Inside Milan Fashion Week: Debuts at Gucci, Marni and Fendi

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Inside Milan Fashion Week: Debuts at Gucci, Marni, and Fendi"

The Run-Through with Vogue — March 2, 2026
Hosts: Nicole Phelps, Francesca Ragazzi, Luke Leach
Guest Contributor: Arden Fanning Andrews

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Overview

This episode takes listeners directly inside Milan Fashion Week, unpacking major designer debuts at Gucci, Marni, and Fendi. Vogue editors Nicole Phelps, Francesca Ragazzi, and Luke Leach share on-the-ground impressions, dissect runway moments, and discuss the shifting dynamics of Italian fashion houses, focusing on evolving creative leadership, new directions, and the unique atmosphere of Milan’s fashion scene.

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Key Segments & Themes

1. Gucci’s Demna Debut: Reinvention & Foundations

[00:32–06:05, 07:13–10:15]

• Demna’s Debut: The episode kicks off as editors arrive at Demna’s highly anticipated first full collection for Gucci. Formerly at Balenciaga, Demna is known for radical experimentation, but his Gucci collection pivots to something more foundational and wearable.
  • Nicole Phelps: “For 10 years, he was an experimentalist, outrageous couture, where he would wrap you up in 50 meters of tulle net. And this was…not basics, but foundational in a way.” [02:47]
• Set Design: Artificial forum with statues, reflecting historic grandeur but modern intent. The show included "muscle boys" in body-hugging lycra and jeans, nodding to antique ideals and gym culture.
• Archetypes & Identity:
  • Luke Leach: “It was a series of character studies… what he thinks the market wants now.” [03:45]
• Everyday Luxury: Demna’s challenge—making overtly Gucci items that are still for daily wear. The first new bag designed by him made a discreet but symbolic appearance.
• Supermodel Cameo:
  • Nicole Phelps: “He’s never had supermodels on the Runway and here he had no less a supermodel than Katie ‘Kate’ Moss close the show in a quite daring for a 50-something gal, completely backless dress, showing off her Tom Ford era Gucci G-string with double G thong.” [05:30–06:00]

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2. Italian Subcultures & Gucci’s Mood

[07:13–10:15]

• Subcultural References:
  • Francesca Ragazzi: “I found very interesting the beginning with the Italian subcultures, the Maranza, but also the sort of Shura attitude and then going towards a more romantic…feeling towards the end with Kate Moss and the bling bling strip.” [07:44]
• Accessory Quality: Praise for tributes to former creative director Alessandro Michele’s iconic shoes and updates to the “Jackie” bag in soft leather.
• Wearability:
  • Ragazzi: “Modern and wearable. I don't think people want stiff things around.” [08:24]
• Demna’s Personal Growth:
  • Leach: “He talked about…the fact that he was incredibly body conscious himself…he felt much more in possession of his own body. And I think there was a…fresh type of confidence that reflected that.” [09:04–10:15]

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3. Vogue World Milan Announcement

[10:15–13:55]

• Exclusive Venue: Vogue announces the Galleria Vittorio Manuele as the next site for Vogue World Milano (September 22).
  • Ragazzi: “The topic…is… the human touch in the age of technology. We're going to see that through the history of craftsmanship and all the evolutionary evolution that brought us at the moment in time in which new challenges are in front of us.” [10:52]
• Venue Context:
  • Leach: “The Galleria Vittorio Manuele is like the Sistine Chapel of shopping…a cross shaped gallery…so beautiful. It's where Muccia Prada's grandfather opened his store in 1913.” [11:20]
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Coordinating the event requires consensus from diverse tenants, including both small family businesses and global luxury brands.
  • Ragazzi: “It's interesting to see how all these different stakeholders will interact in the next months…” [12:47]

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4. Diesel’s Upcycled Party

[13:55–17:12]

• Show Concept: Glenn Martens’ Diesel show is staged like an aftermath of a wild party, with 50,000 objects (some pizza slices!) scattered—remnants of past collections and shows.
  • Leach: “These were all artifacts of past Diesel parties…that was the night before this show. And the collection… was supposed to be that feeling where you wake up after either having stayed out… or…if you've got lucky and you've had an amazing one night stand and you wake up going, oh my gosh, where am I?” [14:19]
• Rumpled Aesthetic & Sustainability:
  • Phelps: “I loved everything from the rumpled up sweaters, the knitwear…the fabric manipulation that he does at Diesel. Super, super interesting.” [15:24]
• Playfulness and Confidence: Martens’ carefree, experimental touch makes Diesel stand out for its fun and upcycling focus.
  • Ragazzi: “You see clearly the zeitgeist…you are confident of what you experiment… always so sensitive with upcycling and sustainability.” [15:59]

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5. Jill Sander: Embracing the Superfluous

[17:12–19:15]

• Design Philosophy: Simone Bellotti at Jill Sander tries to balance addition with restraint, asking: Can something superfluous be essential?
  • Leach: “The value of the superfluous has to lie in how much you treasure or appreciate it…” [17:38]
• Concept Layers: Collection features literal and conceptual layers, with hidden poetry (read by Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth) and recurring themes of exposure and versatility.

