Milan Fashion Week and how it performs
Milan Fashion Week is one of the most anticipated events for fashion-lovers but also a good time to get a glimpse into the glamorous atmosphere of the city.
The High Fashion truly does take over the entire city: along with shows, multiple fashion-related activities, exhibitions and also fashion photography expos, showrooms and many special events.
The Milan Fashion Week is held twice a year: the Autumn/Winter (AW) collections are presented between January and February while the Spring/Summer ones (SS) between September and October. If you do not work in fashion you might ask yourself why the calendar is structured this way. Well, fashion always works ahead and all is made to encourage retailers and buyers, people who buy clothes to sell them in their stores and boutiques for the following season.
Personal note: I used to shoot the furs under summer peaks or taking part in runways in bikinis in January when outside it can be very cold. 😀
From 21st to 27th February the fashion shows of Milano Moda Donna will present the Autumn-Winter collections for the 2024 season, a unique opportunity to see on catwalk the creations of the most prestigious maison in the world. For the Spring/Summer collections we’ll have to wait for September (from 19th to 25th September there will be the SS24 Fashion Week).
The provisional calendar reports 56 fashion shows and 5 digital runways (Münn, AVAVAV, Husky e Laura Biagiotti, WAMI Collective).
Among the Italian brands can not miss: Alberta Ferretti, Giorgio Armani, Diesel, Fendi, Roberto Cavalli, Etro, Ermanno Scervino, Prada, Missoni and Bottega Veneta. Gucci will also do a fashion show with a collection signed by the staff. There is a great expectation for the Ferragamo collection signed by the 26-year-old creative director Maximilian Davis.
How to attend the fashion shows?
The MFW fashion shows are exclusive events, intended mainly for the industry insiders, VIPs and high net worth individuals. So, one must hope for an invitation or have to be a journalist. Even in the latter case the press agencies are to decide for the invitation.
Invitations for fashion shows are NOT available to purchase. If anyone tells you otherwise, be careful, it could easily be a scam. Sometimes, however, fashion houses shall auction credits to donate the proceeds to charity. I suggest you take a look at the website CharityStars: every year during fashion week they auction VIP credits for the front row of different fashion shows.
There is always the chance to meet on the streets of the city models and famous people. All the fashion shows will be also transmitted via live streaming on the official website.
Back to the history of fashion week
The Italian fashion week had its beginning in Florence in 1951 with the runway organized by Giovanni Battista Giorgini, who has gained the international legitimacy for Italian fashion, exposing for the first time the runways for buyers, photographers and journalists from all over the world. Until then, the Italian runways were performed only into little fashion houses.
The first fashion week in Milan was held in 1958 but it was only in the seventies that Milan became the capital of Italian fashion. At “Fiera di Milano” Walter Albini, Krizia and Missoni, and then Florentine fashion houses like Gucci, Roberto Cavalli, Emilio Pucci and Ermanno Scervino were the protagonists of first catwalks. In the following years were added Giorgio Armani, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana and Gianfranco Ferré.
Today Milan is one of the “Big Four” of international fashion, the MFW follows the ones held in New York and London and precedes Paris.
Milan Fashion Week calendar for 2023
The calendar with all the scheduled shows is as follow:
(some locations are still to be defined as kept secret until right before the event)
Tuesday 21 February
CNMI Fashion Hub Opening
Wednesday, February 22
10:00 – Iceberg since 1974
11:00 – Antonio Marras
12:00 – Daniela Gregis
13:00 – Diesel
14:00 – Fendi
15:00 – Del Core
16:00 – Marco Rambaldi
17:00 – Alberta Ferretti
18:00 – N°21
19:00 – Roberto Cavalli
20:00 – Etro
21:00 – Onitsuka Tiger
Wednesday 22 February, digitally
09:30 – WAMI Collective
Thursday, 23 February
09:30 – Max Mara
10:30 – Genny
11:30 – Calcaterra
12:30 – Anteprima
14:00 – Prada
15:00 – MM6 Maison Margiela
16:00 – Budapest Select
17:00 – Emporio Armani
18:00 – Blumarine
19:00 – Moschino
20:00 – GCDS
Friday, February 24
09:30 – Tod’s
10:30 – ACT n°1
11:30 – Sportmax
12:30 – Philosophy by Lorenzo Serafini
14:00 – Gucci
15:00 – Cormio
16:00 – ANDREĀDAMO
17:00 – Sunnei
18:00 – Vivetta
19:00 – Jil Sander
Saturday 25 February
09:30 – Ferrari
10:30 – Ermanno Scervino
11:30 – Ferragamo
13:00 – Dolce & Gabbana
14:00 – Stella Jean
15:00 – MSGM
16:00 – Bally
17:00 – Missoni
18:00 – Tokyo James
19:00 – Han Kjøbenhavn
20:00 – Bottega Veneta
21:00 – Philipp Plein
Sunday, February 26
09:30 – Shuting Qiu
10:30 – Hui
11:30 – Tomo Koizumi supportato da Dolce & Gabbana
12:30 – Luisa Spagnoli
13:15 – Annakiki
14:00 – Vitelli
15:00 – Giorgio Armani
16:00 – Elisabetta Franchi
17:00 – Aniye Records
18:00 – Francesca Liberatore
19:00 – Atsushi Nakashima
27 February, in digital
10:30 – Münn
11:00 – Avavav
11:30 – Husky
12:00 – Laura Biagiotti
