Milan takes the baton of the fashion marathon from London, and rest assured, until September 25, this geolocation will be on the Instagrams of all the main influencers. Milan Fashion Week differs from its “colleagues” in New York, London and Paris in the large number of theatrical and colorful shows. Take, for example, the Dolce & Gabbana fall-winter 2018 show, which was opened by drones that looked like giant bees and flew over the catwalk with the brand's handbags, or Gucci, where last season models walked with the head of their own clone in their hands. Kaia Gerber and Gigi Hadid walked at the Moschino show with models dressed in orange, green and blue, like aliens, and Prada was invited to the show Mikuel South- a virtual “influencer” with almost one and a half million subscribers.

For Milan, the performance show is as important as the collection itself. However, this season, in those places in the schedule where there is usually an exclamation mark - emptiness... Gucci, one of the main heroes of the Week, moved to Paris to make a nod to France. In addition, Bottega Veneta fans are also upset. They were expecting the debut collection of new creative director Daniel Lee in the fall, but the brand decided to skip the season and present new creations in winter next year.

True, the changes are not a cause for serious concern. Other classic Milan brands are likely to have already succumbed to the temptation to innovate their shows and are preparing something special for the audience, while new designers will undoubtedly bring a huge boost of energy to Fashion Week. We tell you what you must not miss at Milan Fashion Week.

Perhaps the most important show this season is the Versace anniversary collection. This year the Italian fashion house celebrates its fortieth anniversary. For Donatella Versace, the date is also significant because she has worked at Versace longer than her brother Gianni, who died in 1997. After the death of her brother, she had a hard time: the company’s financial performance fell, and the public criticized her collections. However, the designer did not give up and showed the image of a strong and purposeful woman - this is what she conveys in her creations to this day. “Every minute I think about glamor. I wake up in the morning and my head is already filled with glamor,” Donatella once said. These words perfectly describe the designer's temperament and charisma, as well as the aesthetics of the Versace collections. The anniversary show is scheduled for September 21 and promises to be fantastic.

Another pillar Italian fashion, which is preparing for a magnificent celebration, is Missoni. This year the brand, famous for its colorful zigzag pattern, will celebrate 65 years. We will find out what will surprise fans of the Angela Missoni brand on Saturday, September 22.

The shows are broadcast on maxi screens in corso Vittorio Emanuele, on the corner from Piazza San Babila. You can see the full calendar of shows.

For a whole week in honor of the Fashion Week There will be many interesting events throughout the city. From September 12 to 24, cubes with exhibitions under the project were installed in the center of Milan "Milano XL 2018".

From September 19 to 24 in Fashion Hub Market You will be able to visit the exhibition of collections of 13 new brands. Where: Spazio Cavallerizze del Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci (via Olona 6).

In the Tortona area from September 21 to 24 there will be a White Show, where modern stylists will present their womenswear and accessori collections (spring/summer 2019). Where: Tortona 27 (Superstudio Più), 31 (Opificio), 35 (Hotel Nhow) and 54 (Base Milano). Friday, Saturday and Sunday 9.30-18.30; Monday 9.30-16.00. Free admission.
Don't miss it from September 18 to 24 “Touch of Love” on Via della Spiga and “ “Il guardaroba di Elle” on Fiori Chiari.
On Thursday 20 September there will be “VOGUE TALENTS AND WHO IS NEXT?”. Where: Via Brera 15. From 20 to 22 September from 10:00 to 19:00.
Afro Fashion Week will take place at Fabbrica del vapore.
Triennale Milano will host a free exhibition from September 18 to 23 Tutti in Fila, this brand will take part in fashion shows for the first time.
From September 21 to 24, the Anteo Palazzo del Cinema will host Fashion Film Festival Milano 2018. Admission is free, registration on the official website.
D Teatro Menotti will take place performance Lettere a Yves c Pino Ammendola and Eva Robin’s, dedicated to Yves Saint Laurent.

During fashion week, you can admire not only the outfits, but also the unusual ice cream flavors created as a limited edition for MFW. IN gelateria Gusto 17 on Via Savona 17 and on Via Cagnola 10 from 18 to 24 September three limited edition vouchers dedicated to Schiaparelli, Fendi and Yves Saint Laurent.

