Armani throws his weight behind efforts to revive Milan fashion week

Posted by - armaniemporiowatches.co.uk

Armani throws his weight behind efforts to revive Milan fashion week
Italian designer joins board of industry body charged with recovering biannual fashion showcase's fading dynamism

Giorgio Armani after a Milan fashion show. He had refused to join the body until all of Italy's top brands joined him in showing in the city. Photograph: Max Rossi/Reuters
Italian efforts to revitalise Milan fashion week have received a boost after Giorgio Armani, the country's most famous designer, said he was joining the national body that promotes the industry and co-ordinates the biannual show.

Reversing the stance he has defended for months, the 79-year-old announced he was to become a member of the national chamber of Italian fashion (CNMI) in a bid to show "commitment to the best possible recovery of [the sector's] dynamism".

Concerns have been growing in Italy in recent years that Milan fashion week, inaugurated in 1958, has lost some of its erstwhile energy and creative edge.

In a bid to reboot its credentials, the CNMI appointed a new board of directors, including the outspoken Prada chief executive, Patrizio Bertelli, earlier this year.

It also appointed Jane Reeve as its first chief executive. As a female British marketing executive, she was immediately referred to in Silvio Berlusconi's family newspaper, Il Giornale, as "the Thatcher of fashion".

Following Armani's surprise declaration, there was speculation that the new-look CNMI might succeed where it had previously failed. "It's clear that Jane brings luck," remarked one source.

Armani, who is arguably seen as the most important Italian designer, had been refusing to join the chamber, along with Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, until all the country's top brands joined him in regularly showing their collections in Milan.

The Milan loyalist had reportedly targeted labels such as Miuccia Prada's Miu Miu for showing in Paris instead of Italy's fashion capital.

But in a statement released on Wednesday, Armani said that he had been impressed by his fellow designer Ennio Capasa's decision earlier this year to bring his Costume National women's summer collection back to Milan from Paris.

That, said Armani, was "an important first step" towards fixing the industry's plight, and now he too was prepared to do his bit.

"While I am still of the opinion that it is necessary for all Italian brands to come back and show in Italy in order to give due prestige to our country, as an entrepreneur I understand that certain situations, which have developed over the years, need time to resolve themselves," he said in a statement.

"I appreciated Ennio Capasa's move – an important first step in this direction. In the hope that other Italian companies follow this example, in the meantime, it seems only right, as well as necessary, for me to send another strong signal of commitment to the best possible recovery of Italian fashion's dynamism and, at the same time, to show a sign of confidence in the actions undertaken by the other brand members of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion."