By Danica Ward
Staff Writer
The fifth annual Vogue World event just finished its stay at Milano’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II on Sept. 22.
Beginning in 2022, Vogue describes its event as “an annual global livestreamed fashion charity event and street spectacular to celebrate fashion, local culture, and community causes.” In addition, all ticket proceeds and profits from the event are donated to organizations working in the chosen host city. In previous years, Vogue World has kicked off New York Fashion Week, taken over Paris ahead of the Olympics and visited Hollywood to celebrate its cinematic history.
Sponsors ALO, eBay, Eli Lilly and Meta Glasses helped put on the spectacle, also raising funds for northwestern Milan’s Quarto Oggiaro Library. Supporting the library’s recent major redevelopment and creative expansion, Vogue World: Milano raised $4.25 million for the project.
Paying homage to real human craftsmanship and touch, Italy’s famous and historical fashion houses were called upon to create pieces based on this central theme.
Prada, Armani, Versace, Ferragamo and Gucci, among multiple generations of fashion models and celebrities, were invited to Milan to show off their creative talents.
This year’s theme specifically tried to highlight the importance of real creativity and pure human talent, opposing the recent widespread influence of artificial intelligence around the world.
Francesca Ragazzi, Vogue Italia’s editorial content head, told the magazine “This extraordinary event offers a unique opportunity to celebrate with a global audience the timeless story of Made in Italy, a story of genius and craftsmanship,” and “It feels particularly meaningful to do so at this moment in time, in the era of artificial intelligence.”
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Milan’s primary shopping landmark, hosted this year’s fashion extravaganza and became home to all types of physical creativity. Landing on the first day of Milan fashion week, Vogue World heightened the city’s historical bond with the fashion industry.
Even Anna Wintour, Condé Nast’s chief content officer and Vogue’s global editorial director, noted that “Milan is one of the great European capitals of craftsmanship, where heritage and modernity meet, and where art, literature, opera and industry have long converged,” and argued that “There could be no better place for Vogue World to honor everything that is extraordinary about this city than the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.”
This year’s show was divided into five separate acts. Among them were The Artisanal Revolution, The Industrial Revolution, Made in Italy, The Age of Intelligence and The Imagination Revolution.
The show began with craftspeople presenting their handmade objects which were commissioned by the show’s curator, Judith Clark. The items presented were a model of the Duomo, Milan’s main cathedral, a celestial sphere and a loom.
Clark noted that she thought “[the show] also needed to be tied to the Galleria itself and its famous mosaic floor—and that the emblems at its centre represent four cities: Florence, Torino, Roma, Milano.”
Each of the four cities chosen represent and celebrate different landmarks in Italian culture. For Florence, it’s the Renaissance, for Torino the Industrial Revolution, Roma and its films like “La Dolce Vita,” and for Milano the historic fashion and textile industry.
Dancers, choirs, musical performances and all types of artistic expression occurred throughout the night, accompanying the focal point of fashion’s evolution.
Among the elite invitees to the fashion extravaganza included Pamela Anderson in Ferragamo, Jennifer Lopez in Dolce & Gabbana, Mikey Madison in Vivienne Westwood, Hunter Schafer in Prada and Dakota Johnson in Valentino. More celebrities graced the annual event, and can be found on the Vogue website.
Vogue World: Milano brought all eyes to the pinnacle of fashion. From Versace to Valentino and Alicia Keys to Camila Mendes, the show quintessentially represents as Clark states, “artisans celebrating history, translating references from one material to another. It is what fashion does all the time.”
