Inside the LuisaViaRoma x British Vogue Show During Pitti Uomo
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FLORENCE — Four years after its 90th anniversary celebrations and fashion show with Carine Roitfeld, LuisaViaRoma returned to the panoramic Piazzale Michelangelo square here to stage the “Runway Icons” event with British Vogue on Wednesday.
The name of the open-air multibrand fashion show proved to be fitting. For the occasion, the retailer and glossy magazine tapped one of the most iconic Italian music artists for a live performance — Andrea Bocelli — and had one of the biggest movie stars in attendance, as Leonardo DiCaprio led the guest list that also included Tobey Maguire, Julia Fox, Lucien Laviscount, Moses Sumney, Liam Payne, Charithra Chandran and Elsa Hosk, among others.
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These added to the fashion houses involved in the show — encompassing Giorgio Armani, Valentino, Versace, Loewe and Alexander McQueen — and its A-list casting including Natalia Vodianova, Eva Herzigová, Natasha Poly, Mariacarla Boscono, Irina Shayk, Ashley Graham, Imaan Hammam, Paloma Elsesser, Maye Musk and Pat Cleveland.
The only entry missing in the checklist was punctuality, as the event was not-so-fashionably really late, partly due to the afternoon pouring rain that caused multiple postponements and scrapped the organizers’ plans of a pre-show cocktail with a sunset view on the Arno River and Florence skyline.
Although the fashion extravaganza eventually started three hours later than the original time, Bocelli’s opening act was still emotionally charged as he performed hits like “Con Te Partirò” and the interpretation of Giacomo Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma” opera aria.
“Andrea Bocelli was a dream, he was just magnificent,” enthused Fox afterward, wrapped in a fire red sequined gown from the graduate collection of designer Samuel Lewis.
The runway show followed the moment, opening with a bang via a series of tulle looks, the first of which was a Giambattista Valli white gown donned by Vodianova. The lineup that then unfolded combined designs by established and emerging brands in no particular order, ranging from Vivienne Westwood and Max Mara to Nensi Dojaka and Magda Butrym.
As reported, LuisaViaRoma and British Vogue’s editor in chief and soon-to-be Vogue’s global creative and cultural adviser Edward Enninful called around 50 international fashion houses and designers to join the project by offering archival looks or create new ones giving a modern interpretation to their signature pieces.
Some of them were seated front row, including Alberta Ferretti; Roberto Cavalli’s creative consultant Fausto Puglisi; Ferragamo’s creative director Maximilian Davis; Philosophy’s creative director Lorenzo Serafini; Blumarine’s Nicola Brognano and Palm Angels’ founder Francesco Ragazzi. Italian executives, like Moncler’s chairman and chief executive officer Remo Ruffini, were also in attendance.
Standout moments seen on the catwalk included Cleveland’s signature take on runway walking — or rather performing; Shayk’s fierce strutting, and the finale that had all models walking in pairs and holding hands.
“The scale and spectacle of tonight’s event demonstrates the caliber of visionary talent within our industry and I am honored to bring this to life for so many people. To be here alongside friends and collaborators, in this historic city, is a landmark moment,” Enninful said.
“I loved the show: getting to see all the different outfits tonight was inspiring actually,” echoed Sumney in between the show and the exclusive dinner that followed, reserved for a selection of 300 guests out of the more than 1,500 people at the show.
Fashion played a big part of the singer’s acting debut in the HBO series “The Idol,” which premiered last month at the Cannes Film Festival and where Sumney stars next to Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, Lily-Rose Depp, Dan Levy, Troye Sivan and Eli Roth, among others.
“It was really cool, as a musician, to be on set with real actors and real directors who are more experienced than me. I had a lot of fun and I was very scared,” he recalled with a laugh. “I think the most special thing were the clothes. My character Izaak is very out there with his fashion choices, very different than me. He wears color and I only wear black. So everyday we’re fighting with the costume people,” joked Sumney, adding that “they convinced me to wear a leopard print underwear — that was the moment.”
This was Sumney’s second trip to Florence, after having lived in the city for a month last year for an artistic residency. He revealed plans to stay for a few more days, before possibly touching base in Milan “for some fashion and for some pasta,” which teased he might be seen at other shows during the city’s men’s fashion week that starts Friday.
Meanwhile, a selection of pieces seen on the LuisaViaRoma x British Vogue catwalk was made available to purchase through the @ShopWithGoogle Instagram account and at a dedicated section on LuisaViaRoma’s website right after the event, respecting a see now, buy now format.
The drop will be followed by 22 exclusive capsule collections developed with labels involved in the show. From Thursday to Nov. 16, tie-ups will be released every Thursday at midday CET, starting with those of Nensi Dojaka, Alexander McQueen and Mugler dropping simultaneously this week. These will be followed by the likes of Moncler and Tom Ford, to end with a range by Paco Rabanne in the fall.
Launch Gallery: LuisaViaRoma x British Vogue Show in Florence
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