New faces at Moschino as Milan fashion week kicks off - IOL

One of the main events of the Spring-Summer 2027 week, which begins Tuesday, is the debut show at Moschino by the duo of Frenchman Loris Messina and Italian Simone Rizzo, who won critical acclaim with their urban brand Sunnei.

A revamp at Moschino, eagerly awaited collections at Gucci and Fendi: women's fashion week is striving to refocus attention on artisanal know-how in Milan, in the struggling sector of luxury fashion.

One of the main events of the Spring-Summer 2027 week, which begins Tuesday, is the debut show at Moschino by the duo of Frenchman Loris Messina and Italian Simone Rizzo, who won critical acclaim with their urban brand Sunnei.

At Gucci, the provocateur Demna is due to present his second collection, highly anticipated at a time when Italian luxury is going through a rough patch, hurt by macroeconomic tensions and the prolonged slowdown in the Chinese market.

It will also be Maria Grazia Chiuri's second fashion week at Fendi.

"2026 started with a fairly tough January. But fortunately we held up in the second quarter," said Carlo Capasa, head of the Italian fashion chamber, earlier this month, calling it a "miracle" that the sector continues to stay afloat amid myriad challenges.

The fashion chamber is forecasting a narrower drop in the sector's revenue, expected to now be down 1.6 percent for the year, with cosmetics on the rise, apparel picking up, and footwear still struggling.

One hope is a change of faces, with "many houses having changed designers, which inevitably sparks interest in the fashion world," Toni Belloni, president of LVMH Italy, told AFP.

Prada, whose runway show Tuesday afternoon kicks off the week, has inaugurated a new flagship store within the opulent 19th century Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II where the brand was born in 1913.

The brand has spread over eight floors, expanding beyond its boutiques, patisserie, and contemporary art space to add a new underground gallery, a museum, and vast private salons.

The hope is to pamper its wealthiest clients who come to shop in Milan -- and provide a luxurious space to host events -- all in strengthening the brand's image.

This monumental store "distinctly expresses its vision, fostering a dialogue with its audience through an experience in which culture, creativity, hospitality, and retail come together," said Prada’s CEO, Andrea Guerra, in a statement.

In the same gallery, at the foot of Milan's Duomo, Vogue is staging a show Tuesday celebrating "Italian craftsmanship and creativity in the age of technology," featuring La Scala's star dancer Roberto Bolle and American model Alex Consani, among other celebrities.

A few steps away, on the chic Via Montenapoleone, Dior has also opened its new multi-story boutique, complete with a restaurant headed by Michelin-starred chef Enrico Bartolini.

Milan is of great importance to Dior's parent company, LVMH. The world's number one luxury group has already unveiled in recent months new stores for its Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co and Bulgari brands.

The group has also invested in its cashmere specialist Loro Piana, inaugurating last week a new factory in Ghemme at the foot of the Alps, in Piedmont, where nearly 200 employees produce sweaters and other knitwear.

Frederic Arnault, the chief executive of Loro Piana and son of LVMH's CEO, said at the inauguration that the new factory is part of the vertical integration of the company's knitwear production.

On the Milan runways, alongside staples such as Giorgio Armani and Roberto Cavalli, Portuguese brands Marques’Almeida and Miguel Vieira will stage their first shows, as will Ecuadorian designer Neithan Ruiz.

There will also be a farewell: Glenn Martens is presenting his final collection at Diesel, a brand he successfully moved upmarket over the past five years.

The Belgian designer's successor has not yet been named, but he will remain within the Diesel group, at Maison Martin Margiela.