Versace, Gucci, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada and Roberto Cavalli were some of the big names at Milan Fashion Week 2010 showcasing the latest fashion styles and trends for Autumn and Winter 2010/2011 with fur, leather and wool dominating the runway. From models and stylists to electricians and photographers, some 8,000 people were involved in over 80 catwalk shows in the Fashion Week held February 24 – March 1, according to Italy’s National Chamber of Fashion, which organises the event.
Designing a collection and organising a show may take months of work and preparation but designers only have a little over ten minutes to impress the buyers, fashion editors, stylists and now influential fashion bloggers who write about the latest fashion styles generated by the Fashion Week.
As the economic downturn hit the luxury sector, several fashion houses collaborated together to put on fashion shows, cut back on their expenses or didn’t show at all but the fashion chamber’s director Giulia Pirovano told Reuters that there was a stronger showing in 2010.
“There were (cost) cuts last year but there is more investment in 2010. Investing in a show is a production investment because of the returns it brings,”
“The value of all the publicity that comes from fashion publications is 10 times the investment put into a show and this is important. That is why all the designers want all the top models, the best stylists, the best makeup artists,” Giulia Pirovano said.
Whether it was answering the customer’s call or a response to the tightening of the economic belt, designers like Dolce & Gabbana, Sportmax and Max Mara ticked all the boxes with a collection of jackets, dresses and corsets with traditional tailoring and very wearable silhouettes.
Latest fashion styles from the Milan Fashion Week 2010 were military inspired jackets by Burberry Prorsum, biker chic by Gucci, boho deluxe by Roberto Cavalli, cheerful prints from Missoni and Fendi had an underlying 40’s theme with voluminous swing coats and full skirts.
Young and old designers alike seem to be embracing fur and stepping away from the political correctness of 1980s and 1990s when PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) campaigned heavily against the use of fur.
Off the catwalk, the fur flew as Anna Wintour, the director of American Vogue, announced she would be cutting her Milan Fashion Week 2010 stay short to attend Paris Fashion Week and the Oscars. This meant that the major designers had to show their collections in the first four days of the show.
The changed scheduled angered local Italian designers and businessmen who felt the show should go on ‘Wintour’ or without her and felt that it would diminish the strength of the fashion industry in Italy.
“No one, not even if she is called Anna Wintour, can allow themselves to make or unmake our fashion calendar,” Milan Mayor Letizia Moratti was quoted as saying in Italian newspapers.