MILAN (AP) — A plethora of ribbons and ruffles signaled an air of romance in Milan this fashion season, but not all the references were strictly aesthetic.

There also was a nostalgic notion of connecting with the past, either stylistically or by challenging expectations of how that is done.

Some highlights Sunday from previews for next fall and winter womenswear collections during the fifth day of Milan Fashion Week.

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CINDERELLA THE PRINCESS COMES TO LIFE

Dolce&Gabbana have turned fairytale conventions on their head: their woman is both a princess and prince.

For a world where dreams do come true, designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana created an updated version of Cinderella's blue dress, this one a simple cut covered with silvery and crystal beads, with princess short sleeves but without the scalloped layers of skirts from storybook illustrations.

It wouldn't be giving the end away to say the slippers were transparent. The model was also accompanied by her wishful washerwoman self, wearing a short silken dress with her sewing mice.

Then the designers suggested the Dolce&Gabbana woman is her own prince, creating short Bolero jackets with military details and pants that just cover the knees with stripes down the side. Those looks were finished with military boots.

There was also a plethora of black dresses, including one sexy ruched dress that epitomized the brand, though it may be reaching to say they were for the requisite evil queen. The designers also made oversized furry coats in big shimmering stripes of silver and gold or covered with floral appliques.

The fairytale is one of the fashion world's most obvious references, and the designers turned it around by focusing on a new generation of princesses who they described as "individuals first and foremost."

But they couldn't resist a happy ending: The finale was a flourish of pretty fuchsia, pink and silver beaded and crystal dresses.

EMBELLISHMENTS AS SPORT

Marni creative director Conseulo Castiglioni's outerwear is nearly puritanical in its strictness while the house's short dresses are adorned with big embellishments like oversized translucent sequins and big buttons. The dichotomy suggests a public vs. private identity: solemn on the outside while a party rages within.

Archway hemline cutouts contributed to the solemnity of the capes and coats in neutral tones, while puffy sleeves added a romantic touch and demonstrated the collection's exaggerated proportions. The sleeves, which were detachable with button or ribbon closures, grew more audacious as they were enhanced by geometric patterns.

Ribbed shirts with athletic stripes gave a sporty touch and were tucked into high-wasted pants or skirts with a ruffle on top and big pockets. Decorative dresses, meanwhile, were short and decorated with big colorful sequins or cut out of Marni's trademark prints, including florals, crystalline color blocks and blurred Venetian harlequin patterns.

Castiglioni, who built her fashion house out of a family fur business, included no full furs in the runway show, just a mini-cape and a contrast fur collar. Pointy pumps and boots were built on sculpted, metallic heels, some formed like crystals, others like waves.

UNMASKING ONE'S FASHION IDENTITY

Designer Stella Jean probed our notions of identity and culture in a new collection that examined Western portraiture and sub-Saharan African masks as ways to recall our ancestors.

The looks mixed tribal motifs and prints with European tailoring and textiles as the Italian-Haitian designer continued to build fashion bridges between the developed and the developing worlds. She also deepened her study of cross-culturalism by taking Western references of masks interpreted by Modigliani, Giacometti and Picasso.

Graphic tribal images were applied like breastplates on silken tunics, worn over a straight skirt with alternating triangular patterns, while a sweater with the image of a mask opened onto a ruffled blouse, worn with a skirt of Peruvian prints. On the other side of the equation, an exaggerated Flemish-inspired collar graced a simple cinch-waist dress worn over a longer, flowing silken patterned skirt.

Handbags included doctor bags with portraits of old Europeans or made-in-Haiti plastic clutches embellished with masks and feathery tufts. Footwear included ankle booties and sandals, for which there were clear plastic galoshes.

The Milan Gospel group Soul Voices sang background music for the show, which also had an environmental footnote. Some of the textiles were made from recycled industrial cast-offs.