Can Milan hold onto the title of ‘Fashion Capital’?

You can count on a Milanese to do three things, 1. Drink coffee 2. go to aperitivo and 3. dress chic. Right?.. wrong!

Although they drink coffee daily and attend aperitivo regularly, dressing chic is not something you see everyday.

When walking through Corso Vittorio Emanuele in Milan, you can see different types of people with a mix of styles and designs, but it might not be exactly what you expect. Milan is renowned for its culture and fashion, and although the city is saturated in interesting history, it does not seem to be holding up its end of the bargain regarding fashion. It is harder to distinguish the tourists from the Milanese than you might think. Flowery shirts with socks and sandals are trademark signs that you are a tourist (obviously if you are in a large group of people taking innumerable photographs of the Duomo, then that is also another giveaway), but while ‘people watching’, sitting at my favorite bar near Duomo, I noticed that the patterned shirts with shorts in a clashing colour and sandals is more popular than it should be.  I was joined by Ekaterina Vlossova, fashion design student from IED (Istituto Europeo di Design) and it became apparent that I was not alone in my thoughts. “It’s not what I expected, it seems the stores are fashionable, but not the people,” she said. Although it could be said that what is important is style, and not fashion itself, when the city is on a pedestal for its style, one would expect the city to live up to its reputation. Surely it owes it to the rest of the fashion industry? “It’s not just something you wear, it’s something you are” continues Ekaterina. “Fashion is a work of art and it should be unique.” And these pieces of ‘art’ will be shown more throughout September than any other time of the year, as it is an important month for trends in Milan, with lots of events and shows happening. 

A popular event in Milan during September is the Macef trade fair at Fiera Milano in Rho.  This fair is very popular for design, and it is split up into five different sectors.  Home decoration, table and kitchenware, classical style, bijoux, jewellery with accessories and finally, giftware.  The show grows from year to year, attracting over seventy thousand traders every time.

But to find more specifically fashion designer trends, you just have to walk along Via Montenapoleone within the ‘Fashion District’, where the situation is very different.  The streets are laced with expensive stores and the pavements are busy with the hustle and bustle of ultra-chic dressed people, trying to get to their designer destinations. And during fashion week, these designers will showcase their designs: this is one of the most important events in a fashionista's calendar. If, by chance, you do not know what Fashion Week is, or consists of, then let me take the time to explain. It draws a very elite crowd of people, including models, designers, buyers, fashion experts, and celebrities.  Over the space of a week, these elite fashionistas admire a designer’s new clothing line and new season collections.  Most importantly, they let the rest of the fashion world know what is ‘in’ this season and what is ‘out’. This important week occurs twice a year, firstly January and then in September.  In January’s fashion week, the designers present their Autumn/Winter collections, and during Autumn itself, they present their designs for next year's Spring/Summer collections. Milan, with its Fashion week is part of what is described as the ‘big four’ which includes New York, London and Paris. These four cities are the biggest and most popular style events. They control the fashion industry, and have done for many decades.  This week is becoming more and more important and, attracting ever greater attention, it has become a media event as well as a style ritual.

It seems ironic that, while it is notoriously difficult to attend the Fashion week shows,  just anyone can get into such an important event, there is still a social separation between the Milanese and the rest of the population.  Perhaps this is related to Milan's extreme sensitivity to dress as a way of presenting yourself, so if you do not dress in a suitably attractive manner, society could believe you to be not an attractive person. Your style is a way of expressing  both personal mannerisms and your consideration for the world around you. If you take pride in your appearance and dress smartly, then it is a way of showing politeness to yourself and to others. It can also reveal your mood: for example bright colours can be more welcoming with respect to society, while wearing all black could be a sign of a personality more difficult to approach.

But perceptions can be deceiving... as a devil is a still a devil even when wearing a halo, and remember, the devil wears Prada!

by Nicola Churchill