Stylist from the Marangoni Institute (Milan)

Milan Fashion Week - the second most important after Paris - has not yet completely died down. On the penultimate day, shows are still going on, celebrity guests are posting fresh videos on Instagram from the front row, and new street style heroes are appearing on fashion portals. It must be said that the intensity of passions gradually increases from the first day, which traditionally opens the Gucci house with its enchanting show, at exactly 15:00 (okay, at 15:30, but more on that later), reaches its peak on the second or third day and gradually fades away by the fifth. Later, the ranks of guests at the show noticeably thin out, and showrooms become the main places for fashion gatherings. In the last two days, shows still happen, but the attention to them is far from what it used to be, so even Olga Buzova can exhibit, but no one will notice anyway. Therefore, if you are a young designer, do not agree to participate in shows during the last two days of fashion week. You will be asked to pay a large sum in exchange for a very modest result.

How to get

So, in order to get to Milan Fashion Week, you need to arrange invitations or accreditation in advance. If the first option is suitable for famous people, large clients and just friends of designers (the most useless category, in my opinion), then the second is for the press, photographers and buyers. I received my treasured badge with the help of dear friend- website, and this gave me the right to be in the press hub (fashion hub), located inside the futuristic Unicredit pavilion in the ultra-modern district of Milan - Porto Nova.

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Well, what can I say about the hub? The food is delicious, and especially exhausted workers are given prosecco and coffee. The space is equipped with modern technology and large screens on which you can follow collection shows in live. Very convenient and comfortable. One thing I didn’t like: the staff at the reception are entirely young girls who barely speak English, whose brains freeze when they need to solve a non-standard problem. They might just tell you “no” and turn away. Very Italian.

Invitations to shows

When filling out the accreditation form, you will be asked to provide a Milan address so that invitations and a badge can be sent to you a couple of days before the start of fashion week. Considering that there are still two months left before the event, you have no idea where you will stop... Your problems. You will have to book a hotel in advance, which means at a disadvantageous price. Or take a risk with airnbn, since the mailbox will be at the disposal of other residents... You understand, you never know... By the way, my badge never arrived at the specified address, I had to get a new one at the hub.

As for the invitations, I left the address of my friend Simone and, having met her the day before the event, I almost went crazy with happiness, counting about 25 pieces - for shows and presentations. After consulting with Simone (she is an experienced stylist working throughout Italy), I identified a pool of the most important events and followed this plan. Otherwise, I simply would not have been able to keep up the pace and I could have been carefully taken to the nearest sanatorium due to an excess of feelings, a noticeably enlarged liver and overeating. And since we’re talking about this, here’s the main commandment: God forbid you agree to all glasses of prosecco that are offered, especially at 12 or (God forbid) 9 in the morning. You are unlikely to drag your feet until the last show, not to mention the after-party.

On show

On the day of the show, the fashion public gathers at the address indicated in the invitation or a special catalog-calendar issued for each fashion week. Sometimes there are off the map shows, when the address is hidden from everyone who is not on the invitation list. In this case, the address of the event is communicated to guests additionally. This year they did not want to see extra visitors from Cavalli, Vionet and Dolce and Gabbana, who, in addition to the show, staged a secret show that was not listed in the fashion catalogue. The models were driven to the event site on a large bus and released onto the catwalk straight from it!

Everyone else could be found without difficulty, if only to look at the most daring street stylers and celebrity guests. The show is always delayed by at least 30 minutes (this is not Switzerland), but this is not a problem, because during this time you have something to do. An hour before the show, photographers from leading publications begin to gather at the location and visitors to the show gradually arrive, as well as everyone who wants to get on the pages of influential portals in the “best street style” section. Whom you won't see here!

I barely had time to click on the most striking characters on my phone, noting their courage and creativity. I was proud of a couple of Russian girls who casually posed for a crowd of photographers and later appeared in all the gossip columns. I won’t be modest, I myself came under fire from flashbulbs: my blue cape dress was of great interest to street photographers, which I learned about on the way to the show, even a little frightened by the hype.

