Fendi kicks off hybrid Milan Fashion Week seeking optimism

MILAN (AP) — The Italian fashion industry is moving to inject optimism into luxury’s dismal year, staging 23 live runway shows and 37 presentations during a hybrid live-digital Milan Fashion Week that aims to excite consumers and connect with the buying network.

Fendi, Dolce&Gabbana and Blumarine open the first day of mostly womenswear previews for the next spring and summer on Wednesday. They will be joined later in the week by Max Mara, Salvatore Ferragamo and Valentino, which decamped from Paris where it normally shows due to travel concerns related to the virus.

Milan stalwarts including Giorgio Armani, Versace and Prada, which is debuting its first collaboration between Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, opted for virtual shows.

″I respect what the other brands decided to do, but we felt we needed to do a runway show″ said Nicola Brognano, who is making his runway debut as Blumarine’s new creative director.

″We wanted to give a sign of positivity. We need a little normalcy. I don’t think there has emerged a means of expression stronger than a runway show. It has everything.″

Some highlights from Wednesday's shows:

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INSIDE FENDI LOOKING OUT

Italy’s long 2 1/2 month lockdown — which also closed down fashion production for a stretch, except for mask making — gave designers time for introspection.

Silvia Venturini Fendi’s mixed men’s and women‘s collection offered the perspective of looking out from the inside — a familiar view for many since the coronavirus has forced drastic shifts in habits.

The white showroom, fitted with S-shaped sofas separated by billowing linen curtains, faced a projection of windows opening onto shadowy foliage. The images were transposed onto diaphanous prints layered over cozy knitwear, while the windows...