HNL / NYC / TOKYO / MILANO
Milan Fashion Week: Part one
By: Anna Tomita
Milan fashion week was simply the best fashion experience for someone who lacks the accessibility to high fashion. Everywhere you go, you see editors, models, and press dressed in amazing clothes that you see in magazines and blogs. Unlike NY fashion week, the crowd is very limited and events are less publicized and the paparazzi minimal. It is really to tend to a limited group of buyers, editors, and bloggers who are already well involved in the fashion cult community of Italy.
My friends and I arrived in Milan, and received show schedules from one of the girl's aunt who is a buyer in Boston. From there, we found the areas and just made an appearance before the given show started. The venue would be packed with fashionistas and recognizable faces from magazines and websites, just lounging and chatting, taking photos and jotting notes down in their moleskins. A world that seemed so far away, tucked between the glossy pages were suddenly right in front of our eyes. Compared to places like NYC, Milan seemed to lack the amateur followers of fashion, hence, we were mostly the only ones without privileges who was just there for the experience.
I was fortunate to have been invited by my possible internship label, San Andres Milano (www.sanandresmilano.com) to attend their fall winter 2010 presentation that took place in the Mercedes Benz Fashion Center. Right as I arrived, I was bombarded by people taking photos of me by the entrance. It was a strange feeling, because I was a nobody, but the fact is that in the industry, anyone could be anyone. Especially today, where a 13-year old blogger occupies the front row of a Dior Haute Couture show, it is hard to tell who's who and who's what in the industry. Once inside the building, different vendors or magazines, modeling agencies, and companies engaged the crowd on the bottom floor, along with a photo exhibition by Cannon. I was then lead to a private room on the same floor which housed San Andres Milano's newest line, with live models and refreshments. I met the designer, the bag technician, and the publicity manager while the Max Mara show was going on right above my head, on the second floor which of course needs an invitation card to enter. The overall experience was quite overwhelming. Fashion was all over me, even in the air that was quite hard to breathe. Scent of various perfumes, the flashing lights, and the constant glances of people who are wondering or even trying to figure out who you are near by.
The rest of our visit was even more filled with excitement and constant inspirational moments. We were able to enter the Max Mara stage after the show, and actually walk the runway and look at the construction of the show. We repeated that at a later Icerberg show.
…to be continued…
