The slow, downward death spiral of Alitalia meant I had to change my travel plans out of Milan – better safe than sorry, I always say. Unfortunately I only had half a day in my former adopted home town as a result, which meant loading up on espresso before bolting out the door to my first appointment. It was pretty obvious the fashion week circus had come to town – I lost count of how many models I spotted on the streets, portfolio in hand and hobo-style “day bag” over one shoulder.
I had never been to the White Show fashion fair before, but I was familiar with the venue, the legendary Superstudio space in the funky Porta Genova area, which is the epicentre of the social scene during Salone del Mobile, the equivalent of Fashion Week for Milan’s other major export (furniture). I thought the White Show presentation was seriously slick, with everything from the visitor badges to the exhibitor badges very carefully branded. Each of the stands was in a sort of walk-in closet, all white of course, with sliding doors. It really felt quite calm inside the booths as a result.
First stop was fashion editors’ favourite, Laura Urbinati – Anna Wintour is probably their number one fan. Sarah Harris from British Vogue also bought a Laura Urbinati Bordato bikini from CLICKINI.com which she loved, and featured the Laura Urbinati 3 Annelli bikini in the June issue of Vogue. This year, the Urbinati collection featured incredible reversible bikinis in clashing colours remeniscent of Marni. One style featured a 50s high waist, which could be doubled over to show a flash of the contrasting colour below. Reversible styles are popular for next year, with Melissa Odabash also offering them. Laura Urbinati also followed the Liberty print trend mentioned in a previous post about Paris.
Naelie had the booth just around the corner from Laura Urbinati and I stopped by to chat with Diane and Delphine before dashing off to find a taxi to take me to my Tomas Maier appointment downtown. I was worried about being late, but needn’t have been concerned because the showroom was packed with buyers and my arriving a few minutes behind schedule went entirely unnoticed! The Tomas Maier collection for Spring Summer 09 was fantastic, featuring his signature neutral shades, as well as a superbright turquoise and even prints this time, too. The polka dot pieces were adorable and the feather print was another showstopper – these will all be in store at CLICKINI.com from February!
After a rather hectic morning, I just had time for a leisurely lunch with a former colleague at nearby Panino Giusto (the Coppa Danese dessert is to die for!), directly across from the Sheraton Diana Majestic where Gucci stages its runway shows every season, before dashing to catch my next train…
Jonathan
