The Milan Fashion Week will run from Feb. 23 to March 1, and will kick off with a tribute to Bebbe Modenese, the late honorary chairman of the Italian Fashion Chamber, who died at age 92 on Nov. 21. The tribute will consist in a short movie, filmed by Beniamino Barrese, that will be streamed on the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana’s digital platform on the first day of the Fashion Week at 10 a.m.. Modenese was a key figure in Italy’s fashion industry for decades, contributing to the creation of the Italian fashion chamber itself.
The upcoming fashion week will mainly take place digitally and will include 61 runway shows and 57 presentations. According to the fashion association’s president Carlo Capasa, “clear guidelines to prevent COVID-19 infections have been released and we stated, in collaboration with health authorities, that shows and events will have to be hosted without the public, except for a limited number of professionals, including journalists and buyers, in accordance with the capacity limits of each location.”
The majority of runway shows will be filmed behind closed doors and broadcast digitally, with some brands inviting a very small number of buyers and journalists. Opening the fashion week on February 24 will be Missoni, Simona Marziale, Calcaterra, Alberta Ferretti, Fendi, N. 21, Brunello Cucinelli, among others. On the 25th, among others, Max Mara, Genny, Blumarine, Prada, Moschino, Luisa Beccaria will parade. On the 26th it will be up to Etro, Vivetta, Tod’s. Giorgio Armani will parade on February 27, the same day will be the turn of Salvatore Ferragamo and Ermanno Scervino, while the 28 will be the turn of, among other brands, Fila, Emilio Pucci and Elisabetta Franchi. Ports 1961, Msgm, Valentino and Dolce & Gabbana fashion shows are scheduled for March 1st.
Among the power brands that will skip Milan Fashion Week are Gucci and Bottega Veneta, which will present their fall 2021 collections with separate events in dates that still have to be disclosed. Versace will not be showing at Milan Fashion Week this season, with the latter unveiling their collection with a video on March 5th. According to the company, this decision to unveil the video on March 5 is due to technical reasons and does not imply any affiliation with Paris Fashion Week, which will run March 1 to 9.
As explained by Carlo Capasa, president of the Chamber of Fashion, Brunello Cucinelli, Alessandro dell’Acqua x Elena Mirò will be present for the first time in the fashion show calendar; Del Core; Onitsuka Tiger; Fabio Quaranta; Dima Leu; Münn; Budapest Select; Alessandro Vigilante; Giuseppe Buccinnà and Chb. As said, among the newcomers to Milan Fashion Week, former Gucci VIP designer Daniel Del Core will make his runway debut with his namesake brand on Feb. 24.
On the presentation front, we will see the Moorer brand making its debut in the official calendar of the Milan fashion week, together with Gonçalo Peixoto, Alabama Muse, Bacon, Button, Peserico, Yatay, Oof Wear, Revenant Rv Nt, Ac9, Des Phemmes and Nerves.
On Feb. 24, the digital fashion week will also include the second installment of the “We Are Made in Italy — The Fab Five Bridge Builders” project aimed at promoting inclusivity within the Italian fashion system. Five Italian Black designers selected by the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana’s Black Lives Matter in Italian Fashion work group, led by designers Stella Jean and Edward Buchanan, will present their collections, produced with the support of a range of Italian manufacturers, during a digital event.
“I am pleased to see that, in my country, extremely needed changes are just happening, with no hesitation,” Jean said. “Taking these young designers by the hand, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana will become a sort of prototype for a new multicultural Italy. The Italian companies that collaborated with us have taken the significant decision to open the doors of their ateliers, as well as their archives. They are teaching these young talents important techniques; they have taken decisive steps for the amplification of these underrepresented voices in the country and they are passing on the Made in Italy baton. Made in Italy is much more than a label, it holds a legacy — one that, today, proves itself through actions to identify not just stylistic excellence, but human excellence as well.”
In addition, Black Lives Matter in Italian Fashion will take part on Feb. 26 in a think tank with representatives of leading Italian brands to discuss the implementation of inclusive practices within their companies.
Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana also teamed up again with Italian department store Rinascente to support 11 Italian emerging brands, including footwear label Giannico, women’s wear label Sara Battaglia and activewear brand Fantabody, which will have the chance to sell their creations in a dedicated pop-up shop, open from Feb. 22 to March 12, at Rinascente’s flagship in Milan’s Piazza Duomo.
The different digital content available on the Milan Fashion Week digital platform will also include a video created by Florentine fashion school Polimoda in collaboration with 20 young fashion designers, while a room curated by Vogue Italia deputy editor Sara Sozzani Maino in collaboration with Confartigianato, which this week signed a strategic partnership with the Italian fashion chamber, will highlight the craftsmanship of five Italian artisans.
