In a sign of hope for the industry and the country, Italy’s governing fashion body Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana on Wednesday released the first provisional calendar for the upcoming Milan Fashion Week, dedicated to both women’s and men’s collections.
Slated to run Sept. 22 to 28, the showcase will blend digital events with a slew of physical shows. There will be 28 physical shows out of more than 50 events.
“The September edition of Milan Fashion Week will be a ‘phy-gital’ showcase…with the goal to allow each company and designer to present in the most suitable format, in sync with their narrative,” said Carlo Capasa, president of the Italian Fashion Chamber.
On the eve of the shows, Sept. 22, Italy’s department store Rinascente will throw a bash in collaboration with the CNMI, while the Milano Moda Graduate display of collections from graduates of local fashion schools will take place on Sept. 27.
“Getting back to business starting from young talents and valuing our incredible and one-of-a-kind pipeline, through our brands’ shows, events and presentations give us hope to look to the future,” Capasa noted.
In keeping with the rotation of time slots that the CNMI asked brands to do starting from last September, the first major physical show on Sept. 23 will be Fendi, showing for the first time in a coed format. The luxury house had originally planned to show at its Roman headquarters, the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, but subsequently agreed to take part in Milan Fashion Week.
Blumarine, now controlled by Liu Jo’s founder Marco Marchi through his Eccellenze Italiane holding, as well as Alberta Ferretti and No. 21 will be among the fashion companies hosting physical shows on the first day, while Missoni and Dsquared2 are expected to hold digital initiatives. For the first time since its launch, Redemption is decamping from Paris to Milan with a digital event.
The eagerly anticipated debut show of Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons as co-creative directors at Prada is sure to steal the spotlight on Thursday, taking the 2 p.m. slot, flanked by Max Mara, Etro and Emporio Armani. As anticipated, Giorgio Armani has decided to show only twice a year for both his Emporio and Giorgio Armani labels, holding coed shows during the women’s fashion weeks. Meanwhile, streetwear brand GCDS, as well as Genny and Luisa Beccaria will organize digital showcases instead of a physical show as in past seasons.
On Friday, Boss will return to Milan, where it has been parading its collections since last September, while on Saturday, Ports 1961 will show its spring 2021 collection after debuting last February in the city under the creative lead of Karl Templer. Capping off Saturday’s lineup, Giorgio Armani will hold a coed show at its Via Bergognone headquarters, following MSGM, Salvatore Ferragamo and Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini, all opting for physical shows.
As reported, Gucci will sit out Milan Fashion Week as a consequence of trimming the number of shows to two a year as creative director Alessandro Michele challenges the industry’s vocabulary and opts for “bringing oxygen” to his creativity. One consequence is that the label will not be ready to show in September.
The last two days of Milan Fashion Week are expected to be a mostly digital affair dedicated to emerging designers, according to the provisional calendar, with such names as Spyder and David Catalan, among others.