drama

Are Anna Wintour’s Oscar Plans Interfering With Milan Fashion Week?

Milan Fashion Week is technically scheduled to occur from February 24 to March 1. However, Anna Wintour will only be in Milan from February 26 through 28. According the Telegraph, this is because after Milan she has to go to Paris Fashion Week, which begins March 2, and then get to L.A. for the Oscars on March 7. But let’s face it — the Oscars are where she belongs as a newly-minted movie star thanks to The September Issue, and we hope she walks the red carpet glaring at all the ugly dresses that will undoubtedly be there from behind her giant shades. However Milan Fashion Week organizers are not as excited by Anna’s movie stardom.

Milan Fashion Week was almost crunched down to three days — Anna’s days — since Italian houses don’t want to show when she’s not in town. However WWD reports Fendi and Prada just decided to show on February 25, instead of one of Anna’s Days, as they had previously planned. Yet Italy is a little bitter about how their fashion industry reacted to Anna’s travel plans. The Telegraph reports:

“Anna Wintour, the woman who holds Italian fashion in the palm of her hand,” ran a headline in Corriere della Sera, the country’s most respected broadsheet.

“She wants designers to schedule their shows during these three days,” said Mario Boselli, the president of the Italian Fashion Chamber.

He told The Daily Telegraph: “It has bad consequences for many, many people involved in the shows, from stylists to models to hairdressers. It’s absolutely crazy.

“She’s welcome in Milan but if she only comes for a fleeting visit, perhaps it would be better if she stayed at home.”

However, bolstered by Fendi and Prada’s date change, other labels feel more comfortable showing on the 25th, relaxing the schedule a bit.

[Boselli] said that Paris Fashion Week had resisted similar suggestions for the biggest fashion brands to be concentrated into a few days.

“They have a bit more spirit in Paris and they said no,” said Mr Borselli. “The Italian fashion industry is the best in the world but, in contrast to the French, they don’t seem to recognise their own worth.”

We thought New York was the only city that forced Fashion Week attendees to run around like crazy for eight days, since this is a city that believes neither in free time, breaks, nor moments to breathe. Maybe Paris just values long leisurely cigarette breaks between shows more than who attends them, and refuses to get so stressed out over girls walking down runways in new dresses. Since when did Milan get so stressed out? Maybe all the glint off those flashy mirrored runways has gone to their heads.

Milan Fashion Week in chaos after Anna Wintour cuts visit short [Telegraph UK]
Prada, Fendi Extend Milan Fashion Week [WWD]

Are Anna Wintour’s Oscar Plans Interfering With Milan Fashion Week?