The hot autumn of fashion

From New York to Paris, London and Milan, fashion is gearing up for a fiery fall. Eagerly awaited debuts, creative farewells and celebratory shows will mark the Fashion weeks women’s spring/summer 2024, kicking off in New York with the much-anticipated return to the calendar of Ralph Lauren. Next up is Milano women’s fashion week, with a packed edition welcoming the debut of Sabato De Sarno as Gucci’s creative director and the first Tom Ford show in the Estée Lauder-Zegna era.

More specifically, New York will continue its attempt to rebuild its image as a relevant Fashion week thanks to Ralph Lauren’s return to the calendar. After four seasons of being absent from the schedule, the Us brand will host a fashion show on Friday, September 8, at a yet-to-be-announced location. The event will compensate for the absence of Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger, Tom Ford, and Thom Browne himself, the president of the Council of fashion designers of America (Cfda), who chose Paris for his couture debut and who may return to have a show in Milan, as Gildo Zegna pointed out in an interview with MFF (see MFF of April 7). Peter Do for Helmut Lang is expected to be among the debuts in New York. While there is still no official word on London, the calendar for Milan (September 19-25) is starting to take shape. The first hot ticket of the season will undoubtedly be Gucci. After a period of transition in the post-Alessandro Michele era, the Kering fashion house is preparing to unveil the first collection designed by Sabato De Sarno. A revolution awaited by the fashion world and the analysts as well (see MFF of May 16), who are waiting for concrete results after several quarters of waiting, characterized by a more subdued growth of the brand. According to early rumors, Gucci is expected to show on Friday, the third day of Milano moda donna.

Details are still scarce for the other must-see show of the season, Tom Ford’s first womenswear show in Milan, which will mark the new direction of the brand, controlled by the Estée Lauder companies and produced by the Zegna group. The show will also mark the debut of Peter Hawkings as creative director (see MFF April 29), following the departure of the eponymous founder. «I am honored to have been appointed creative director of Tom Ford» he said after the announcement (see MFF July 6), «and to have this unique opportunity to help write the next chapter in the brand’s future» adding that “Italian craftsmanship and excellence have been a source of inspiration for our collections, and I am delighted to be showing during Milan fashion week». Together with Hawkings’ appointment, the group announced the arrival of Guillaume Jesel as president and ceo. In addition, the Zegna group announced yesterday the appointment of Lelio Gavazza as ceoof Tom Ford fashion, with responsibility for the entire business.

First show for The Attico as well. With an Instagram post, founders Gilda Ambrosio and Giorgia Tordini announced their brand’s runway debut. September will also be a time of celebration in Milan, with a fashion show to mark Moschino’s 40th anniversary. The show, scheduled for Thursday, September 21, will be a tribute to Franco Moschino, in the orbit now of Aeffe group, and will feature four stylists, namely Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, Katie Grand, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson and Lucia Liu, who will each create ten looks inspired by the founder’s work, while we await for the appointment of Jeremy Scott’s successor as creative director. In terms of stylistic changes, september will also see the last show signed by Walter Chiapponi for Tod’s (see MFF,July 13). Brands without designers will also include Trussardi, which has ended its collaboration with Serhat Isik and Benjamin A. Huseby, and Bally’s, following the abrupt departure of Rhuigi Villaseñor. Finally, Milan will also be a platform to present the new direction of Fiorucci, which effectively returns an Italian brand after its acquisition by Dona Bertarelli (see MFF of July 13). Finally, Paris will close the roundup of major fashion weeks with many creative farewells. Bruno Sialelli has left Lanvin, which will present the Lanvin Lab with Us rapper Future for its first capsule. Charles de Vilmorin has left Rochas and Gabriela Hearst will present her latest collection at Chloé. However, Paris has already experienced the real, super-media debut in June with the first Louis Vuitton men’s show signed by Pharrell Williams (see MFF of June 22). (All rights reserved)