Lebanon. Cypriot officials have denied this.

Bassel al-Shayoukh, a Syrian refugee from Idlib living in Lebanon since 2014, said his brother and several cousins and nephews were on one of the boats turned back. Now he wants to make the journey himself.

“In the beginning I thought that in a year or two the war would be over in Syria,” he said, but it dragged on, while in Lebanon “every year ... the situation began to get worse.”

Shayoukh said he fears being beaten by vigilantes or deported to Syria after Lebanese authorities declined to renew his residency permit.

His 17-year-old nephew, who declined to give his name fearing for his safety, said the Cypriot coast guard started making waves to push the boat he was on away. “I was terrified... I don’t know how to swim,” he said. “I thought we were going to die.”

The people on the boats “stayed three days without food or water” before turning back to Lebanon, the teen added.

Back in Lebanon, they were detained by the army; those registered with UNHCR were released and the others deported.

Mohammed Sablouh, a Lebanese human rights lawyer who works on refugee and migrant cases, says Lebanese authorities are deliberately “turning a blind eye" to the surge in migration to "pressure the international community.”

The Lebanese army did not respond to a request for comment on their measures to combat smuggling.

Thursday's aid announcement comes ahead of the annual fundraising conference for the Syrian crisis in Brussels later this month. After 13 years of civil war, donor fatigue has set in while the world’s attention is occupied by the humanitarian fallout of more recent conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

The Cypriot president said Thursday was a “historic day” and called for European officials to go farther and declare some areas of Syria safe for return.

“The current situation is not sustainable for Lebanon. It is not sustainable for Cyprus, it is not sustainable for the European Union,” Christodoulides said.

But not all Lebanese officials are convinced the European aid would solve the problem.

Lebanese Forces party head Samir Geagea told The Associated Press earlier this week that European authorities are mainly concerned “that the refugees don’t go to Europe."

"For us the problem is that we cannot have our country drowning in illegal Syrian refugees,” Geagea said, urging for Syrians to be sent back to either government or opposition-held areas of the neighboring country.

But Shayoukh says he has nowhere to go.

The Damascus government wants him for opposing Syrian President Bashar Assad, he said, while the Islamist group that now controls his hometown behaves "the same way as the regime’s intelligence services” in crushing dissidents.

Associated Press writer Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s global migration coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/migration

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, center, speaks during his meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, center, speaks during his meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, center, welcomes Cyprus' president Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen before their meeting at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, center, Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen pose for photograph at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, right, welcomes Cyprus' president Nikos Christodoulides before their meeting at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, center, review an honor guard upon their arrival to meet with the Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, center, speaks during his meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, center, welcomes Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides, left, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)