(Milan) The Italian luxury house Moschino opens the men’s fashion shows in Milan this Friday, with the first men’s collection signed by its new artistic director Adrian Appiolaza, one of the highlights of Fashion Week.
The irreverent and pop-inspired brand founded in 1983 by Franco Moschino, which marks its return to the men’s catwalks in Milan after two years of absence, will also take the opportunity to unveil its women’s pre-collection for 2025.
Men’s fashion week, dedicated to the spring-summer 2025 collections, offers a total of 84 meetings until Tuesday, including 24 fashion shows and 52 presentations.
Adrian Appiolaza, an Argentine designer with a whimsical look, was named creative director of Moschino in January, following the sudden death of his predecessor Davide Renne just ten days after taking office.
Davide Renne was called to the helm after the departure of Jeremy Scott, known for his offbeat collections and his extravagance, who left his mark on Moschino for a decade.
Former collaborator of Jonathan Anderson for the Spanish luxury brand Loewe, Adrian Appiolaza presented his first women’s collection for Moschino in Milan in February, full of elegance, but punctuated with eccentric touches.
“Abrasive irony”
He has occasionally drawn from Moschino’s rich archives, bringing up to date iconic pieces to perpetuate the legacy of founder Franco Moschino and celebrate a return to basics.
“I have always admired the abrasive irony of Franco Moschino,” he said in January. “His designs were not just clothing, but a commentary on the status quo of society of his time, built on fabric.”
Gucci, Prada, Armani, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana… the big labels answered the call for men’s week. But there were also defections, like that of Valentino, which canceled its men’s and haute couture shows planned for June after the departure in March of its creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli.
After 25 years at the famous Roman fashion house, Mr. Piccioli was replaced by the flamboyant Italian designer Alessandro Michele, who left Gucci in 2022.
Milan Fashion Week will welcome for the first time the Anglo-Jamaican designer Martine Rose and her eponymous brand as well as Dunhill, the British label of the Swiss luxury giant Richemont, whose new designer Simon Holloway was a triumph during his debut in February at London.
First steps in Milan
Among the newcomers also includes the Georgian label David Koma, another regular on the London catwalks, which chose Milan to launch its men’s line during a presentation on Saturday.
Another novice, the Chinese brand Valleyouth, founded in 2012 by Li Wenjie and Geng Hualiang, which intends to conquer the Milanese public, but by contenting itself with a digital fashion show on Tuesday, the last day of Fashion Week.
Relegated to second place for a long time, men’s fashion, valued more by the big brands, has regained color.
After a rebound of 20.3% in 2022, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the turnover of Italian men’s fashion increased by 4.7% to 11.8 billion euros in 2023, according to the study center of the employers’ federation Sistema Moda Italia.
The entire Italian fashion sector saw its turnover increase by 3.3% last year, to 102 billion euros.
After a strong first half-year increase (+8.5%), Italian fashion activity, however, fell by 2.5% in the fourth quarter of 2023, in a context of strong geopolitical tensions.
According to Carlo Capasa, the president of the Italian Fashion Chamber, this negative trend continued in January and February 2024, with a drop of around 3% compared to the same months of last year, mainly attributable to the Italian market .