Now more than ever, the Fashion Week is a reflection on the meaning of the present

In a historical period caught between the uncertainty and the desire to go back to normal, Milan decides to go back to fashion – precisely where in March, during the weekend of the spring/summer fashion week, the Italian lockdown had started. In the background, today, we find a “post-themed” scenario, which however is not entirely post-apocalyptic, but on the contrary forces the fashion industry to make decisions that don’t concern just the fashion week. Something has changed, and continues to evolve. Without warning and with great intensity, all previous organization has been overturned, the place and the society seem to have become metaphysical, and therefore all decisions seem to be going in the same direction. There is a desire to reinvent themselves, to build a dialogue with the user, and the attention has shifted to the essential and to an almost self-imposed minimalism that reduces everything to substance. The superfluous leaves room to the need to build a collective dialogue with the new, the issues we are now addressing have changed and, above all, the way we communicate has evolved too.

Milan showed an unprecedented apathy: there wasn’t the usual traffic that rules the rhythms of the city, neither the assiduous presence of international guests, nor the events that have always been the fulcrum of a community, especially the Milanese one, which is founded on the concept of social sharing. In spite of this, fashion shows all its avant-garde propensity through the will and courage to be present, and many brands are choosing to present their collections in streaming. For example, Giorgio Armani’s show aired live on Italian TV station La7. Screens and virtual tours have replaced the physical presence. This decision felt forced to a lot of people, but it also shows a glimpse of the future. So, while camera lenses and advanced 3D software replaced reality by destroying the concepts of latitude and longitude, the most enterprising people were taking taxis and, between a traffic light and a change of outfit, were witnessing an unusual fashion week. Which we can summarize in 5 points.

“Out Of This World” is the title of GCDS Spring/Summer 2021 collection, which literally travels out of this world to enter the third dimension. Thanks to technology and the efforts of the American engineers of Emblematic Group, the Italian streetwear brand has created a parallel universe. The development process of the collection has been unusual, from the pattern design to the digitization, but it managed to recreate almost realistically all the details: the textures of the fabrics, the folds, the reflections and expressions of the faces. In the Front Row we see lots of known faces, from Anwar Hadid to Dua Lipa to Hello Kitty, with the only difference that the first row as well as the catwalk is animated by avatars. GCDS is an animated videogame, a mix between reality and imagination, and the far-sighted vision of the brand's artistic director Giuliano Calza makes you think about what could be the future of the fashion world.

To start again from the little things – this is the deeper meaning of Moschino’s short movie. Jeremy Scott, creative director of the fashion house, decided to shed light on the inner dynamics that are often ignored by recreating a parallel reality; the reflection starts from fashion and ends up affecting the contemporary society that, for reasons of force majeure, has embraced change so quickly that it has become a spectator of a revolution. Inside Out is an upside-down world. Scott’s reflection affects the evolution of the entire collection. Corsetry boning, darts and trims show up on the outside of the clothes, while the color palette is characterized by light pastels and brilliant shades of gold. The clothes run the catwalk in a miniaturized world. The background of the show is a theater, and the models and the front row attendees are impersonated by the puppets created by The Jim Henson Creature Shop. Clothes and accessories have also been reduced to a smaller scale. Moschino presents the Spring/Summer 2021 collection by recreating a surreal atmosphere of yesteryear, elegant and calm and in clear contrast to the deafening noise of the world.

Thanks to the support of Microsoft and AI, the National Chamber for Italian Fashion has created a strong synergy between technology and matter. Two exhibition areas and an architecture designed by Hevolus Innovation clearly inspired by De Chirico's poetics – suspended between sky and sea, these technological hubs host the creations of thirteen designers. A collection of virtual outfits involves the viewer in a multisensory experience designed for all types of devices. The showroom can be accessed via CNMI’s digital platform: Fashion Hub Market and Designers for the Planet. The first exhibition area involves seven young brands, while the second focuses on sustainable fashion. Cutting-edge technology and high definition have contributed to the creation of a virtual, dynamic and innovative environment, creating not only the opportunity to improve the engagement but also a different way of conceiving how fashion collections can be presented.

A 20-minute documentary on television. Before the beginning of the show, aired live on TV, decades of fashion are summarized in a few seconds and told by the voice of Pierfrancesco Favino. Giorgio Armani teaches and rediscovers a way to communicate by showing great openness to a wider audience, with a democratization aim that is unique in the fashion world. Consecrated on the big screen in the ‘80s by director Paul Schrader, who chose to dress Richard Gere in American Gigolò in a Armani suit, “Pensieri senza tempo” is the title of the latest collection, characterized by rigorous lines and geometries combined with fluid fabrics, both in the dark and intense tones of blue and green and in the light and dusty ones of beige and white illuminated by some glitter. The designer invites to take a step back, revealing the desire to return to essentiality in order to regain a sense of measure; The concept that Armani brought to the catwalk is as simple as it is complex, and it helps you understand deeply the Armani style, free from all kinds of norms and trends. His vision is consistent over time, and it’s the key to reading the present through the metaphor of fashion.

“Milan is a new opportunity, a great project that I am developing with my teams, on the concept of identity.” These are the Piccioli’s words, who decided to present this season’s collection in Italy. The show was held at the historic Macchi foundry in the Bovisa area. First opened in 1936, it’s now a large space where cold and gray industrial buildings are contaminated by 1200 plants of 34 different species. Valentino’s connection to a different world starts from the concept of nature: it grows, mutates, evolves and, despite everything, blooms. In the background is the musical performance of the British singer-songwriter Labrinth, while on the catwalk there is a crowd of “people” – women and men wearing clothes that are close to the contemporary and to the desire to go back to normality. We see large and relaxed volumes, transparencies, the jeans created in collaboration with Levi’s, especially the 517 boot-cut model born in 1969, the famous “Valentino stud” that got bigger and dominates all the accessories. The color palette starts from black and involves all the shades, from earthy tones to the bright colors of the blooming nature.