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6. Fendi’s New Era: Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Debut

[19:15–24:07]

• Appointment Drama: Six months after leaving Dior, Chiuri returns to LVMH as Fendi’s creative director.
  • Phelps: “To me, that says that they know that this woman has the goods.” [19:15]
• Wearability and Versatility:
  • Ragazzi: “All these women showing in Milan…want real clothes for real life. A bit loose, but still chic.” [20:44]
• Narrative on Gender & Creativity:
  • Leach: “She got…very sardonic and ironic…really laying out the double standards of misogyny that we see and that we see often in fashion…her successes have…been written off as a form of commercial rather than creative success.” [21:42–24:07]

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7. Marni: Meryl Rogas’ Vision

[24:07–27:15]

• New Creative Direction: Meryl Rogas’s debut at Marni gets positive buzz for honoring house codes while imbuing her knitwear expertise and open sense of color and accessibility.
  • Ragazzi: “She really wants to bring back a much more accessible, in a daily life way of living and wearing Marni...I thought it was also a bit sexy.” [24:51]
• Connection to Brand History:
  • Phelps: “She bought a green Marty skirt to wear to her older brother's wedding...having grown up with the brand and how it really shaped her identity.” [27:15]
• Nostalgia and Art Intertwined: Maintains the brand’s connection to the art world and Milanese identity with colorful, wearable, artful pieces.

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8. Prada: Layering, Multiplicity, and the Algorithm

[27:15–32:49]

• Unique Show Format: 15 models walk the runway 4 times each, “peeling away” layers of outfits, emphasizing versatility and personal choice.
  • Leach: “It felt like a huge hotel maybe that didn't have floors anymore, but…fireplaces suspended…the outside of the onion…an onion show.” [29:37]
• Creative Rationale & Brand Evolution:
  • Phelps: “They were talking about the complexities of life and leaving room for personal choice...This feels a little like fighting against the algorithm in a different way, I think.” [30:55]
• Human Touch:
  • Phelps: “You could say it's sort of humane. It's like, actually, yes, we do have a lot of stuff.” [32:49]

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9. Other Show Highlights:

Armani, Tod’s, Bottega Veneta, Dolce & Gabbana
[33:26–35:16]

• Armani: Effortless, lighter way of wearing, with expanded casting, including petite women.
• Tod’s:
  • Ragazzi: “Matteo Tambourini's collection…I think was one of his best at Tod's.” [33:45]
• Future Anticipation: Looking forward to Bottega Veneta, Dolce & Gabbana, and Giorgio Armani’s shows.

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10. Moschino: Adrian Appiolatza Reclaims Identity

[36:21–40:08]

• Argentinian Roots: Adrian Appiolatza draws from his heritage, channeling Eva Peron, tango, and street vendors for Moschino's new creative era.
  • Phelps: “Moschino's Adrian Apiolazza is from Argentina, and he decided to go back to his roots…a collection devoted to Argentina.” [37:52]
• Commentary on Fashion & Commerce:
  • Phelps: “Last look…black suit…printed shirt…with euros…and she carried a piggy bank purse…he was…making a comment on…the way that money trumps creativity.” [39:02]
• Wearability & Pressure: Collection praised as creative yet relatable, underlining designers’ struggle to balance business and innovation.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Demna and Gucci:
  • “This was not the Demna that we used to know at Balenciaga…not basics, but foundational in a way.” — Nicole Phelps [02:47]
• On Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Fendi Debut:
  • “She really laid out the double standards of misogyny…her successes have been…written off as a form of commercial rather than creative success.” — Luke Leach [21:42–24:07]
• On the Spirit of Milan Fashion Week:
  • “It is a…mission that you're embarked upon…you had to get the agreement of all of the tenants.” — Luke Leach [12:39]
• On the Dynamism of Prada:
  • “You could say it's sort of humane. It's like, actually, yes, we do have a lot of stuff.” — Nicole Phelps [32:49]
• On Moschino’s Critical Close:
  • “…he was…making a comment on…the way that money trumps creativity.” — Nicole Phelps [39:02]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Gucci: Demna’s Debut – [00:32–06:05], [07:13–10:15]
• Vogue World Milan Announcement – [10:15–13:55]
• Diesel by Glenn Martens – [13:55–17:12]
• Jill Sander: Layers & Exposure – [17:12–19:15]
• Fendi: Maria Grazia Chiuri – [19:15–24:07]
• Marni: Meryl Rogas – [24:07–27:15]
• Prada: Multiplicity – [27:15–32:49]
• Miscellaneous: Armani, Tod’s, Upcoming Shows – [33:26–35:16]
• Moschino: Adrian Appiolatza’s Debut – [36:21–40:08]

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Memorable Moments

• Kate Moss’s Bold Finale at Gucci: A backless dress and double-G thong — both a callback and a headline moment.
• Vogue World’s Show of Diplomacy: Francesca Ragazzi’s negotiation skills praised—Anna Wintour says she could run the UN!
• Diesel’s “Morning After the Party” Mood: 50,000+ artifacts as set dressing for an upcycled, joyfully chaotic show.
• Fendi’s Triumphant Returnee: Maria Grazia Chiuri underlines female perspective and the ongoing push for gender equity in creative leadership.
• Moschino’s Socioeconomic Satire: A piggy-bank purse and euro-printed shirt make a poignant, tongue-in-cheek statement.
• Prada’s Layer Peel: Models transform with each runway pass—visual metaphor for women’s multifaceted lives.

