The shadows of crisis on the Fashion Week

Only two days before the start of Milan Male Fashion week miss and the rushing city seems to be the depressed, not-buying capital. Few passersby, half-empty shops and frustated window-watching occupy the high street. Corso Vittorio Emanuele has seen its pillars falling down and also via Berchet has been closed for the ice. For scaramantic ones, the sign of the crisis appears when the city loses its glam pieces.

The crisis pervades all the streets and transforms them. Even 2 stores along the high street has switched to temporary shop, but in the worst, low cost way. And where was Mondadori bookshop in the past, now the mega-window of AN lies.

Crisis changes trends and people behaviour in front of the mirrors and shop windows. The dresses walking down the street are still fashion, but too many times are exceptional fakes, like UGG boots. Sadly, or not, the girl who saved on food to buy a Balengiaca bag is disappearing. While fashion victims and addicteds can't afford their beloved blue chip brands, the fashion conscious ones grow, aware of the possibilies of the outdoor markets. Fashion traverls move all over the world to find branded bargains in the devasted NY or in the well-known Camden Town market in London.

Two days left to the fashion shows and designers are not so optimistic, neither the Fashion Italian Chamber. Indeed, a fee of 60 euros has been put on journalists who wants to being part of the fashion biz in the following 4 days. The president of the the chamber, Boselli, said: " The accreditation tax is not about the crisis: Paris, London and NY already has made it paid for several years." And what about the crisis? Boselli replays: " People still want branded and wonderful clothes, but not at boutique prices." In this statement, he referes to the exstraordinary results gained with outlets, even though Ascomodamilano reports not encouraging data. " This trend is not good for retail, traditional, one brand store in the historical centre." Franco Tomelli explains, secretary of Fashion Federation. And the futures about sales period (2% sold more than the previous year, medium receipt 150 euro) are not enough. " They are going to finish soon and people won't spend until the next ones. There are other priorities in the long run."

On Saturday, Milan Male Fashion Week is going to start for the F/W 09/10 and will be interrupted on the 20th of January: 4 days, one less the usual, because of the YSL event in Paris, designed by Stefano Pilati.

Milan welcome the largest Diesel boutique

After Tokyo-Ginza and Hong Kong-Queens Road, Milan welcome the third Diesel Planet, an huge store of 1500 meter square on 3 levels that shows all the collections and lines of the brand. Everyone can see it at the cross of Piazza San Babila and Corso Vittorio Emanuele. The opening of this belongs to a wider project to make Diesel preminent in the fashion capital, thanks the other stores in Corso Venezia, in Galleria San Carlo e Corso di Porta Ticinese.

Some architectural particularities: a cristal, curved wall of 7 m high and 35 m long, spreads from one side to the other, while a spiral staircase its the central reference. At the entrance of the shop, an enourmous wall of denim Diesel welcome the clients. On it, over 150 models are displayed indifferent colour, 5000 types in total.

To find out the jeans that fits you, the store provides you with a magic mirror that gives you a 360° view of your silhouette. Moreover, a pc chooses for you the perfect cut and wash. Besides those, a wi-fi connection allows you to shop in the on-line boutique.

Each level detains its own olfatory station, studied to stimulate senses in function of the display. There is also a bookshop that sells the best edition of fashion and design by Tashen, which has edited"XXX of Diesel Communication", while a vintage corner will offer all the cult products of Diesel after 70's. And because music continues to occupy a preminent position in Diesel world, a dj consolle will host dj-stars during perfomance live.

oh bej, oh bej

photos by Giulia Agostini

The Oh Bej! Oh bej! fair is the traditional outdoor market that takes place each year on the 7th December for one week around Castello Sforzesco in Milan.

It first appeared in 1288 in honour of Saint Ambrogio, but the origins belongs to the arrival of Giannetto Castiglione, Gran Maestro of the order of the Saints Maurizio and Lazzaro. He was in charge under Pope Pio IV to turn on the faith in the city of Milan. When he entered the city walls on the 7th December, he handed out presents to gain the love of the inhabitans, until he reached the Duomo.

From that point on, the market presents each year clothes, old toys and mainly food.

Is financial crisis the wayback to the grey scale?

Attending Paris fashion week while the world’s economy goes into freefall is a disorientating experience. There’s nothing like watching the talking heads on CNN getting increasingly apocalyptic about the state of your finances, only to turn the TV off to rush to a fashion show featuring dresses and shoes with four-figure price tags. Of course, clothes take months to design and produce, so the styles that were on the runways last week were designed way before “credit crunch” sounded like anything more than a cute piece of alliteration. In that sense, you can’t really blame the designers for being as free as ever with the gilt and the gold.

