Month: September 2022

Throwback Thursday: My Experience At Milan Fashion Week Over The Years

Image Credits: Michael Gostner

As I mentioned in the article about my favorite looks from MFW Spring / Summer 2023, today’s Throwback Thursday is dedicated to my experience at Milan Fashion Week over the years.

My father has been working as a fashion agent and showroom manager since the early 1990s; his first showrooms were in Milano Fiera and the Tortona District. He then went on to work for the Italian brand Via delle Perle and opened a new showroom in Via Montenapoleone (Quadrilatero della Moda, which is basically the Fashion District).

I have always been fascinated by his work and I followed his path, as I am now a fashion consultant and marketing manager for our company (aside from doing some freelance photography work).

I was about thirteen years old when I started attending fashion week in Milan; it was during the September edition in 2008, when fashion week wasn’t even called so. Everyone referred to it as “Milano Vende Moda”, which means “Milan Sells Fashion” in Italian, and it took place in the Milano Fiera District (Via Gattamelata), where all the major fashion shows and events were organized; this went on until 2010, when fashion shows began to take place all around the city. Like today, fashion week was convened and sponsored by the National Chamber for Italian Fashion (Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana) and it attracted numerous people from the international fashion industry.

I grew up with fashion thanks to my father’s job and looking at my mother, who’s always had a French style, for fashion advice; anyway, when you’re a teenager you generally feel the need to discover your own fashion tastes, so for me it was all about experimenting. I won’t post pictures of my first fashion week outfit because it was taken at home before going out, so the light was all wrong (I was wearing low-waist pants, a bare midriff top and a big white D&G belt, an outfit that was highly influenced by early 2000s fashion), but I enjoy looking at that picture today and seeing how my style and sense of fashion has evolved over the years.

In September 2008 I had the chance to attend my first fashion shows with Samuelle Daves, a late friend of my father’s and one of his closest collaborators back in the day. Samuelle was also one of the editors at BOOK Moda Magazine and he was my first mentor; he was hard-working, sensitive and intelligent and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities he gave me when I was still very young. He used to introduce me to people as his “junior fashion editor” and even sent me to some shows he couldn’t attend because he was busy working at the magazine.

Love Sex Money by Lorella Signorino SS 2009
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My Favorite Looks From MFW Spring/Summer 2023

Image Credits: Federico Di Dio

The Spring/Summer 2023 edition of Milan Fashion Week had many different key moments, like the massive Moncler show that took place in the Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square) complete with dancers, singers and musicians to celebrate the brand’s 70th anniversary. Salvatore Ferragamo changed its name to simply “Ferragamo” (this resulting in the change of the brand logo, too) and Maximilian Davis debuted as Ferragamo’s new creative director. Among this edition’s guests were Paris Hilton, closing the show for Versace, and Kim Kardashian, who curated the Dolce & Gabbana new collection for the “Ciao, Kim!” fashion show.

I wasn’t at fashion week in attendance this year because I’m currently doing back office work for both my consulting agency and one of the showrooms in the city; the days were quite busy and I was sorry to not be able to attend some of the shows.

Nonetheless, I still managed to follow them online (thank God for streaming!) and I have now picked my favorite looks from MFW S/S 2023. It was very hard to do so, since I loved many pieces from different collections, but I hope you will enjoy the ones I have chosen.

Also, stay tuned for this week’s Throwback Thursday post, which is going to focus on my experience at fashion week over the years (starting when it wasn’t even called fashion week!).

Antonio Marras SS23 / Vogue Runway. Image Credits: Salvatore Dragone / Gorunway.com

1) ANTONIO MARRAS: this was one of the fashion shows to open Milan Fashion Week; Antonio Marras had been absent from the last editions and the designer’s return coincided with the brand being acquired by Calzedonia, one of the biggest Italian manufacturing groups, which chose to invest in this luxury brand.

The collection was named “Il Teatro dell’Opera” (Opera Theatre) and it was dedicated to Marras’s love for opera and Maria Callas, to whom he paid homage at the end of the show with a few custom-made pieces. Green was one of the key colors in the designer’s vision for S/S 2023, which focused on a sort of renaissance of theatricality; the show was inspired by the imaginary search for an abandoned theatre in the heart of Sardinia, the designer’s native region. Nature took over and became its own character in this défilé, as shown in the floral print look above, which I find very exotic and elegant.