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Episode Tone & Language

Conversational, insightful, and often humorous, the episode balances high-fashion critique with candid behind-the-scenes stories. Speakers use vivid metaphors (onions, Sistine Chapel of shopping) and openly discuss challenges (from commercial pressure to gender double-standards), making the industry accessible and engaging for listeners.

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A must-listen for anyone interested in fashion’s shifting landscape—packed with timely analysis, sharp wit, and fresh-on-the-ground editorial perspective straight from Milan.

Transcript

[Arden Fanning Andrews]

Hi, I'm Arden Fanning Andrews, Vogue's beauty editor at large. My husband and I talk a lot of ebay strategy together because it is something that we have bonded over since the beginning of our relationship. We've known each other for 20 years, and we've been using ebay for even longer than that, both of us. He's very proud of his five star review, which I have the same. We're pretty popular. We have a really good reputation on ebay.

[Unidentified Host/Interviewer]

Okay, where are we?

[Nicole Phelps]

Milano. Milano fashion week. We're on our way to Gucci with Lorenzo. Ciao, Lorenzo. Champion driver Lorenzo.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

Ciao migiamo, Lorenzo. E so seguendo la fashion week.

[Luke Leach]

Nicole Plains.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

Sono contento Die sera cui Nicole.

[Unidentified Host/Interviewer]

This is a big one, right?

[Nicole Phelps]

The biggest. Demna, formerly of Balenciaga for a decade, has moved over at kering to Gucci, and last season was sort of an in between collection. And this is his true debut. Demna is one of the most confident designers. I think, like a lot of other designers, he's thinking about foundations. Like what. What's going to bring people to the stores. It might not be a radical silhouette. It might not be a pair of pants made out of a jacket. He did that at Balenciaga. It might be a lot more straightfor. What's the scene outside? Well, it's a big scene. They're screaming fans on both sides of this really busy boulevard. Literally hundreds, if not a thousand people, right? Inside is just almost as much pandemonium because a lot of the stars are accompanied by really big groups of photographers who, you know, like, really have to get the shot. And sometimes it's like a dozen people who are trailing a star. You know, it's just a really big operation, lots of security.

[Luke Leach]

Okay.

[Nicole Phelps]

Hey, girl.

[Unidentified Host/Interviewer]

Ciao.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

Ciao.

[Nicole Phelps]

Have fun.

[Unidentified Host/Interviewer]

You have fun too. Okay, people are starting to walk out. Ciao, Luke and Nicole.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

Hello.

[Unidentified Host/Interviewer]

Ciao, gazi.

[Nicole Phelps]

Let me just see where Lorenzo is.

[Unidentified Host/Interviewer]

Yeah, check out Lorenzo.

[Luke Leach]

There he is.

[Nicole Phelps]

Oh, my God. You're eagle.

[Unidentified Host/Interviewer]

Wow. Bravo.

[Nicole Phelps]

We were at demna's debut, and just as he promised. This was not the demna that we used to know at Balenciaga. For 10 years, he was an experimentalist, outrageous couture, where he would wrap you up in 50 meters of tulle net. And this was como sedidi. Not basics, but foundational in a way. He started with like sexy gym boy clothes, second skin, lycra and tight jeans.

[Luke Leach]

You know what? I was really struck as we walked into the set that it was completely artificial, but it was made to look like we were in a large stone space like a forum. And the set was flanked with some of the reproductions of some of the most famous statues of Anton antiquity. Then we got these muscle boys, beautifully, beautifully fit. Came out in very skin tight, slightly shiny T shirts and sort of, I don't know, paradigm jeans. Socratic ideals of your mid cut jean and. And I thought, oh, maybe he's. I remember years ago there was this Chanel show and you know, Karl Lagerfeld used to produce those documents, the folders and on the front of it it said la modernite de l'. Antiquit. And I thought maybe, and I always loved that idea and I thought maybe he's trying to create his a pantheon of the contemporary. That's kind of what I thought. And then as they came through, I started to see that in a way it was a series of character studies based on maybe contemporary observation and what he thinks the market wants. Now there was one guy who stopped and leaned into his little shoulder sort of slung f fanny pack which was the first bag that Demna has designed for Gucci. He told me when I did the pre chat a few months ago. And he stopped and he checked his phone and that was kind of interesting little gesture.

[Nicole Phelps]

Totally.

[Luke Leach]

I think it was about wearable habits and gestures of use.

[Nicole Phelps]

Maybe Gucci every day.

[Luke Leach]

Yeah, exactly, every day. But obviously it had to be overtly Gucci, which I think is a challenge that you face when you do an everyday collection for a luxury brand. I think it was a super, super interesting debut. I think there, you know, I think it's difficult when you start by trying to do create fresh archetypes. I think that in a way you're stuck between universality and also, you know, maybe identity a bit. But I thought it was, you know, it was definitely a new Gucci and

[Nicole Phelps]

a new Demna Again to go back to that idea. He's never had supermodels on the Runway and here he had no less a supermodel than Katie Kate Moss clothes the show in a quite daring for a 50 something gal, completely backless dress, showing off her Tom Ford era Gucci G

[Luke Leach]

string with double G thong.

