News from the Frontlines: The Missoni Fashion Show

Sorry for not blogging the past couple of days! I've been a casualty of the typhoon and electricity (even the generator wasn't working darn it!) was out the last three days! Good thing MFO's Milan Correspondent, Alisa, makes up for all those days unspent blogging and gives us a first-hand account of the Missoni Fashion Show, straight from the trenches of Milan Fashion Week! Read and see what it's like to be in the frontlines!

"The Missoni show was scheduled to start at 10.30am so we arrived at around 10am. People started to arrive at around 10.15am but the gates were still closed so most just waited in front of the tent. This is usually the perfect opportunity to check out what people are wearing and if there are some famous people. In this show, some came in Missoni (easily identified by the colorful knits) while others are in autumn ensemble, which means in colors black or gray, black tights or leggings, and boots. There were also photographers taking pictures of the attendees. I even got photographed! The photographer took a whole body picture, a picture of my handbag, and another picture of my shoes! So it really pays to attend fashionably even if you are not in designer clothes. I was in Top Shop!

They opened the gates at 10.30am and first to get inside are the press and buyers. In a show, the press and buyers are usually seated opposite each other. The photographers and cameramen are, of course, at the end of the runway. I think the Missoni show is on the list of must-see shows of the press and buyers because the tent was packed. While waiting, some known Italian personalities got interviewed for television. After 30 minutes, the show finally started. The magic starts with the lights, then the music, then the model, then the flashing bulbs at the end of the runway. The music started quite slow but it built and built until it gathered enough momentum to be a rock song at the end of the show! The DJ who mixed this song is quite fabulous in my opinion because he worked with only one song.

The entire show lasted for only 15 minutes. Missoni didn't use a lot of known models but all of them were really skinny to the point that they look quite anorexic. It brings to mind the banning of underweight models in Madrid. And I think there was something wrong with one portion of the catwalk because the girls kept on tripping. When the show started, we found ourselves standing next to the parents of Angela Missoni. Both Mr. and Mrs. Missoni were dressed in their trademark knitwear and wore proud smiles.

In this collection, Angela Missoni showed only a couple of outfits in their colorful knits. The downside is that you cannot identify it as Missoni anymore. It came out more like Etro in the end."

Alisa outside the tent

Fashionistas waiting in line to enter

Before the show

Wanna see the best of clothes from the show? Well, let's get that from my trusty source of runway pics and I'll share with you my favorite ones on my next posting! Ciao bellas! (For only a while promise!)