As fashion is used to do, it has got a whiff of the crisis. That's why in the lastest shows disapperead the costly flights of fancy that have characterized the runways for the past few years: the tulip skirts, the enormous handbags, the heavy detailing, the frills and ribbons. Instead, they’ll return to tailoring in safe colors—blue, gray, and black—because customers will need to be convinced of the durability of any of the few purchases they make. You can say a lot of things about a metallic tulip skirt with frayed edges, but “durable” is probably not on the list.

Then again, that line of reasoning is probably too simplistic. Designers will likely opt for even more ostentation, because they know that the real money is with people who won’t be affected by this financial downturn at all. Fashion houses will be aiming for the new markets—Russia, China, India, the Middle East, and South America—and the enormous wealth therein. The lower end of the upper market (i.e., those who live in the West) will be the ones cutting back. The people who are buying up Francis Bacons and sailing round on super yachts (mentioning no names. Oh, just one, then—Roman Abramovich) will continue to shop without concern. This newly emerging demographic don’t just not worry about price tags, they don’t even look at price tags. So what we’ll see on the runways will be a microcosm of the world itself: the plain will get plainer and the ornate will get even more ornate.

How a window speaks about current events

India is the star of the holiday windows at the famous label Hermès flasghip store on rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris. An enchanting display that's a far cry from the latest Mumbai tragic events. Director of decoration Leila Menchari's aim was to captivate passers-by with unique and exclusive pieces.

Diesel's interractive windows

Diesel Creative Team, in collaboration with Nanika from London Think & Make It of Milan, two agencies which work on ‘interactive art', has transformed in digital installations the windows of Diesel store in Piazza S.Babila.

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A simple idea for a great effect. Basically a camera shoots the actions of the passers and reproduces them in a deforming, artistic way. Two big screens in the square reproduce the situation and the passers become the main character of the work of art.

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This attention to new technologies and artistic expression will caracterise the mega-store Diesel in Milan and its 1300 mq.

The pure Vintage life of Aurora Tassi

photos by Giulia Agostini, model Yulissa Aranibar Espinoza

On the last Sunday of every month, the outdoor market takes place in Navigli zone. Hundreds of stalls are displayed and specialised on collecting 20th-century art, antique or vintage products. Yesterday I join my friend Yulissa there, as I am used every last month Sunday.

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Here, I found a colourful woman called Aurora Tassi and her outstanding dresses and bags. Kindly, she replied to my questions and revealed a lot about herself and her business. As long she can remember, she is fond of vintage clothes with a particular interest on all the kinds before the 80s. And if you search out something current, for sure it is an exceptional item.

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One-shot and unique are the best adjectives for her stall. That's why a lot of people recognise it wherever she sells and she has already gained a group of regular customers that knows that she has only the best. In addition, she offers a post service: indeed, clients can required some taillored applications or arrangements to their purchases. Moreover, a lot of them contact her via internet asking for photos of her products.

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What is more astonishing of Aurora is her being ante litteram: she used to collect Vintage 30 years before it became an overused fashion.

Meet2biz: a living room in Milan

photos by Giulia Agostini

The first time I entered Meet2biz in Naviglio Grande, I thought: where I am? but after a while, I felt really comfortable, as I was in my living room. Indeed, this is the concept of the store.

Its opening was a long way. Actually, their owner's were already working on this showroom long time before. Everything started with the efforts of a group of young people who wanted to bring in Milan the brand new and variety in the very static and fake-elitaristic fashion world. After some experience in temporary exhibit developped in events around the city, they stopped here in Alzaia Naviglio Pavese.

How is the store like? Firstly, there's a cute garden outside with a big wooden sofa. Then, you enter and you find another two armchairs with a table and a bookshelf upon and clothes around. If you sit down, you can have a rest and read a book or choose a cd in front of you and put it on. Enjoy it. If you continue to discover this place, you bump into another room where a enourmous red sofa is waiting for you.

Why all these sofas? Well, the concept of the showroom is to create a inhouse space like a living room. The owners know that people come here to have a look and they'll turn another time to buy, so it is essential to prepare an enviroment that call them back. Mainly, they're not that kind of sellers that compel you to buy: be yourself, choose your style and possibly find it here. These are their motto. And they help you a lot in building your style because they change every month their products and designers hosted.

The capability of creating relationship through their personality, products and atmosphere is their strenght: not only through the appropriate interior design and high-quality and taillored clothes, but also through pr agency, myspace, blog, friendship, cobrandings. In this manner they are able to invite everyone in their living room for good cup of cofee and a pleasant chat, as I had.

M2b:
Alzaia Naviglio Grande 14, 20144 Milano
http://www.meet2bizshop.com/wordpress/
Tel.: +39 339 7962395
Tel.: +39 339 8995760
Fax : +39 02 36587091
Email: info(at)meet2bizshop.com