[Nicole Phelps]

Diamante. Double G thong.

[Unidentified Host/Interviewer]

Okay, Luke, Nicole, we're hopping out of the car. We're gonna head into the Vogue Milano offices and record the episode with Francesco Ragazzi and then we're off to Moschino. So also stay tuned till the end of the episode.

[Nicole Phelps]

Okay, we're going to take a quick break.

[Arden Fanning Andrews]

Whenever I'm looking For things with ebay authenticity guarantee. It often ends up being sneakers. I'm not necessarily sneakerhood, but there are specific sneakers that I may have, like fallen in love with and have been discontinued. And it's really nice to find them on ebay. And so it'll be just like a pair of platform Converse loafers. It will be a pair of vans, white slippers with like a very specific low toe. And so it's great with ebay to just be like, this is a real thing. It's in the size that you want, it's in. In the style that you want, and it's real.

[Nicole Phelps]

Ciao. This is the run through. I'm Nicole Phelps and it's day one of Shark Week. I'm joined today in Milan by my colleague Francesca Ragazzi, the head of editorial content at Vogue Italia. Ciao.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

Hi, Nicole. Happy to be back together.

[Nicole Phelps]

Here I am too. And by Luke Leach, my Vogue business and Vogue Runway colleague of many years. Hi, Luke.

[Luke Leach]

Hi, Nicole. Great to be here.

[Nicole Phelps]

Luke and I were in the car and talked all about Gucci. It was Demna's big moment. Fran, what are your thoughts?

[Francesca Ragazzi]

It was very intense. I found very interesting the beginning with the Italian subcultures, the Maranza, but also the sort of Shura attitude and then going towards a more romantic sort of nostalgia feeling towards the end with Kate Moss and the bling bling strip.

[Nicole Phelps]

Bling bling G string.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

But a lot of quality in the accessory. I appreciated the tribute to Alessandro Michele. Iconic shoes.

[Luke Leach]

Yes.

[Nicole Phelps]

And we were with Damno yesterday in his studio and he was showing us the new bags and how great the Jackie was in that sort of slouchier leather. It felt really modern, right?

[Francesca Ragazzi]

Yeah, modern and wearable. I don't think people want stiff things around. And he told us no, he never went that body conscious or we really saw. That means it's a great evolution in his mind as well. And he's showing something different because I think maybe it's what he sees at the moment. Also in Italy, being in Milan, I think he's appreciating his life here.

[Nicole Phelps]

It's interesting because it's very hard for a designer to reinvent himself or herself. And Demna definitely has started off at Gucci doing something quite different than what he was doing at Balenciaga. Right.

[Luke Leach]

And I think whatever the results, the fact that he has changed his output is an absolute crucial point of success for him. Because I think what you can't do is you can't try and repeat all your codes in A new house, but it just doesn't work. And I think we've kind of seen that before. And with Demna, yeah, the big crucial change seems to be in silhouette. So from the famous vetement, then Balenciaga oversized to today, obviously it was very extremely form fitting to the point of sculptural. And he said during the pre conversation that this actually as well as looking at Italy related to him looking at himself. He talked about how the fact that he was incredibly body conscious himself with his own personal form at the time when he founded Veteram and in his past and he'd been working on himself both in the gym and in terms of his psychology and he felt much more in possession of his own body. And I think there was a confidence, a fresh type of confidence that reflected that.

[Nicole Phelps]

So let's rewind. We started the week with Vogue World Milan press conference. It was a rare meeting of Milanese fashion power brokers of the kind that only Anna Wintour and Francesca Ragazzi could pull off. Tell us what you were announcing.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

So earlier this week we announced a big success for Vogue which we were able to secure the Galleria Vittorio Manuele as the next final destination for the Vogue World Milano edition happening on the 22nd of September.

[Nicole Phelps]

So you're gonna have a busy summer,

[Francesca Ragazzi]

very busy summer, no holiday. Don't worry Anna, I know that I'm ready. I think the topic we picked this time is very rele for again what we are living in, which is the human touch in the age of technology. We're going to see that through the history of craftsmanship and all the evolutionary evolution that brought us at the moment in time in which new challenges are in front of us.

[Luke Leach]

For those who don't know, the Galleria Vittorio Manuele is like the Sistine Chapel of shopping. I mean it was created in 1877. It is a. It's a cross shaped gallery that is 50 meters high that is so beautiful. It's where Muccia Prada's grandfather opened his store in 1913. And many other stores are there that are very old and many quite new. But it's very interesting. It sits between the Scala, which is the home of opera and ballet, and the Duomo Square, which is the home of the real big boss in Italy for sure. And it's interesting that it's this pathway from pleasure to duty maybe or you know, and, and I think your opportunity as you, as you shape Vogue World is, is huge because it's one of the most beautiful spaces in Milan and is really where Fashion. And fashion hits its end user in the most beautiful way. So I think it's going to be great. And I wanted to pay tribute to you, Francesca, because during her speech, Anna said that your diplomatic skills were so great that you should be running the United Nations.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

I don't know, but because it is

[Luke Leach]

truly, truly a fantastic mission that you're embarked upon. But you had to get the agreement of all of the tenants.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

Exactly.

