Milan Fashion Week & Camera della Moda Backgrounder
MILAN FASHION WEEK 2010
Milan Fashion Week for spring/summer 2011 collections took place September 22‐ 28, 2010. This year several shows, presentations, presentations by appointment and other events took place in Milan. More than 200 designers showed their new collections this year in Milan. Major design houses, such as Gucci, Prada, Giorgio Armani and Dolce & Gabbana, ended the week of shows.
In past years, Milan Fashion Week has been known as showing more practical pieces than shown at Paris Fashion Week. This year’s fashion week however showed brilliant colors and bold patterns and designs. The clothes were both wearable and fashionable.
Many American celebrities made appearances at Milan Fashion Week: Jada Pinkett Smith, Kylie Minogue, Ashley Greene, Lindsay Lohan, Clive Owen, Rachel Zoe, Julianne Moore, Claire Danes, George Clooney, Taylor Swift, Heidi Klum and Rachel Bilson.
MILAN FASHION WEEK
Milan Fashion Week is held semiannually with fall/winter collections in February‐ March of each year and spring/summer collections in September‐October of each year. Shows for Milano Moda Donna, women’s fashion, are the major fashion shows and shows for Milano Moda Uomo are those dedicated to menswear.
Some of the most renowned designers show each year at Milan Fashion Week: Gucci, Prada, Valentino, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Missoni, Moschino, Etro and Miu Miu.
Milan Fashion Week is scheduled with over 230 shows and presentations of specialized companies, with the presence of 2,500 journalists and more than 15,000 Italian and foreign buyers. It takes place in Milan via Gattamelata. The shows and presentations take place in large rooms but live video is streamed into the square where the public can watch.
HISTORY OF MILAN FASHION WEEK
Milan Fashion Week began in 1958, 15 years after the first fashion week in New York. Fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert established New York’s first fashion week during World War II giving American designers a chance to show off their designs without competing with French designers. Milan Fashion Week is part of the big four international fashion weeks‐ Paris Fashion Week, London Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week. New York starts each season and then London, Milan and Paris follow in that order. Milan is known for a tailored and stylish approach to fashion.
MILAN AS THE “CAPITAL OF FASHION”
Milan hasn’t always been the “capital of fashion.” Giovan Battista Giorgini started Italian fashion in Florence. Giorgini organized the first “fashion parade” in 1951 in his living room. Soon after, Rome became a fashion city because of Hollywood actors and actresses coming to Rome to film movies. Rome was the fashion capital of Italy until the end of the 1960s.
Beginning in the 1970s, fashion was involved in the “assembly line” boom and designers started to create items in bulk. Designers began to be known as creators of style that should be affordable for everyone. Milan soon became the capital of prêt‐à‐porter and the focus of fashion moved to Milan. Milan offered comforts and convenience for business development so it was an easy transition. The first fashion week was held in 1975 and more than 30 years later, Milan continues to be known as the “fashion capital.”
CAMERA DELLA MODA’S INVOLVEMENT
Camera della Moda owns Milan Fashion Week. It schedules fashion shows, presentations and related events for brands that are showing at fashion week. It’s also responsible for image making, interacting with institutions, creating stage settings and installations for the Fashion Show Center, serving as press office, and coordinating special events.
In 1975, Camera della Moda presented its first official calendar of fashion shows. In 1978, Camera della Moda organized about 51 shows that were shown over six days. Many of the shows included Italian designers such as Missoni, Fendi, Genny, Mario Valentino, Enrico Coveri, Mila Schon, Roberta di Camerino and Laura Biagiotti. Camera della Moda continues to be in charge of Milan Fashion Week.