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Menswear fashion week starts in Milan on Friday with mix of physical, digital shows again
The fifth wave of the Covid pandemic and its Omicron variant are spreading across Italy, and the Italian Fashion Chamber (CNMI) has had to modify the programme of Milan Fashion Week Men, which now features only four physical shows per day. The fashion week, scheduled in Milan on January 14-18, has been hit by calendar changes and withdrawals, but the five days devoted to the menswear collections for the Fall/Winter 2022-23 promise to be no less attractive, brightened by many novelties.
For health-protection reasons, Giorgio Armani has decided to cancel all its shows, planned for Giorgio Armani and Emporio. In Armani’s wake, other labels, like MSGM, have opted to cancel their physical shows and switch to digital formats, taking some of the shine off the Milanese event. And this despite CNMI’s earnest recommendations to its members, asking them to hold steady.
Of the six new names that were set to debut on the Milanese runways this season, Irish designer Jonathan Anderson and his JW Anderson label, and Claudio Antonioli's new label, 44 Label Group, have both decided to switch to digital.
The week can however count on the other four names making their maiden appearance in Milan, whose runway shows are confirmed: 1017 Alyx 9SM, the label by American designer Matthew Williams, who is also the creative director of Givenchy, as well as Federico Cina, JordanLuca and Justin Gall, three of the most interesting emerging labels around.
Among Italy’s premier names, Zegna, Dsquared2, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Philipp Plein, Etro and Prada have all confirmed their shows. The week’s last day, Tuesday 18, will be dedicated to digital shows including, among others, A-Cold-Wall, Children of the Discordance and Serdar.
Shows for the select few
Altogether, the organisers have 60 events on the programme. This season’s Milan Fashion Week Men calendar, with its 53 labels, comprises “16 physical shows, 22 presentations, 18 digital shows and seven special events.” Due to the pandemic, the shows will welcome only a limited number of guests, up to 100, and most of the shows will also be streamed live online.
The gala evenings and special events programme too has been cut down to size, since many of the happenings initially planned have been cancelled. However, participants will still be able to attend a number of important events, such as the eighth edition of Fashion Film Festival Milano, the tribute exhibition for photographer Giovanni Gastel, and the exhibition dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Italian sportswear label C.P. Company.
Finally, Louis Vuitton will give a new look to its Milanese flagship on via Montenapoleone for the fashion week, with a stunning, unique installation paying tribute to Virgil Abloh. A sculpture of a toy aircraft, a recurring symbol for Louis Vuitton’s creative director, who died on November 28, will have pride of place in the store’s courtyard, while the window displays and ground floor will feature a chessboard on which mannequins and giant chess pieces will be arrayed, showcasing the last menswear collection designed by Abloh, for Spring/Summer 2022, an advance preview of which will be available for sale in Milan.
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