[Nicole Phelps]

Even the Tabaki, the tobacco shop, everything.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

And as in everyday life, condominium, everyone has very different needs and backgrounds and you have the small family owned business with the big luxury companies having shopping there. So it's interesting to see how all these different stakeholders will interact in the next months where we have to work all together.

[Luke Leach]

And also you have to. You're going to be inviting, you know, Italy's most prominent and maybe some less known fashion companies to join with you on that. And I think, yeah, you know, show as a collective because 88% of all of the French group Caring's products are, for instance, made in Italy. But this industry that's full of rivals fighting each other intensely, all these designers we're talking about now, they're all rivals pretty much, unless they have the same owner. And we're going to be inviting them a bit more towards the Duomo than towards the Scala to be in the same group and to be in the same choir because we're sending a message about the value of craft.

[Nicole Phelps]

After the press conference, we headed straight to Diesel, where Glenn Martens put on quite a show. The set was remarkable to start with. There were some 50,000 objets, right. From past collections, past shows, including greasy pizza. I don't know from what season that was, but.

[Luke Leach]

Well, it looked delicious. Yeah. No, it reminded me of some terrible mornings from my twenties when you wake up in a bit of a pile of stuff. And I think that was the point of this show, right? These were all artifacts of past Diesel parties, events and shows. And in a way, that was the night before this show. And the collection Glenn said was supposed to be that feeling where you wake up after either having stayed out at the party all night and the sun has come up and you go home, or. And he was more into this. If you've got lucky and you've had an amazing one night stand and you wake up going, oh my gosh, where am I? I need to get home. And you walk out the door and he said, and you feel like you haven't looked in the mirror, you know, you've tucked your skirt into your Underwear or whatever it is, and, and then. But you're so energized by the fantastic time that you just had that you just exude total confidence. And that was what he wanted to put into his clothes. So that was his idea. How did you guys think he pulled that off?

[Nicole Phelps]

Yes, he has every reason to be confident. He is a designer with so much talent. And I mean, I loved everything from the rumpled up sweaters, the knitwear. The knitwear was fantastic. And as you said in your review, Luke Ode, you know, owed a debt to his Y project beginnings with the unusual shapes and then just the fabric manipulation that he does at Diesel. Super, super interesting. And you know, you sort of want to get up close to the.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

And Glenn, you are fun and kind, honestly. Bless you. You are the best. So fun and to spend time with and you know, because you are so such a free thinker and you see clearly the zeitgeist and you know, and you are confident of what you experiment and always so sensitive with like upcycling and sustainability. I really, I really appreciate it. It's very fresh.

[Luke Leach]

Another thing about Glenn is that he doesn't, he doesn't wear the weight of his talent or position too heavily, you know, as a lot of people naturally do when they're pushed into these responsible roles. And I think that playfulness is really important in Diesel. But I also think for me, over the five or so years he's been at Diesel, and I'm not disregarding the collections before because there were some great collections and some good designers there, but you know, you talked about the fabric manipulation and the complication and we've seen that with the kind of jury pieces that he does there before, the level of craft there is up there. But the positioning within the marketplace of Diesel really doesn't compare to, let's say, Prada or Gucci that we've just seen today. It's not. And it wouldn't position itself there, but I honestly sometimes looking at the clothes.

[Nicole Phelps]

Thumbs up for Diesel. The next day, on Wednesday, we started at Simone Bellotti's second show for Jill Sander, which was interesting. He said the first season he was focused on reducing and taking away. And here he wanted to add and embellish. And he was asking himself the question, can something superfluous be essential? So what do you think? Can it?

[Luke Leach]

I think the value of the superfluous has to lie in how much you treasure or appreciate it. Because if it's functionally superfluous, like your appendix, for instance, then are you fond of it does it, you know, And I think in this, In Simone's collection, there were. I wasn't aware of. Of this sort of preamble at all, but I really enjoyed the slicing into the garments, into this. I think to put exposure into sobriety was very interesting. I think there was such a lot of interplay between the immediate facade of his character and the second look. It looked initially the. These were sometimes even quite daunting, very sophisticated characters and then almost unavailable. And then there was a hint of availability. And I'm not being so basic as it might sound, but I think that it was a very layered collection, just through really quite strong gesture. I thought it was great.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

And there is these always hidden layers. For example, the poetry, the voice of the poetry written by Chiara Bardini was one of the.

[Nicole Phelps]

Spoken by Kim Gordon of Sonic Music.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

Yes, spoken by Kim Gordon. And it was that idea of the house above the sea. So I think it's very clear for Jill Sander, you need this layer concept, performative concept that you need to dig in to understand. Right.

[Nicole Phelps]

The real big news of Wednesday in Milan was Maria Grazia Chiiri's Fendi debut, and what an incredible story. She leaves Dior and six months pass, barely, and she is rehired by LVMH at Fendi. So to me, that says that they know that this woman has the goods. What does it say to you guys?

