Milan Fashion Week
Milan Fashion Week began a little bit differently from its predecessor on the Fall fashion calendar. With London Fashion Week wrapping Tuesday, the event boasted a total of three in-person runways; but here we are in Milan, and we’ve already seen Fendi present a live socially distant show, featuring new mother, model Ashley Graham, and Prada’s highly anticipated collaboration with Raf Simmons. 23 live shows have been staged for Milan, but of course in this time of pandemic, digital shows have become somewhat of a norm. 41 digital shows are scheduled to occur until the wrap-up of MFW next Tuesday. A-Cold-Wall already presented its men’s utilty wear collection in a film; it should be noted that this is only the brand’s second appearance ever in Milan, debuting at Men’s Fashion Week earlier in January.
It’s safe to say the start and remainder of this whole fashion week will be an interesting hybrid of in-person and multimedia runways.
Raf Simons' debut at Prada
It was well into February when it was announced that Raf Simons would be named co-creative director alongside Miuccia Prada for the brand. The decision wasn’t too surprising given the pair have been friends for a long time and share the same vision that fashion should be related to the state of the world that surrounds us. As for its explanation, some speculate this collaboration is the fruit of Prada’s current financial struggle and a potential foreshadowing of Simons’s succession to Miuccia.
Now onto the collection itself, SS 21, the new duo chose to focus on pragmatism, raising the questions of what remains essential in difficult times. Uniforms were therefor a central element to the runway, along with Miuccia's usual search for feminine vintage shape and Raf's love for prints. I have to say, I really enjoyed the shoes as well as the rigid coats and the colour palette chosen for the collection. The printed sweaters did leave me feeling somewhat let down but even so, here are some of my favorite looks:
About Raf Simons
Raf Simons is a Belgian fashion designer known for his work as creative director for Jil Sanders (2005-12), artistic director for Christian Dior (2012-15) and as chief creative officer for Calvin Klein (2016-18). Simons initially studied industrial and furniture design but quickly directed himself towards fashion after coming across Martin Margiela’s collections which deeply inspired him. In 1995, his brand was launched with a first menswear collection. Since then, the designer has been building his aesthetic which can be described as fluid, non-binary and unconformist. However, when working for different brands, Simons always manages to respect their signature all the while incorporating his own touch which will mostly make his work at Prada worth keeping an eye one.
Innovation prize: Fashion Data
Big Data Paris 2020 has discerned its eighth innovation trophee within the start-up category to Fashion Data, a young french company founded by Romain Chaumais. The young company distinguished itself from its competitors by providing unique consultancy services which are in-tune with the current trends that are sustainability and data. Indeed, Fashion Data helps fashion brands pivoting to a zero waste model by using sophisticated algorithms generated by its Jarvis platform. An example of how the technology works can be seen through one of its tools, Demand Forecast, which predicts the quantity of clothes a company would have to make in order to meet exact demand. In 2019, one of Fashion Data’s clients reduced their clothing production by 1.9 million thanks to the model, thus preventing carbon emissions of 11 000 ton for that year.
While the initiative of the company is worth recognition, the fashion industry itself still has a long way to go before it can call itself ‘zero waste’. Further, it isn’t because it doesn’t have any excess inventory and produces less that companies will be able to get off the hook when it comes to sustainability. Choice of fabrics, manufacturing practices and working conditions remain the central issues facing the industry.
If this company peaks your interest, feel free to visit them at https://www.fashiondata.io/en/.
Kat Delviscio & Louise Wuyts
Comments