Milan Men's Fashion Week attracts new labels

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Jun 19, 2014

It will not be the grand revolution, but the Milan Men's Fashion Week, taking place June 21 to 24, promises a quite decent schedule with lots of new faces. "There will be no big surprises, except for a special party on the evening before, Friday, June 20. The Fashion Week that signals the real turning point for fashion in Milan will be the women's wear event next September," cautioned Mario Boselli, president of the Chamber of Italian Fashion.

Three big names are absent this season: Moschino, which opted for London to present its first menswear collection designed by Jeremy Scott; Z Zegna, which is currently in Florence as the guest of honor at Pitti Uomo; and Jil Sander, who opted to present her collection without a runway show in advance of the September debut of its women’s collection by new creative director Rodolfo Paglialunga. Also not on the runway are Trussardi and Marni, which decided to mount showroom presentations for this edition.

Despite these defections, Men's Fashion Week for spring/summer 2015 collections has scheduled 43 runway shows, plus catwalks from Dolce & Gabbana (not listed on the official calendar) and the Neapolitan brand Harmont & Blaine, which decided to organize a special event on Friday, the eve of the men's fashion marathon. All totaled, Milan is offering 45 runway shows for this June 2014 edition, versus 43 in January 2014 and 37 in June 2013.

Besides the key major labels, this season's roster now includes a Tod's runway show, which now until only staged presentations. The N°21 men's collection from Alessandro Dell'Acqua, which was launched in January at Pitti Uomo, will also have its runway debut on the Milan catwalks. Another interesting development is the participation of many foreign designers opting for the Milan stage, such as German Tom Rebl, who has been based in Milan since 2008; the Parisian label of German designer Tillmann Lauterbach, invited by the Camera della Moda this season; and the young designers Julian Zigerli from Switzerland and D. Gnak from South Korea, who are both back after their first appearances in Milan in January.

Among the very young talents, Italian Christian Pellizzari will make his debut in a theater venue provided by Giorgio Armani. The venerable figure of Italian fashion launched the initiative a few seasons back, which has already been a springboard to other young designers like Julian Zigerli and Andrea Pompilio, both now on the official program.

Other young brands like MSGM and Andrea Incontri, who came on the scene a few seasons earlier, are also returning for another round.

But the week is not just limited to runway shows. After several lackluster seasons, there is indeed a palpable new buzz in Milan with the return of big parties and many parallel events, such as the must-attend festivities hosted by Tru Trussardi, Brioni and Canali, not to mention Philip Plein, who is organizing a performance at a swimming pool.

Openings for showrooms, such as Duvetica or new stores for brands like Brioni, Emilio Pucci, Philip Plein and Costume National promise more opportunities for fun during Milan's Fashion Week.

Also of great interest is the hybrid program of the cutting-edge trade show White Milano, which the last few seasons has been hosting both collections for men and women during the city's Men's Fashion Week. This year the show has announced the participation of 150 brands, 28 of which are first-time exhibitors. The fair will include special sections for an exclusive preview of the shoe collection by Ann Demeulemeester and the French brand Cacharel's spring/summer 2015 collection.