Milan Fashion Week Seen as Launchpad for Young Designers
MILAN — As much as the direct-to-consumer business model is mining the appeal, especially business-wise, of international fashion shows, there is still a slew of young designers who are sticking to the format in hopes that showcasing their collections within the frame of established fashion weeks can boost their appeal and global resonance.
In the past few seasons — and despite the pandemic — Milan Fashion Week has quietly but increasingly become a launchpad for several emerging names, under the lead of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, which has spearheaded a series of initiatives to enhance its mentoring role.
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Once deemed as dormant or at least less exciting than Paris, especially during the men’s season, the showcase has been able to attract new names, not only supporting Italian creatives but also drawing designers from all continents.
According to Indian designer Dhruv Kapoor, who’s been a fixture of the men’s and women’s calendar for the past few seasons, CNMI has been supportive since day one, helping out with sales campaigns and buyers contacts, as well as in producing video content for digital showcases.
Courtesy of Dhruv Kapoor
“In terms of business, the visibility is really great. We receive plenty of emails and inquiries from around the world during and post fashion week. It has helped us – even during the pandemic. We had the best year in sales last year and this one is already performing even better,” he said.
Kapoor is one of many designers who have been supported by the fashion chamber’s Fashion Trust nonprofit arm dedicated to tutoring and mentoring young talents. At the onset of the pandemic, the Camera dedicated a large portion of its activities to offset its impact on younger brands by raising funds and sharing knowledge and expertise via webinars and talks.
The positive ripple effect on younger talents also comes from the commitment to the local fashion week by hot-ticket brands in town. The Milan squad is marching compactly, with only a few occasional exceptions, such as Versace, which last February presented off-calendar; Moschino, which is decamping to New York Fashion Week this month, and Gucci, which has recently sat out Milan Fashion Week, but always hosts events in tandem with it.
The presence of big names has certainly helped the Italian city to retain its appeal and create an ecosystem within which young designers can feel supported. In the past few years brands from Japan and China have decamped to Milan. They include 2021 LVMH Prize finalist Shuting Qiu and Annakiki’s Anna Yang, who has set up her own offices in the city and cultivated her creative skills and business viability while in town.
Similarly Hideaki Shikama, founder and designer of hip Japanese streetwear brand Children of the Discordance, has returned to Milan Fashion Week for three seasons in a row with digital presentations. While continuing to hold physical shows in his native Tokyo, the Italian city has gained him more visibility and he said he’s planning to show IRL in Milan once travel bans will be lifted entirely.
In June, retail guru and streetwear maven Guillermo Andrade selected Milan for the first official show of his 424 brand — albeit in a digital format. “If you want to make movies you come to Los Angeles, if you want to be in fashion you have to go to Milan,” Andrade told WWD at the time. The decision was personal and creative but was also made in the wake of moving the entire production of his 424 label to the country following a licensing deal with Italian manufacturer 380 Group that can guarantee better quality.
Courtesy of 424.
Unlike other European fashion weeks, Milan has also done its part to promote Black designers in recent seasons. The fashion governing body sealed a partnership with the Black Lives Matter in Italian Fashion Collective helmed by designers Stella Jean, Edward Buchanan and Michelle Francine Ngonmo, founder of the Afro Fashion Association. The We Are Made in Italy format, which is aimed at spotlighting Black designers via an international stage, is returning this September, kicking off Milan Fashion Week and bringing fresh talent and a multicultural point of view to the event.
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