Italian fashion to star at Expo Milan 2015

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Apr 29, 2015

Just a day away from the inauguration of the Universal Exhibition Milan, taking place May 1 to October 31, 2015, the excitement can be felt in the city. Italy's fashion brands in particular are really gearing up for this major event, which should attract more than 20 million visitors to the Italian fashion capital.

The big Italian labels are well positioned for the start, with Giorgio Armani opening the event. The Italian tailor, a symbol of Made in Italy around the world, promises an unforgettable event on opening night this Thursday 30 April 2015.

Appointed "Special Ambassador" of Expo Milano 2015, the designer will be opening the Expo with a big runway show celebrating the house’s 40th anniversary and the inauguration of its museum, Armani/Silos, located on Via Bergognone, not far from the theatre where the show will be held.

A who’s who of stars are expected to attend the event, from Tom Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio to Sophia Loren, Tina Turner and Isabelle Huppert, to name just a few of the celebrities who have been invited.

Ermenegildo Zegna will be part of the festivities with an initiative tied to art and food, a key theme of the Expo, a "food performance" proposed on Saturday May 2 by Italian chef Davide Oldani, called "Lucy + Jorge Orta Fabulae Nature".

For its part, Gucci is the main sponsor of the "Il Principe dei sogni. Giuseppe negli arazzi medicei di Pontormo e Bronzino" exhibition, bringing together 20 monumental tapestries from the 16th century, opening Thursday on the occasion of the Expo.

For Prada, on May 9 the label’s cultural foundation will inaugurate its new Milan head office, a 19,000 m² location in the south of the city, which will host cultural initiatives and exhibitions. Still in the artistic domain, from August 25 to November 15, 2015 the Palazzo Reale will host the "La grande madre" exhibition, focusing on the iconography of motherhood in the world of art, promoted by the Nicola Trussardi foundation.

Other brands, such as Salvatore Ferragamo, have promised collections or special products tied to the Expo. A few noteworthy ones include the fun underwear from Dirk Bikkembergs featuring rainbow colours, and the wine tasting that will be offered every week in-store at Fratelli Rossetti!

Several names in Italian fashion, such as Elio Fiorucci and Matteo Marzotto, will serve as ambassadors of the event, while others have been chosen as official partners, such as the Coin group present on the official site of Rho, with two stores (OVS and Excelsior), and collections of gadgets, souvenirs and clothing with the Expo’s logo.

Institutions will also be well represented. The Camera della Moda will be revealing a special calendar in the coming days announcing some twenty events proposed by the fashion world all throughout the Expo.

The association, which brings together nearly 140 brands and fashion houses, has also launched the "Panorama" project in collaboration with local institutions and the Altagamma Foundation, a federation which unites the luxury companies. The video-installation aims to show off the beauty of the country and will be set up in the city centre at Piazza Gae Aulenti, and will be open to the public from May 21 to October 31, 2015.

Among the countless other initiatives, worth noting are the website and private salon set up by the Montenapoleone association, which oversees the shops in Milan’s luxury quadrilateral and which also has its own calendar of events planned for this special edition of the universal exhibition.