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
Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini RTW Fall 2016
Lorenzo Serafini's decision to introduce polar opposite muses Lady Diana to Siouxsie Sioux in his fall…
Backstage at Blumarine Fall 2016
"We wanted a very mysterious mood, so the look is a little bit dark," said makeup artist Tom Pecheux.
Cividini RTW Fall 2016
Miriam and Piero Cividini said their fall collection was a riff on minimalism and imperfection.
Gabriele Colangelo RTW Fall 2016
The designer comes from two generations of furriers and enlisted his father, Sergio Colangelo, to realize his…
Mr & Mrs Italy RTW Fall 2016
A purveyor of zhushed-up military outerwear since 2007, the brand added a classic overcoat this season.
Just Cavalli RTW Fall 2016
Under Peter Dundas' vision of baby rockers, Just Cavalli hasn't looked this good in years.
Milan, Los Angeles Brands Team Up
Stylist Ada Kokosar and Hollywood Trading Company teamed up to design a fall collection.
Erika Cavallini RTW Fall 2016
"The inspiration is that there is no inspiration," said Erika Cavallini, who instead opted to deconstruct and…
Rossella Jardini RTW Fall 2016
Rossella Jardini returned to Milan Fashion Week with her first presentation of her new label.
Callens RTW Fall 2016
Callens makes the kind of clothes you'll see in business and first class, and in cafés outside the chicest…
Blumarine RTW Fall 2016
Anna Molinari said her fall collection was inspired by Helmut Newton's advertising campaigns for the brand in…
Piazza Sempione RTW Fall 2016
Piazza Sempione's fall collection was nearly identical to its pre-fall.
Atsushi Nakashima RTW Fall 2016
The designer moved his runway show to Milan from Tokyo to parade a collection which touched a variety of…
Herno RTW Fall 2016
Many of the garments were exceptionally light, the result of avant-garde techniques such as heat-bonded…
Blazé RTW Fall 2016
The Blazé collection, specialized in blazers, has it all — elegance through to glamour.