Milan fashion week reflects Italy's mood of austerity

A new Post "Milan fashion week reflects Italy's mood of austerity" was written on the February 23, 2012 at 1:02 pm on "Textile Global - Textile and Fashion News".

A tax evasion crackdown means rich Italians aren't flaunting their
wealth – and these designs were deliberately under-the-radar

Milan fashion week has a new muse: the taxman. The new Italian
government's commitment to fighting tax evasion is already slowing
demand for expensive cars, as affluent Italians adapt their habits in
order to avoid attracting attention. Vittorio Missoni, chairman of his
family's fashion house, recently told Women's Wear Daily that "people
are afraid of showing they can spend".

This is the first Milan fashion week since Silvio Berlusconi was
replaced by Mario Monti as Italian prime minister, and signs from the
first designers to present collections are that the shift in the
nation's outlook is already being reflected on the catwalk.

In the light of austerity measures announced by Monti, the Italian
fashion industry has forecast a 5.2% reduction in revenues in 2012.
Gian Giacomo Ferraris, chief executive of Versace, used military
language in discussing the year ahead. "The markets are full of
perils, but we have strengthened our defences," he said.

The catwalks have breathed life into Missoni's vision for Italian
fashion. Following in theme from the Gucci show, which opened with a
military jacket, the MaxMara catwalk show began with an olive green
greatcoat worn with a peaked caps. Shimmering silver shoes seemed a
feminine take on the mirror-shine of an officer's boot, and the show's
descriptive notes called attention to its "military aplomb",
describing it as "designed for the strong determined woman".

A MaxMara coat is always a status symbol, but these designs were
deliberately under-the-radar. The dominant colour was olive green,
rather than the more recognisable camel, or the high-maintenance
winter white popular in recent seasons. At the cuff of the coats, the
traditional five gold buttons were nowhere to be seen; in their place
was a luxurious but understated trim of fur dyed to match the sleeve.
Double-faced cashmere was felted to give the surface a more
utilitarian finish.

MaxMara was the third major fashion collection of 2012 to cite as
inspiration Fritz Lang's 1927 film Metropolis, an early science
fiction classic set in an urban dystopia that explores conflict
between the elite and the exploited workers on whom their affluence
depends. Givenchy's haute couture collection, shown in Paris in
January, referenced the film, as did designer Tom Ford during showroom
presentations of his new collection during last week's London catwalk
shows.

Milan fashion week autumn/winter 2012 [1] Italy [2] Milan fashion
week [3] Fashion weeks [4] Europe [5] Jess Cartner-Morley [6]

guardian.co.uk [7]

Links:
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[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/fashion/milan-fashion-week-autumn-winter-2012
[2] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/italy
[3] http://www.guardian.co.uk/fashion/milan-fashion-week
[4] http://www.guardian.co.uk/fashion/fashion-weeks
[5] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/europe-news
[6] http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/jesscartnermorley
[7] http://www.guardian.co.uk

http://www.textileglobal.com/2012/02/milan-fashion-week-reflects-italys-mood-of-austerity.html

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