[Luke Leach]

I think Fendi was in such an interesting place because we'd heard so many stories about Fendi over the last few years that didn't come to pass. And I think that as part of the LVMH group, which, apart from Laura Piano, which is very successful for them at the moment, I understand, and, and, and companies in maybe the, you know, the jewelry and the other sectors, it's. It's its biggest Italian property. And I think because of that, because it's such a French. French group, Fendi sometimes feels on the outskirts of it and has done for some years. And, And I think, you know, Maria Grazia is absolutely at the. At the top of the, you know, echelons of contemporary design in terms of her track record. So I think having her there is very exciting for Fendi. And of course, there's many other dimensions because it's where she began.

[Nicole Phelps]

What about you, Fran? When you were watching that show, did to me, I was like, oh, yes, that is a coat that I could use in my life pretty badly, pretty desperately. What were your reactions?

[Francesca Ragazzi]

The more I think of it is all these women showing in Milan their collection is less about just one trend or one kind of women. I really see this multitude way of looking at women that want real clothes for real life. A bit loose, but still chic. And I love, for example, even the simple shirt, creamy with the lace, beautiful, that was a bit open. And all these details on the baguette that get softer. Of course, this is harder to see on a show, but when you. I'm sure when it gets to the store, you want all those pieces. And I love the Matchi Gilet with the baguette. The fact that some pieces were very precious and other very essential that you could mix them and match. I really loved also the front row with many Italian actresses of different generations.

[Luke Leach]

I flew to Rome last week before London Fashion Week and went to speak to her at the Teatro della Cometa. And we had a great chat about what her plans for Fendi were, her emotional connection with it. She said some really great things. She said that, yes, she felt committed to Fendi. Yes, it was where much of her identity had grown in terms of. Of her work career. But also she talked passionately about loving all of fashion, about loving all houses. And she said very funnily that I could work anywhere. Not everywhere. She said everywhere, which I thought was wonderful. She also. She slightly misunderstood a question I gave her, which I was simply asking about her plans for menswear. And I think she took it as a suggestion that I was saying that she hadn't designed menswear before, which wasn't the case because I reviewed her Valentino menswear and I interviewed her after those shows. But then she completely understandably laid into me slightly. She got. Because she became very sardonic and ironic. And she basically hit me with sarcasm, saying, ah, only. Only men can be geniuses. Women are not up. Up to. Up to that. And that, you know, really laying out the double standards of misogyny that we see and that we see often in fashion. And it's Francesca, you've just been talking. You guys have just been talking about this collection in terms of wearability. You've immediately put yourself into the position of inhabiting the garments, right? And I spend a lot of my time for Vogue Runway reviewing menswear shows. And when I'm reviewing menswear shows, I see myself, or I really don't in the garments, but you place yourself in the garments. And I think there's no doubt that everything should be equal and nothing should be gendered and it should all be a free space. But of course, if you're designing for the gender that you are, you're not projecting your vision upon a different gender. And therefore, it seems funny to me that a vast majority of creative directors are male. And I think she's frustrated. She was. She was declaring her frustration about that, but also that her successes have been in the past, have been written off as a form of commercial rather than creative success.

[Nicole Phelps]

Speaking of women designers, Meryl Rogas, who was trained underneath Marc Jacobs and Dries Van Noten and launched her own label right as the pandemic was hitting, which is remarkable that it's still existing six years later, was named the creative director of Marnie last July, and she had her debut yesterday. And the responses that I've been seeing on social media and on Vogue Business, which, you know, goes out and talks to people in the audience after debut shows, is that it feels really good to see another woman in this kind of role in Italian fashion. What did you think, Fran?

[Francesca Ragazzi]

Yeah, again, I think she played with the codes of Marnie and also injected her own way of seeing things and colors and the shirts and the layering and. And when I went backstage to say hi, the first thing, but how are you? Like, she really cares. She's very lovely. Her kids were there. I think she really wants to bring back a much more accessible, in a daily life way of living and wearing Marnie. And I thought it was also a bit sexy. Like it was not. Not that heavy. So I really liked it.

[Luke Leach]

I think Manifale's first time around, when it was being designed by its co founder, Consuelo, thought much of the appeal, apart from the very sort of distinct intellectual Milan identity of the design output, was that it felt like a female space. So I think that that's why at the beginning, Francesco Risso had some problems winning over. I think there were many people who were quite hostile to his entry. I remember they were at the brand, but actually, I think he was really successful in finding his metier there. But I think there'll be a lot of core old school manifaels who will be willing to give this new 0.3 version a go. And I think it's worth it. But I also think just stripping away the identity of the designer completely for a moment and not being tokenistic or affirmative in terms of gender at all. I just think it was a very interesting collection. And if I hadn't known who was behind the. Behind the curtain, I still would have been interested in it. It felt like it had a relationship with old Barney. Felt like it had a relationship with Meryl's Knitwear expertise because that's her knitwear is fantastic. And she is a brilliant colors. Yeah, she's really, really brilliant at that.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

I also love the little panties and the shoes were great. Honestly, I think Marni, I love the body of work of Francesco Risto. I think that also respected the connection to arts. I can really see this woman going to Salone del Mobile and the arts fair around the world. Like, I think this colorful connection with the art world is maintained.

