Milan Fashion Week back with fine programme, minus a few stars
Nicola Mira
After New York and London, it is Milan’s turn to stage its womenswear fashion weekMilan Fashion WeekIcebergVersaceMonclerTrussardi
The programme features 165 events – there were 210 in the previous edition – with 59 shows, of which five in digital format, as opposed to 68 shows (with seven being online) six months ago, and 77 presentations (instead of 111), as well as about 30 off-calendar events. In addition to this, a few shows will be listed among the special events. Like the Benetton
The fashion week will get properly under way on Wednesday 22 with the opening show by Iceberg, the long-established Italian label owned by the Gilmar
Journalists and buyers will be treated to all the household names in Italian fashion, with FendiRoberto CavalliMax MaraPradaMoschinoTod’s and GucciDolce & GabbanaMissoniBottega VenetaGiorgio Armani
Trussardi has opted for a presentation this season, the same as long-established Italian label Luisa BeccariaLaura BiagiottiMuse
Finally, Italian-Haitian designer Stella Jean and the WAMI (we are made in Italy) collective of immigrant Italian designers she sponsors will also not be showing. Jean has decided to boycott Milan Fashion Week in protest, after the Italian Fashion Chamber (CNMI) stopped providing financial support to WAMI. Nevertheless, there are various projects in support of minority communities, including the gala evening on Friday February 24 celebrating the ‘Black Carpet Awards’ for diversity and inclusion, promoted by the Afro Fashion Association, a non-profit organisation led by Italian-Cameroonian designer Michelle Francine Ngomno, one of WAMI’s founders. On February 24-27, diversity will also be one of the themes of trend-scouting trade show White Milano
The calendar withdrawals will be compensated by a plethora of off-calendar events, like the presentation on Thursday 23 by long-established label Mila Schön, back on the scene under the aegis of new creative director Marc Audibet, and the presentation on Tuesday 21 by KriziaLouis VuittonMaxWeekendKate PhelanWolford
A major novelty for this session is the fact that the Milan Fashion Week headquarters are based once again, after many years, in uber-central Palazzo Giureconsulti, home to various events. Finally, the Milanese week will be enlivened by countless parties and evening events – like the exclusive dinner organised by Starbucks – the last of which will be the screening on Sunday 26 of the documentary Milano: Inside the Story of Italian Fashion, by US director John Maggio, during a gala evening.
