Milan Fashion Week opens Tuesday (Sept 23), a feast of Italian style set to be dominated by the late Giorgio Armani's final collections and new faces at Gucci and Versace.
Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Max Mara, Fendi, Roberto Cavalli, Ferragamo and Bottega Veneta are among those showcasing their Spring/Summer 2026 women's collections throughout the week.
But the event will be overshadowed by the death this month of Armani, the legendary 91-year-old head of a multi-billion-euro empire who helped put Milan on the fashion map.
Sunday's (Sept 28) Giorgio Armani show was already going to be a grand affair, the culmination of celebrations marking 50 years of the label beloved of the Hollywood A-list.
Staged at Milan's prestigious Pinacoteca di Brera art museum, the show is now expected to act as a final tribute.
The museum is also hosting from Sept 24 until Jan 11 an anniversary exhibition of Armani's top 150 creations, a project long in the making on which the designer worked "until the last minute", according to the group.
"We celebrate Milan Fashion Week in memory of one of its founders: Giorgio Armani," the head of Italy's chamber of fashion, Carlo Capasa, said earlier this month.
He said Armani offered "creative, entrepreneurial, and human lessons" to the industry at a time of transformation, "in which vision, quality, and consistency represent essential values".
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New beginnings
But even as the Milan fashion world mourns its "king", this week will also see several hotly anticipated debuts, notably Georgian designer Demna at Gucci.
After a decade at Balenciaga, Demna is now charged with reversing a slump in sales at the Italian brand owned by French giant Kering – arguably one of the toughest jobs in the luxury industry.
Gucci is not on the official runway calendar in Milan, but a private event is scheduled for Tuesday (Sept 23) evening.
"If I understand correctly, it's a presentation, a film that will be kind of Demna's vision, how he interprets Gucci," Kering's new chief executive, Luca De Meo, told reporters earlier this month.
"It's going to be something a little different. I haven't been allowed to watch it yet."
Meanwhile, Dario Vitale is making his debut at Versace, after taking over on April 1 from Donatella Versace, who was creative director for nearly 30 years.
Again, no runway show is scheduled for the flashy brand, which was acquired by Prada just weeks after Vitale took over.
Instead, on Friday (Sept 26) night, there will be an "intimate event", revealing Dario Vitale's debut collection for the fashion house.
The programme described it as "a unique unveiling, embodying Versace's foundations and reflecting Vitale's new language".
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Chinese confidence collapse
Other debuts include England's Louise Trotter, presenting her first runway show for Kering brand Bottega Veneta, and Italian Simone Bellotti for Jil Sander.
They are part of an industry-wide shake-up, including at Dior and Chanel, at a time when luxury brands are still struggling with slowing demand in China and global economic uncertainty.
Luca Solca, a luxury sector analyst at Bernstein, said there were small signs of an improvement in Chinese confidence, with an uptick in in-store traffic over the summer.
But he noted that "with prices going up, you need to give at least something new to consumers".
"I think that this unprecedented amount of change in creative responsibilities is responding to this imperative," he added. – AFP