[Nicole Phelps]

I spoke to Meryl in the lead up to her show and, you know, decided by the end of it that she was born to do this job. Not only did she buy a pair of Marnie wooden platforms, this is 2008 with her first paycheck from Marc Jacobs as a newcomer to New York City. And this was the era where women walked around town in platform sandals. Doesn't happen so much anymore. And. But even before that, when she was a teenager, she bought a green Marty skirt to wear to her older brother's wedding. And she spoke a lot about having grown up with the brand and how it really shaped her identity and sort of taught her how to love fashion. And it's an incredible story that here she is actually at this brand, you know, 20 plus years later. And how often does that kind of thing happen in life, really? I mean, it's like kismet in a way. It's very cool. So Prada was also on Thursday. And it was a very interesting concept, this staging. And Instead of having 60 models, they had 15 models who each came out four times in different versions of the outfits that they were wearing. They sort of peeled pieces away each time they. They came out. Did you guys, like, how quickly did you realize this was happening?

[Francesca Ragazzi]

I realized it with Bella did. All of a sudden she came back. That never happened before at Prada. Also, she's also on the COVID of Oggy Italia for March in Prada, shot by Gia Coppola. But yeah, I love the set. It was already there for men's, so. But I mean, I noticed that some decor was added. I thought that was very sophisticated because for men's it was just the walls and they added those. The drawers.

[Luke Leach]

Ah, I didn't notice those.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

Yes. So I noticed like a female sort of touch added.

[Luke Leach]

And also there were these leather garments at which the edges of the leather surfacing had been frailed off, peeled off as if they were paint falling off a wall. And you know, the set was made up of the interior of it felt like a huge hotel maybe that didn't have floors anymore, but A few fireplaces suspended into the side. And then you understood that in a way that was showing the outside of the onion. I don't know, maybe this was an onion show. So we started with a full onion. And every, you know, I saw it with when Julia came back because she always opens those shows, doesn't she? And I really enjoy watching that look because it's normally the starting point. So to see her come back so fast was like, oh, what's going on? And then you saw that effectively she was just wearing very similar look minus one piece to the. To the first time. What I didn't really understand at the end of the day, because there's always a kind of greater rationale at Prada. You know, they will talk about maybe it affects some form of mood or some form of instincts. And I didn't quite understand in the women's wear what the rationale behind all the removal was. Whether it was about honesty, whether it was about, you know, baring yourself. I don't know. Did you get any guys that get any insight about what that artist is?

[Nicole Phelps]

It's always hard to get close to Mucha and Raph after the show because it's such a mob scene. And that this season, even though I said this last season, was more of a mob scene than usual. So it can be sometimes quite difficult to hear what they have to say. But they were talking about the complexities of life and leaving room for personal choice. And it's a really different moment than once upon a time when designers sort of said, and now we will all wear 12 inch miniskirts. And now you must have a padded shoulder.

[Luke Leach]

Everything's splintered, right? Everybody has their own.

[Nicole Phelps]

Everything is so splintered.

[Luke Leach]

Kaleidoscope.

[Nicole Phelps]

It's sort of like looking at it the same way they did a year ago when they were talking about the algorithm and how they were sort of fighting against the algorithm. This feels a little like fighting against the algorithm in a different way, I think. Also, Prada right now is like a brand that has been at the top of the fashion pyramid for 30 years, and they have so much material to play with. And because Raf has joined mucha as of 2020, they are, you know, they're really sort of mining the codes in the past in a way.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

But really, the more you look at every outfit, like, you can see four different outfits. Like, the layering things is impressive. Like you can. It's warm and then it's. It's cold, and then you have to go to a cocktail and then you have to Go to the office, and then you have to go to little underground moment in your life. Like, it really feels like there is so many different moments of the day in every look, but you still want to have.

[Nicole Phelps]

I mean, you could say it's sort of undermining, because in a way, they're sending a message that you have everything you need already in. We do in your closet, which is an interesting thing for designers to do. I found it, you know, you could say it's quite perplexing for designers to be making that point. But that's why I said in my review that I found it sort of humane. It's like, actually, yes, we do have a lot of stuff. What are you expecting from Saturdays and Sunday shows? We have yet to see Bottega Veneta. We have yet to see Dolce and Gabbana and Giorgio Armani.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

Well, I went to Empario Armani. I really loved the collection. Completely new casting. Again, there were women who were petite. I never saw petite at an Armani show. And I could really see Silvana in many of the outfits.

[Nicole Phelps]

Silvana is Giorgio Armani's niece.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

Exactly. And I loved. There was a moment in which many women came out with the shirt. Shirts put in different ways, but a bit loose, open up. I think we see this effortless and lighter way of wearing, even menswear, and this kind of approach that I found also at Tod's, which I loved. Matteo Tambourini's collection, I think, was one of his best at Tod's.

[Luke Leach]

And I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens at Giorgio on Sunday, because I think that will be a. A Kiki moment for Silvana. You know, that that house, I think, is possibly that. And that line is possibly the most emblematic and important line and label in all of Milan, because I think without it, Milan would not be as it is. So I think it's my. It's. I think it's the foundation. I think it is the duomo of Milan fashion. And I. And I think that Silvana is brilliantly placed to continue it. But, you know, she spoke to our colleague Tiziana about her plans for it, and I think it will need not just to be a retrospective and a tribute. It will need to look at the world around us now and engage the legacy of Giorgio with that.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

Oh, definitely.

