Milan Fashion Week
Milan Fashion Week is one of the "Big Four" fashion weeks alongside New York, London and Paris Fashion Weeks. Spring collections are historically shown in September, while fall collections are historically shown in February. Milan falls as a the third major fashion week during Fashion Month, following New York and London, and before Paris. The main venue for Milan Fashion Week is the Milan Fashion Hub, though many designers show off-site.
In 1958, the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italia (National Chamber of Italian Fashion) was formed, with a mission to promote Italian design. Italian brands began to rise in prominence because they were more affordable than their Parisian counterparts.
At the time, many of Italy's major cities were in competition with each other for who would become Italy's fashion capital. Milan began to edge out some of its competitors, like Rome and Florence, thanks to strong links to manufacturing and the growth in ready-to-wear. In the '70s and '80s, the success of Milan-based designers, including Giorgio Armani and Gianni Versace, helped to solidify Milan's place as a fashion capital.
Versace, in particular, drew attention to Milan during fashion week, casting supermodels such as Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Cindy Crawford in his shows.
Today, many major brands show collections at Milan Fashion Week, including Gucci, Fendi, Bottega Veneta, Missoni, Ferragamo and Etro, as well as Giorgio Armani and Versace.
Historic moments at Milan Fashion Week have included Tom Ford's 1994 debut show for Gucci, which began a revival for the then-stagnant brand. There was also Miuccia Prada's 1996 show featuring dull greens, browns and purples, contributing to the ugly-chic era of '90s fashion. More recently, at Versace's spring 2018 runway show, Donatella Versace brought back the '90s with the era's supermodels, including Crawford, Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Carla Bruni and Helena Christensen, who walked in the show.
Milan Fashion Week
Ermanno Scervino RTW Spring 2019
The collection was a study in contrasts: Hard and soft, heavy and light, plain and patterned.
Loro Piana RTW Spring 2019
The cashmere specialist branched out into cotton, linen and silk for its airy and feminine collection.
Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini RTW Spring 2019
Lorenzo Serafini took wanderlust as his theme for this breezy, bohemian collection that was filled with…
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Missoni RTW Spring 2019
Angela Missoni celebrated her company's 65th anniversary with yards and yards of those famous gossamer yarns.
Edward Enninful Receives amfAR Award of Courage during Milan Fashion Week
The tenth Milanese edition of the amfAR gala event raised a total sum of $1.2 million.
Camera della Moda Responds to New York Times Article
Italy's fashion association issued an official statement in the face of accusations of irregular working…
Herno RTW Spring 2019
Color is the news at the Italian outerwear company.
Daizy Shely RTW Spring 2019
Daizy Shely had the right ingredients in her spring show, but her ratios were off.
Roberto Cavalli RTW Spring 2019
Biker shorts in a range of embellishments and inseams were all over the collection.
Kiton RTW Spring 2019
Luxury men's tailoring brand Kiton continues to build its women's collection.
Vogue Italia Celebrates Italian Singer Mina with Party at MFW
Designers and models attended the event, hosted on Friday night at Milan's Cinema Manzoni.
Seventy RTW Spring 2019
Creative director Francesca Tegon delivered a commercially savvy collection filled with daywear options.
Anna Dello Russo Takes Book-Signing to Milan
The editor feted her book with a meet-and-greet event and also presented her latest collaboration with…
Philipp Plein RTW Spring 2019
Never one to live by halves, brash and proud Philipp Plein came back to Milan with a bang, his show…
Gabriele Colangelo RTW Spring 2019
Coolly vivid colors and neo-Nineties utilitarianism gave the collection a freshness.