After you go inside, you need to go through an additional formal registration, where you will be given a letter - your sector at the show, with which security will let you into the hall. It is not entirely clear why the letter, which is already indicated on the invitation, does not suit the security, but it is in your best interests to acquire a simple piece of paper, which, by the way, is easier than ever to forge. Those with the letter “A” are allowed in first, then “B” and so on. The last to enter are guests with electronic invitations (mostly guests from Asia). It is clear that A-owners get the most successful places. Tip: if you are a blogger (like me), you should contact the event organizer and let them know. He will offer you the best place for shooting.

During the show

As already mentioned, about half an hour after the stated start, the background music stops, it is replaced by louder music, and models appear on the catwalk. Sometimes in turn, sometimes all at once, but then the show will still follow the classic scenario, where you will be allowed to look at the sets separately. The show itself lasts approximately 10-15 minutes and ends with a collective walk of the models and a bow from the designer. After this, you can immediately go to the backstage and take a photo of the hero of the evening surrounded by models.

Sometimes after the show, guests are offered a light lunch or dinner (as was the case with the Portuguese Pedro Pedro and Carlos Gil), but most often everyone runs to the shuttle - a special minibus that will take you to the next show. The crowd at the shuttle is the most automatic, when everyone is pushing and trying to jump into the transport first. The most valuable guests are driven by Mercedes and Maseratis. Having your own car makes it much more convenient to participate in this quest. The greatest discomfort for me personally was precisely this need to wander around the city. However, there is nowhere without her.

Afterparty

An excellent excuse to drink prosecco is an invitation to a designer's party. As a rule, you will be treated deliciously (for example, with the freshest sushi and sparkling sake (!), like Atsushi Nakashima) and given “access to the designer’s body,” when you can express your admiration for his creations and take a photo together. I did not torment the maestro with such requests, assessing his fatigue, and limited myself to a short phrase like: “Amazing collection, Atsushi-san!” He was flattered and conveyed warm greetings to Russia and the deeply respected Cosmo. Larger designer parties are much more rollicking: the number of guests rivals the clubs of Ibiza, alcohol flows like a river, wild dancing happens at the entrance. However, there is no chance to communicate with designers, since they usually have two or three models hanging on them, blocking any extraneous contacts.

Magazine parties are very pleasant: as a rule, there is a concept. For example, everything was very cozy at Punkt magazine, which turned an old building in the center of Milan into a fashion hub for one night. In addition to the buffet, there was a very interesting installation inside the building. The next morning, as I passed by, I hardly realized that this is where everything happened! Although from the outside the building looks abandoned. Magic!

Presentations

Young shoe brands rarely have the opportunity to stage a show, so they limit themselves to presentations. I was happy to visit the Joshua Sanders location, looking for a pair of sneakers for next spring, admired the scale of Sergio Rossi’s installation, which immersed guests in a mystical atmosphere, and had fun at Chiara Ferragni, who presented a playful collection and fed visitors with very tasty snacks, served in a playful way.

In general, I would say that the presentations were much more productive for me. After all, the show can also be watched in recording, especially since there is no opportunity to communicate with the designer or touch the collection, which will go on sale only in six months, but at the presentation there is, and they will even feed you.

It was a great pleasure for me to communicate with Korean, Japanese and Chinese designers. As soon as I said that I was from Russia, their faces broke into welcoming smiles and I was still allowed to take a photo of the collection (although this is not welcome). Having mentioned Cosmo, within a minute I was taking a photo with the designers at their request. That's nice! I will be happy to write a separate article on this topic, since the guys are doing really interesting things. In conclusion, I would like to say that if it weren’t for the endless wandering around Milan and organizational hassles, fashion week would have turned into a complete pleasure. And this is real work.

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The third in the fashion marathon starts Milan Fashion Week. It receives much more attention than New York or London, and there is a simple explanation for this: in Italy the most famous brands show their collections. Gucci, Prada, Versace - even those of us who have nothing to do with fashion have heard about these and other original Italian brands.