[Nicole Phelps]

We're gonna go see Dolce and Gabbana tomorrow. How will they be able to top last year star sighting of Miranda Priestley? That is the question.

[Luke Leach]

Surely there's no one more famous.

[Nicole Phelps]

Thank you, Fran. Thank you, Luke.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

Grazie.

[Luke Leach]

Grazie.

[Nicole Phelps]

We're late for Moschino. We gotta go. We're going to take a quick break.

[Arden Fanning Andrews]

Sometimes people ask me which search terms I use whenever I'm on ebay. So I search a lot of dead stock. That's a term that I throw in there a lot. Dead stock means that no one's ever worn it before, but it is like an archival piece or it's a vintage piece. And so that's a great thing to find on ebay. There's a ton of dead stock, vintage. And it's just kind of, like, comforting to know that, like, you're the first person taking this, like, piece on its maiden voyage, even if it's 50 years old. Ebay offers this departure from the everyday that ends up feeling totally.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

You.

[Unidentified Host/Interviewer]

Walking into Moschino.

[Nicole Phelps]

Yes. What is this place again, Deborah? It is the Leonardo da Vinci Museum

[Luke Leach]

of Science and Technology.

[Arden Fanning Andrews]

Okay.

[Nicole Phelps]

And there's a huge rocket in the courtyard.

[Unidentified Host/Interviewer]

Okay, we follow you. Lots of photo shoots happening. We're on our way backstage.

[Nicole Phelps]

How are you? This is my colleague Alex. Nice to meet you.

[Unidentified Host/Interviewer]

Nice to meet you.

[Nicole Phelps]

Welcome.

[Luke Leach]

Oh, my God.

[Unidentified Host/Interviewer]

Okay, we're backstage at Moschino, and we're looking at the board with all the looks. And creative director designer Adrian Appiolatza just came out right now, and he's talking to Nicole, walking her through everything right

[Luke Leach]

before the show starts.

[Nicole Phelps]

Pronto. Pronta.

[Unidentified Host/Interviewer]

Say pronta. Are you ready?

[Nicole Phelps]

Si.

[Unidentified Host/Interviewer]

Okay, What'd you think?

[Nicole Phelps]

Well, Moschino's Adrian Apiolazza is from Argentina, and he decided to go back to his roots.

[Francesca Ragazzi]

He.

[Nicole Phelps]

I think he spent some time there over the holidays, or maybe it was last summer, and he made a collection devoted to Argentina. And so there were all sorts of Argentinian tropes. There was Eva Peron. There was the tango. There were churro sellers. Churro sellers. Bien sur. These beautiful. Which I really loved. Beautiful full pants with a blazer, which sort of reminded me of Loewe, which is where Adrian was before he got the Moschino job. And this is fitting that he was thinking about roots, because I think identity is like, one of the key words of the season here in Milan with designers thinking about who they are and why they're in business, what they sell, and really digging into that.

[Unidentified Host/Interviewer]

Were there any looks. You mentioned, some of the ones that you liked? Were there any looks that stood out to you?

[Nicole Phelps]

Well, very interesting was the last look, which was a. I think it was a black suit. And underneath, the model wore a printed shirt printed with euros. And shoes that were like a sort of a jumble of shredded fabric euros. And she carried a piggy bank, purse, clutch. And Adrian said that he was, you know, making a comment on the, I guess you could say the corporate effication of fashion, the way that money trumps creativity. You know, these are all businesses that, you know, that are being run very large businesses, so that's natural. But I think that the designers who are asked to be creative season in and season out feel a great deal of pressure. I thought this was a creative but also quite relatable and wearable collection from Adrian.

[Unidentified Host/Interviewer]

And where are you headed now?

[Nicole Phelps]

I'm going to the show of a young designer named Ghalib Gasoff, and I saw him for the first time last season, and I thought his clothes were very poetic, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does now. That's it for the run through. Next up, pari. Ciao. The run through is produced by chelsea daniel, alex depalma and alex john burns, with help from emily elias. It's engineered by pran bandy and james yost. It is mixed by mike kutchman.

[Arden Fanning Andrews]

My first job in New York City was as a trend forecaster. I do trend forecasting still, and. And ebay is a part of that because I'll search for things that I'm seeing around, and it will end up directing me in places that I could have never anticipated. One of the trends that I'm seeing these days is crafting things that are made by hand. And so playing with clothes and accessories to create something kind of distinctive for your wardrobe is a great way of doing it. And getting supplies off of ebay is my favorite thing for it. I'll get, like, maybe a pair of slippers that I'm wearing right now and then cut them in a specific way, and then they're totally my own. And I feel like it's a great resource to create your own trends because then you can both feel like you're bringing something back to life. You're already, like, pulling it out of the ebay archives, and then you're also adjusting it so that it really expresses your own style, which is something that, you know, people really want right now whenever they are feeling, like, so algorithmic about the style that's being pushed to them. That doesn't have to be perfect. Things can have rough edges, and that sometimes makes them feel more special.