«He was the first to see it, not because he was better or smarter than the others, but because he had always been someone who was “on the sidelines” of the world of Milanese, Italian fashion,» wrote Giuseppe Turani. And Krizia, at that same time had said of him «He had an idea that none of the rest of us had. Hats off to him.»
He was Nicola Trussardi and the idea was that of taking a fashion show to piazza Duomo under the benevolent watch of the statue of the Virgin Mary which sits atop the cathedral. Those were the golden years for Made in Italy, for «Milan’s cocktail crowd», when fashion designers and top models became a part of the star system. 25 years have passed since then. Times have changed; the world is trying to come out of a serious financial crisis that has severely affected consumer spending. Fashion, and the city of Milan along with it, provided a great litmus test.
«Milano Loves Fashion» was not just an event, but one of the most successful creations at Milan’s fashion week. Fifty thousand people, the equivalent of a rock concert audience, invaded piazza Duomo to watch something that was more akin to a “pop opera” than a fashion show. The music was entrusted to Kruder & Dorfmeister, street theatre performances were presented by Ulik and The Snob, the director Paolo Sorrentino read a piece of poetry that was a tribute to Fernanda Piovano, there was a performance by the etoile, Eleonora Abbagnato who, along with ballet dancer Jean Sebastina Colau, danced to the notes of an never before heard version of Ummagumma by Pink Floyd. The multi-media-artistic projections on the façade of the Duomo were created by Claudio Sinatti, punk blues was performed by The Kills and the fashion show included the C'N'C’s “rock” collection, featuring not only models. Ennio Capasa brought today’s rock kids, the children of yesteryear’s rock kids, to the catwalk: his sixteen year old son, Anton Capasa, Pixie Geldof (Bob’s daughter), Tali Lennox (Annie’s daughter) and Pearl Lowe’s daughter, Daisy, a young English lass who is a very famous rock VIP.
«As a fashion designer and as an adopted citizen of Milan, I felt that the time had arrived to take responsibility for inaugurating a new way of communicating my work, of speaking a language that is less auto-referential,»said Ennio Capasa . From the time of the debut with the C'N'C, project, I worked on the combination of the different performance arts and their languages and on the bond that they must maintain and develop with the street. Throughout the years, I have produced some genuine shows in Milan, which were in any case destined for an audience of fashion insiders. I wanted to completely share these contents with Milan, the city that I chose as my own. Today I am proud to be the first (Editor’s note: second) to bring a new form of communicating fashion to the Piazza and I hope to blaze a new trail with this event, one that will be open, dynamic and all-consuming.»
The evening, which was the result of a collaborative effort between the City of Milan’s Local Authority for Fashion, Design and Events and Ennio Capasa of Costume National, took place under the direction of Marco Balich, who managed the one million Euro budget and boasts a résumé that includes the direction of the Turin Olympic Games and Venice’s Carnival celebrations.
«The fashion industry constitutes 50% of the city’s gross domestic product and in any case involves one out of every two citizen’s of Milan, but just think,» said Giovanni Terzi, City Councillor for Productive Activities, «about how much fashion designers have done for Milan, from Armani and sports, to D&G and art, to Trussardi and Prada with their respective foundations, just to name a few. When I got to know these great designers better, I was able to appreciate their affability for and commitment to the city. The consensus was enormous,” added Giovanni Terzi. «We would like to repeat the event again next year because it provides confirmation that when creativity comes out of its temples and faces the public, Milan responds.»

credits:.
COMUNE DI MILANO
COSTUME NATIONAL
CAMERA NAZIONALE della MODA ITALIANA

Film credits:.
MILAN LOVES FASHION |Short Film by
Director: Matt Dowson
Music: music remix | Kruder & Dorfmeister
Starring: C'N'C Costume National, Kevin McDonald