Milano Fashion Week

When thinking about fashion, one usually pictures runways and back-stages filled with stylish models going crazy and getting stressed about looking cool, matching the right clothes, having a glamourous makeup and wearing that fancy pair of shoes… but there is nothing, really NOTHING, more stressful, cooler or crazier than the Fashion Week.
Twice a year, there are two very specific weeks in the world where the fashion world comes alive and sets the trend for the next season. Among the numerous fashion weeks worldwide, four are the most prominent and important, so much so that their host-cities are called “The Big Four Fashion Capitals�: New York, London, Milan and Paris.

Famous for its food and art, Italy is also world-renowned for fashion.
Italian Fashion can be connected to the concept of “Made in Italy�, defining the craftsmanship excellence and the utmost quality of materials that is appreciated all over the world. It is also thanks to the Fashion Week that the Italian style and luxury goods are internationally recognized and renowned.
Milan, in particular, can be considered one of the world trend setters: here, during the Fashion Week, the most famous fashion houses (the so-called Case di Moda or Maisons), brands and showrooms are brought to new life, fashion shows take place almost non-stop, with the most influential designers showing everybody how we are going to dress in the next 9-10 months. This means that you will have to wait almost a year to see those very nice outfits in the shops, as what you see now was actually presented last year in the previous fashion week (though this trend is changing and it is moving towards a “see now, buy now” concept, which seems eventually to be working).
This year Milan’s Fashion Week officially started on the 21st of September and lasted till the 27th, and the Spring-Summer women collections were presented (that’s right, in Autumn you see the next Spring/Summer clothes while the Fall/Winter collection is presented during the Spring fashion week…kind of crazy, don’t you think?).

Over 70 shows have indeed been held in Milan during the week, with many VIPs coming to town to attend few of them. During the week it is therefore very easy to spot celebrities: just take a stroll on the so-called ‘Fashion Triangle’ (the Triangolo della Moda) by night and follow the flashes.
In addition to all fashion shows, many events connected to the week turn the international spotlight on the city that becomes a flurry of movement, color, creativity.
For instance, the whole Milanese night life becomes even more vibrant, with extravagant galas, lavish dinner parties and after-parties, such as the long-awaited and always glorious Philipp Plein party and the spectacular open-air dinner by Dolce & Gabbana, with a table set up for 400 people in the heart of Via Montenapoleone, the famous street for luxury shopping in Milano.