The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted almost every aspect of normal life and celebrated events like fashion week are no exception. While some brands, such as Yves Saint Laurent, for example, have taken that time to completely re-think their 2020 calendar, others have opted to move their regular shows online. And the Camera Nazionale Della Moda Italiana (CNMI), the governing body of Italian fashion, is following suit with the first-ever Milan Digital Fashion Week.
Related: Milan Fashion Week Highlights: Belted Jackets, Woven Handbags, Power Suits, and More
Taking place between July 14 and July 17, the event will present collections by 37 brands (among which are MSGM, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Etro, Moschino, Gucci, and Salvatore Ferragamo) for the spring/summer 2021 and resort seasons for both menswear and womenswear. And while, normally, fashion week is only attended by a few lucky industry pros and A-list celebrities, Milan’s Digital Fashion Week will be live-streamed to a much wider audience on cameramoda.it, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Weibo, and The New York Times, which is the official streaming partner of the event.
Here’s how the event is structured: each brand is assigned a 30-minute time slot to reveal its latest collection in whatever manner it wants. And this, being a digital event, is giving an incredible amount of freedom to companies. Ermenegildo Zegna, for example, is planning a “phygital” show, that will feature both physical and digital elements. Gucci, that had to cancel its resort 2021 collection in San Francisco on May 18, will instead show it on July 17 in a digital format. And Etro will throw an actual runway show on July 15th that will be live-streamed from the Four Seasons Hotel in Milan. Milan Digital Fashion Week will also include talks, digital showrooms, webinars, and video content curated by industry pros.
Related: A Look Back at Milan's Best 1980s Street Style
CNMI also announced that the digital fashion week would not replace the physical one that is still scheduled to take place September 22-28, and for which, designers such as Giorgio Armani have already confirmed participation.
Download the full calendar of Milan Digital Fashion Week here.
