Abstract. We investigate the invariant metrics and complex geodesics in the universal Teichmüller space and Teichmüller space of the punctured disk using Milin's coefficient inequalities. This technique allows us to establish that all non-expanding invariant metrics in either of these spaces coincide with its intrinsic Teichmüller metric.Other applications concern the variational theory for univalent functions with quasiconformal extension. It turns out that geometric features caused by the equality of metrics and connection with complex geodesics provide deep distortion results for various classes of such functions and create new phenomena which do not appear in the classical geometric function theory.2010 Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary: 30C55, 30C62, 30C75, 30F60, 32F45; Secondary: 30F45, 46G20Key words and phrases: Univalent, quasiconformal, Teichmüller space, infinite-dimensional holomorphy, invariant metrics, complex geodesic, Grunsky-Milin inequalities, variational problem, functional 1. Key theorems on invariant metrics and geodesics 1.1. Preamble. The Milin coefficient inequalities arose as a generalization of the classical Grunsky inequalities but coincide with the later only for conformal maps of the unit disk.We apply a quasiconformal variant of these inequalities to investigation of complex metric geometry and complex geodesics on two Teichmüller spaces: the universal space and Teichmüller space of the punctured disk and apply their geometry to variational calculus for univalent functions on the generic quasidisks with quasiconformal extensions. Such functions play an important role in the theory of Teichmüller spaces and also form one of the basic classes in geometric function theory.It will be shown that the intrinsic geometric features provide deep distortion results, in particular, allow one to solve explicitly some general variational problems. On the other hand, they cause surprising phenomena which do not arise in the classical variational theory for univalent functions.