The Tamesis
It is a jewel of Italian Belle Epoque fashion, shopping, dining and culture. Anna Wintour revealed today that the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II will now be the venue for Milan’s upcoming Fashion Olympics (aka Vogue World).
Chief Content Officer and Global Editorial Director, Condé Nast Fashion At a press conference hosted by Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala, the location and other latest details of this year’s Vogue World were revealed. First, she paid a personal tribute to Milan, saying: “Visiting this city several times a year for the past few decades has been one of the great pleasures of my life. This place – both for its history and sophistication, and for its creativity and warmth – is the very essence of fashion.”
Announcing the elegant 50-meter-high arcade, completed in 1877, as the venue for the event, Wintour said: “There is no better place for Vogue World to commemorate everything that is extraordinary about Milan than in this magical space between La Scala and the Duomo.”
The fifth edition of the Vogue Tour will take place on September 22, the first day of Milan Fashion Week. “At a time when cultural exchange is more important than ever, we will celebrate the power of international craftsmanship,” Wintour said.
The first four editions of Vogue World, held in New York, London, Paris and Los Angeles, have raised more than $7 million for local charities dedicated to creative education and community support. This year’s event will raise funds for a range of worthy causes in Milan: initiatives that support local craftsmanship, design capabilities and cultural preservation. Wintour said: “Fashion Committed to supporting the City of Milan through dedicated donations to support cultural initiatives that serve the public interest. “The Milan Institutional Commission will provide advice on beneficiary selection.
Francesca Ragazzi, Wintour’s head of editorial content, attended the launch event at Sala Alessi in Palazzo Marino with Wintour Fashion Italy. Prada’s Lorenzo Bertelli, Valentino’s Alessandro Michele and La Scala’s superstar principal dancer Roberto Bolle also addressed leading figures in Italian fashion. These include business leaders such as Diego Della Valle, Renzo Rosso, Remo Ruffini, Gildo Zegna, Carolina Cucinelli and Frédéric Arnault. Designers in the room include Marco de Vincenzo, Fausto Puglisi, Rocco Iannone, Maximilian Davis, Francesco Risso, Margherita Maccapani Missoni, Sabato De Sarno and David Koma.
Other guests included model Bianca Balti, music artist Ghali and Arianna Fontana, Italy’s most decorated Olympic athlete with 14 medals. Paying tribute to Fontana’s legacy, Wintour said: “We like to think of Vogue World as the Olympics of fashion – a global gathering of the best talent in our field.”
Like the Olympics, Vogue World can only be held in close collaboration with the host city authorities. Mayor Sala called Vogue World a “double honour” at the opening of today’s event. He paid tribute to the direct investment that the fashion houses represented in the audience bring to Milan’s economy and described the opportunity to invest in worthy causes in Milan as “the perfect opportunity”, which will be made affordable by the funds raised by Vogue World.
Speaking after Wintour, Alessandro Michele described the “emotional space” that fashion occupies in Milan’s socio-cultural fabric. He describes this year’s Vogue World theme, “Where The Future Is Made By the Hand,” as an opportunity to explore the relationship between Italy’s ancient traditions and handcrafting. fatoamano The potential of human craftsmanship and artificial intelligence, a development he likened to the Gutenberg press.
Prada’s Lorenzo Bertelli also touched on the topic of artificial intelligence, saying: “When we talk about artificial intelligence or automation, we are not talking about replacing expertise, but about creating better tools. Artisans will not lose centrality because their work cannot be replaced.” Bertelli also described sustainability as an “innovation driver” for the Italian fashion industry and the Prada Group.
