As fashion struggles in today’s economic realities, it’s time for brands to cultivate a true following
Few cities generate a quasi-religious fervour for fashion quite like Milan. In the Lombard capital, brands tack billboards onto scaffolding covering churches under renovation. A commercial for Miss Dior perfume plays on a loop on the side of the Duomo, in stark contrast to the cathedral’s gothic architecture. Near the Quadrilatero della Moda, Milan’s upscale shopping district, the tympaneum of the church of San Babila is adorned with placards for Prada. Passing by is a steady stream of people carrying armfuls of shopping bags, proudly associating themselves with their denomination of choice. Are you a Gucci glamourpuss? Or do you worship at the craft-first altar of Bottega Veneta?
With Milan Fashion Week concluding yesterday, the Italian fashion industry must continue to keep the faith in the face of a 10 per cent decline in revenue over the past three years due to geopolitical volatility, the impact of US tariffs on exports and a slowdown in Chinese consumer demand. As designers settle into their roles and consolidate their visions for their brands, pressure mounts to reverse the slump in sales. To respond to this tighter market, the key might be to foster a cult following – a feat easier said than done, and one that requires perseverance.
Take, for example, Milan’s high priestess of fashion, Mrs Prada (as she is reverently referred to in the industry). After 50 years at the helm of the brand, her status as Milan’s spiritual leader seems to be reaching an apotheosis. Last week, Prada provided the opening act, moving its traditional Thursday afternoon slot to Tuesday. At the Fondazione Prada, Mrs Prada and her co-creative director Raf Simons narrowed in on skirts – 63 of them to be precise – on a perspex floor lit up by strobe lights. That evening, thousands of the house’s closest friends piled into the Fondazione to rave until the early hours in the new, Prada-approved combination of stilettos and socks.
There was also the unveiling of Prada’s flagship in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. At the centre of the 19th-century shopping arcade, the brand has expanded its historic Milanese home with a pair of four-storey shops, linked by an underground passageway. The outposts include a Marchesi pasticceria, the latest ready-to-wear collections, leather goods, beauty, private shopping suites and a Pradasphere exhibition that traces the history of the brand. “In these years of uncertainty, we’re allowing people who love the brand to immerse themselves and to understand that this is not just a label,” Prada Group CEO Andrea Guerra tells Monocle. “There are roots. There is a culture. There is heart.”
While Prada set the tone of the week, Giorgio Armani closed it out on Sunday. In the concrete vault of the Tadao Ando-designed Armani/Silos, models wore monochromatic suits, Bermuda shorts and jackets with graphic prints before a selection of scintillating eveningwear and silky tuxedoes during the finale. Backstage after the show, Silvana Armani, the late Giorgio Armani’s niece and the label’s creative director of womenswear, spoke about her intention to evolve the house’s codes. “I introduced cotton, which [Giorgio] didn’t like because it wasn’t sophisticated enough,” she says. “The past is always a reference but we try to modernise the designs.”
Perhaps it’s leaps of faith like these that will amount to a label’s credibility over time and, subsequently, its ability to build a following. Or perhaps it’s the subliminal messaging of church-adjacent advertising.
Grace Charlton is Monocle’s fashion editor. For more fashion updates, subscribe to Monocle today.