Roberto Cavalli SS23 / Vogue Runway. Image Credits: Isidore Montag / Gorunway.com

2) ROBERTO CAVALLI: Fausto Puglisi, the house’s creative director, presented a dream-like collection which stayed true to the essence of the brand, heavily influenced by animal prints and baroque paintings. The collection was inspired by the Golden Age of Hollywood (mainly the 1940s and ’50s)and its glorious costume designers Edith Head and Gilbert Adrian; Puglisi talked about it backstage, mentioning the time he spent studying the Adrian jackets at the Foundation Azzedine Alaïa, since they are part of the legendary couturier’s collection of fashion memorabilia. Puglisi looked at this period of time not only because of how magnificent it was in terms of style innovations, but also because he wanted to convey some of the era’s optimism, as we are living in a post-Covid age, defined by the war in Ukraine and the economical crisis.

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LOVE By Ksenia Karpenko Spring/Summer 2023

Image Credits: Ksenia Karpenko

I have been interested in sustainable fashion since 2013, when Emma Watson brought the topic to attention while promoting her collaboration with fair trade fashion pioneer People Tree, which uses environmentally-friendly materials and focuses on taking care of the planet and its inhabitants.

Today I am working with LOVE, a sustainable fashion brand that is emerging on the international scene, and its CEO and founder Ksenia Karpenko has already established herself as one of the most talented and creative Ukrainian designers.

After graduating from London College of Fashion, Ksenia founded LOVE about seven years ago and the brand became very successful in Ukraine, with the opening of her boutique in Kyiv and other pop-up stores. She has been working with the same team of creators from the start, giving importance to the matter of surrounding yourself with people you can trust, which is essential for creating a long-term business collaboration.

Image Credits: Ksenia Karpenko

The Ukrainian fashion designer has now relocated to Spain due to the war in Ukraine; she is now working on the expansion of her brand both in Spain and on the European markets, including Italy.

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My Favorite Looks From LFW Spring/Summer 2023

Image credits: Lucas Davies

The London Fashion Week – September 2022 edition took place only a few days from the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, so plenty of shows and events planned for this fashion week were canceled and creative directors paid homage to the Queen through looks showcased on the runway (like JW Anderson, who closed his show with a model wearing a black t-shirt that had the inscription “Her Majesty The Queen, 1926 – 2022, Thank you.”).

Overall, London Fashion Week was brimming with creativity; this was evidenced by the designers experimenting with colors and different materials, like sequins and lace.

Here are my favorite looks from LFW Spring/Summer 2023:

Molly Godard SS23 / Vogue Runway. Image Credits: Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com

1) MOLLY GODDARD: the entire S/S 2023 collection designed by Molly Goddard had fairytale vibes, with romantic looks and contrasting materials; there was a layer of tulle over most of the clothes seen on the runway and the models were carrying ruffled bags. This was also the debut of the designer’s first menswear collection, which had many elements in common with the womenswear line; ruffled fabrics and fluorescent colors were the main characters of S/S 2023 in Molly Goddard’s universe. The designer said in the backstage: “I love contrasting colors, prints and textures.” Her main goal was to create an immersive experience for the audience at the show, combining people, colors and music elements in a harmonious way.

I enjoy the outfit in the picture above because of the ruffles on the pants and the large, fluorescent bag (the giant-bag trend is still going strong and my mother appreciates this so much!).

JW Anderson SS23 / Vogue Runway. Image Credits: Isidore Montag / Gorunway.com

2) JW ANDERSON: the British designer chose a very original location for the show, next to his London flagship store; Las Vegas Arcade, a popular casino in the middle of Soho, where the models walked the runway surrounded by slot machines. The clothes had 90s vibes, and the designer showcased a series of dresses with bizarre prints like a goldfish in a plastic bag (as shown in the image above), photos of dolphins, sunsets and beaches, which were basically stock digital pictures on the web, borrowed from Getty Images.

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