Matteo Marzotto in his Milan offices | Source: The Business of Fashion

MILAN, Italy — When Matteo Marzotto, stylish scion of the Italian fashion dynasty announced in February 2009 that he was acquiring the storied House of Vionnet, owned at the time by Arnaud de Lummen who had already had a go at reviving the sleeping beauty himself, the response from the fashion industry was simultaneously one of intrigue and distaste. On the one hand, a swarm of journalists and buyers packed into Marzotto’s Milan apartment for the initial press conference. On the other, many fashion observers could not fathom how a legendary French fashion house could be moved to Milan, run by an Italian, and designed by Rodolfo Paglialunga, an Italian designer who had worked for most of his career in Italy.

Hogan A/W 2011 Presentation | Source: The Business of Fashion

MILAN, Italy — In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, luxury fashion brands found themselves scrambling to develop strategies for the so-called “new normal.” Logos and conspicuous consumption were out, it was said. Customers were now looking for understated luxury, value and discretion.

And so, in uncanny lock-step syncopation, brands from Louis Vuitton to Gucci to Dolce & Gabbana began a strategic march to the same heritage tune, showcasing their age-old manufacturing techniques in carefully constructed advertising campaigns designed to appeal to notions of timelessness and quality and designing entire collections dedicated to their “iconic heritage.”

But, if the menswear collections just concluded in Milan are any indication, for many fashion brands, the focus on heritage was just another passing trend, in one season and gone the next. The industry has now embraced digital, “the next big thing,” in the same superficial and fleeting way. But generally speaking, if you scratch the surface, their real understanding of digital opportunities and risks is only screen deep.

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Jil Sander Spring/Summer 2010 | Source: Pitti Immagine

MILAN, Italy — This season, BoF dipped its toes a bit deeper into the waters of the Italian men’s fashion scene, starting with Pitti Uomo and moving on to fashion week in Milan. And, as the fashion circus moves on to Paris tomorrow, my fashion fantasies are still lingering on the outstanding presentation by Raf Simons for Jil Sander Spring/Summer 2011 at the stunning Villa Gamberaia just outside Florence. It might not have been particularly wearable, but it certainly left a lasting impression.

Editors and bloggers were out in full force to see Mr. Simons’ pops of colour, which Tommy Ton aptly described—in the words of Michael Roberts, he was careful to point out—as a bit of sorbet to “cleanse the palate” before the start of the season. Tim Blanks called it “a synthetic sundae.” And afterwards, Susie Bubble was practically reeling from the sensory overload created by the combination of fluorescent colour-blocking, the setting sun, a looming rainstorm and those sweet flashes of colour below the classic shoes.

Describing the collection, Raf Simons told BoF that it was “A celebration of colour; a tribute to the vibrancy of extreme tropical nature, with colours that were brighter than ever before, renewing the summer wardrobe and subverting the codes of formal tailoring.” Indeed, it was a refreshing and promising start for the men’s season which had just begun.

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MILAN, Italy — On Saturday, 19 June at 3pm Milan time, 2pm London time and 9am New York time, The Business of Fashion is pleased to bring you the livestream of the Burberry S/S 2011 menswear collection. BoF is one of the selected sites from around the world — and one of only a few sites based in the UK — to stream the show, which this season sees the launch of Burberry Acoustic, a new ongoing initiative with emerging British music talent, curated by Christopher Bailey.

“We felt that with the great interaction that we have experienced with our social media website artofthetrench that we could collaborate with musicians and artists to put together an incredible group of ongoing acoustic sessions from some of the finest talent coming out of the UK and bring them to the broad global Burberry audience,” says Bailey of the new cutting-edge fashion-music-film initiative. … Continue Reading

VICENZA, Italy — Whereas Italy may have initially been slow on its uptake of Fashion 2.0, momentum appears to be building there to embrace digital media in all its forms, but especially fashion film. Indeed, two high profile events focused on moving image in fashion will take place in the month of May alone, bringing a much needed digital awareness to the country’s conservative fashion mainstream.

Tomorrow, in Vicenza, is the launch of OPPURE II, La moda in movimento verso i nuovi media, an exhibition curated by Federico Sarica, director of the Italian edition of VICE magazine and professor of fashion and new media at the European Institute of Design ModaLab in Milan. OPPURE II will showcase moving image in fashion and discuss its impact on the future of the industry. And, later this month, Diane Pernet will bring ASVOFF, her pioneering peripatetic fashion film festival, to Milan in collaboration with Vogue Italia.

Earlier this year, we featured the stunning short film for Fred Butler by Elisha Smith-Leverock which debuts at Pernet’s event in Milan, and today we bring you one of the featured films for OPPURE by Luca Merli. More OPPURE films can be viewed on the BoF YouTube page.

The Business of Fashion is an official media partner for OPPURE II which runs from 14 May 2010 – 27 June 2010 at Spazio Monotono run by Cristiano Seganfreddo in Vicenza, Italy

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