MILAN — From a fashion show on a subway to an installation of African crafts, the White fair had a little bit of something for everyone.
Now in its 21st season, 346 Italian and foreign exhibitors showed in the sleek spaces of Spazio A and Superstudio Più in Milan’s Tortona design neighborhood for three days through Feb. 27. The fair attracted about 15,000 visitors, including 11,036 Italian buyers, up 11 percent from last year, and 2,083 international buyers, 8 percent more than a year before.
Massimiliano Bizzi, president of White, offered a number of new initiatives, inviting a slew of designers for special projects and collaborations. Brazilian-born designer Gustavo Lins window-dressed DAAD Dantone’s Via Santo Spirito displays in a special fitting that showed off his deconstructed, reversible, gathered pieces; cutting edge designer and Lady Gaga collaborator Jean-Charles de Castelbajac’s artistic and modern pop pieces took center stage for creativity; the industrial Basement space featured an installation called “Shape of Shadow,” the creation of Ukrainian designers Fedor Vozianov and Igor Kikot, and Ilaria Venturini Fendi’s Carmina Campus featured ethical fashion to raise awareness of African crafts with the “Not Charity, Just Work” initiative that featured one-off bags of recycled materials, like the “Save Waste From Waste” black garbage bags treated as leather.
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White organized a fashion show on a subway in the heart of Milan’s privée shopping district at the Montenapoleone station, where guests boarded a moving train to view the new collection of Florence-based designer Alessandra Marchi, which featured dark, chunky knits and deconstructed leather jackets. Milan councilman Giovanni Terzi called it “a modern runway show” as the event spilled over into an after party at Milan’s Palazzo Affari Giureconsulti.
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Regarding trends at White, an emphasis on lace and transparency marked many collections, while jackets were strong statement pieces. Verger offered items in a streamlined, classic British style in luxurious wools and cashmeres. Designer Carolina Mazzolari described the latest trends as “a nod to fading geometry.”
White Beauty’s aromatherapy-heavy space combined a dozen perfume and cosmetic exhibitors for its fourth season. VMV Hypoallergenics presented its recently launched cosmetics line that had the same properties as its hypoallergenic, prescription-based products containing the least amount of cosmetic allergens. Marketing specialist François Dahdah explained that, considering the small amount of ingredients they are permitted to use, the line is expansive.
“We’ve always known our limitations with the range of colors we can offer to respect our brand’s mission,” Dahdah said. “We can’t use very bright colors since it wouldn’t be possible with all natural, hypoallergenic materials, since those bright colors come from loads of dyes.”