The power of a name works flawlessly: the shows of these brands inevitably become the most discussed at the end of not only the Week, but also the entire fashion month. Of course, the trends set by Italian designers promise to be the most relevant in the coming season. Let's talk about them!

At first, when we saw balaclavas at the Raf Simons show at Calvin Klein in New York, we thought: “This is probably just a beautiful stylization, it’s unlikely that anyone else will show similar hats.” How wrong we were! Balaclavas became the boldest headwear of Milan Fashion Week: Alessandro Michele at Gucci decorated them with rhinestones, Francesco Risso at Marni combined a turtleneck with a balaclava, and Donatella Versace presented the most feminine version (as far as this word is generally appropriate in the context of such hats).

New victorian style

Why new? It's simple: in the interpretation of Italian designers, the well-known style of the British era of Queen Victoria becomes either bolder, exposing the body, or, on the contrary, more conservative, which makes suits (like Blumarine, for example) suitable not only for pretentious, pompous events.

Next fall, the fringe will grow in length, but still recalls the era of the “flower children” or the “roaring” 20s. True, not just any one: the synthetic one from the Prada show is the embodiment of the futuristic aesthetics that forms the basis of the new collection of the famous Italian brand.

Wide belts

The emphasis on the waist - a favorite technique of Italian designers - will take on exaggerated dimensions in the coming season: now the most fashionable belts are certainly wide and certainly with a huge buckle.

Raincoat tent

Apparently, we won’t be able to do without this next fall. For admirers street style Paul Andrew at Salvatore Ferragamo has long anoraks, similar to capes, made from technical fabric; For lovers of classic style, Alberta Ferretti has a beige wool poncho.

The logos in our field of vision appeared last spring and acted as a logical continuation of the trend for the 80s - an era when fashion ceased to be an entertainment exclusively for the upper class and gained a foothold in the status of a mass phenomenon. Next season, designers are getting rid of straightforward connotations: Karl Lagerfeld at Fendi imitates the font of the sports brand Fila, Laura Lusuardi at Max Mara complements it with a portrait of a stranger, and Alessandro Michele decorates a jacket with lace trim with the famous Yankees monogram.

Neon colors

Next season, all acid colors will be at their peak again, so suits, dresses and shirts bought in spring and summer in dessert pastel shades - alas! - we hide it in the closet at least until next spring.

The sporty style of next fall, according to Italian designers, will no longer be something abstract from suits, sneakers and typically sporty finishing elements, but will become a very concrete hint at motorsports. Tommy Hillfiger was the brightest in this regard: even the American designer’s podium mimicked a race track. And although this collection is spring-summer, it turned out to be impossible to ignore it - athleisure, as you understand, will not go out of fashion for a long time.

“Don’t leave the room, don’t make a mistake,” we repeat this famous mantra of Brodsky every morning with the onset of the first autumn-winter cold weather. As if reading our thoughts, Italian designers have prepared the warmest and most comfortable solution to this problem - wide blankets, in which you can wrap yourself in almost two layers when leaving the house.

The image of Trinity from the famous “Matrix” by the Wachowski brothers promises to become one of the most copied images next fall. In order not to turn into a parody of the famous heroine, we advise you to buy just one black leather raincoat, which next fall you can (and should) wear with absolutely everything.

Large patchwork

As if by agreement, Italian designers use patchwork, sewing not small cuts, as is usually the case, but large ones. Versace has several types of tartan checks, through which the signature meander is only slightly visible, Missoni has stripes, and Stella Jean has both.

Unusual accessories

As we have already said, the most memorable “accessories” of the entire Week were the exact replicas of the models’ heads and the miniature dragon at the Gucci show. They have nothing to do with fashion, but the number of posts in all in social networks are increasing rapidly. However, it was not only Alessandro Michele who decided to use the hype technique: Lucy and Luke Meyer at Jil Sander gave the models a pair of pillows (well, anything can happen!), and at Tod’s the models came out on the catwalk with five puppies. The most popular, naturally, turned out to be a cute white and fawn French bulldog, who settled in the arms of Gigi Hadid. Of course, we can no longer call the animals on the catwalk accessories (may animal activists forgive us for this not the most accurate generalization in the title).