Milan Fashion Week 2023: Diesel bares all with distressed clothing amid a sea of 200,000 Durex condoms, Fendi goes futuristic and Blanc Spaces shines a light on under-represented designers

Feb 24 , 2023

A model wears a creation as part of the Diesel flesh-baring women’s autumn/winter 2023-24 collection presented at Milan Fashion Week, Italy, on February 22. Photo: AP

On the fringes of Milan Fashion Week, 12 designers of colour showcased their work at We Are Made in Italy – which notably dropped off the official calendar this year

Blanc Magazine launched Blanc Spaces for under-represented designers, and Diesel promoted sex positivity and bold shredded designs with The White Lotus’ Haley Lu Richardson in tow

Sexiness is in the air at Milan Fashion Week, where brands are encouraging us all to show some skin next autumn and winter. With skimpy dressing for crowded, overheated parties apparently the order of the day – because, yes, we are doing that again – the invitation to intimacy is on the table.

Here are some highlights from the first day of Milan Fashion Week’s mostly womenswear previews on Wednesday:

Diversity celebrated on the fashion week fringe

Senegalese painter and fashion designer Mokodu Fall poses next to creations at the Afrofashion at Modes event during the Fashion Week in Milan on February 22. Photo: AFP

A party highlighting the new faces of multicultural Milan spilled out into a piazza as one of Milan’s hippest boutiques celebrated 12 designers of colour living and working in Italy.

“This is better than a runway show, because they are getting straight to buyers,’’ said Edward Buchanan, an African-American designer working in Italy for 26 years who has helped bring up the We Are Made in Italy (WAMI) project.

Vietnamese-born fashion designer Phan Dang Hoang poses next to his creations at the Afrofashion at Modes event during the Fashion Week in Milan on February 22. Photo: AFP

WAMI dropped off the official calendar this season when another founder, Italian-Haitian designer Stella Jean, also quit fashion week to protest what she sees as a lack of commitment to diversity and inclusion. But as fashion week got under way, everyone wanted to put the friction behind them and look to the next step.

In a show of good will, the president of Italy’s National Chamber of Fashion, Carlo Capasa, showed up for the event at the Modes boutique, which featured 12 WAMI designers in the store windows.

Madagascar fashion designer Eileen Claudia Akbaraly poses next to her creation at the Afrofashion at Modes event during the Fashion Week in Milan on February 22. Photo: AFP

They included raffia bags by Eileen Akbarahy’s Made For a Woman brand, that works with more than 300 artisans, many from underprivileged backgrounds, in Madagascar.