Milan Men's Fashion Week begins but Dolce & Gabbana bows out

Brands will present digital shows as infection rates rise in Lombardy

Dolce & Gabbana has said it will not present a show at Milan Men's Fashion Week. Courtesy Dolce & Gabbana

Milan Men’s Fashion Week kicks off today, with one notable omission from the schedule.

Dolce & Gabbana announced this week that it would be cancelling its live show, scheduled to take place tomorrow, because “the conditions essential to the realisation of our fashion show are not met”.

The four-day men’s fashion event is taking place as infections in Italy’s Lombardy region are on the rise, with a full lockdown on the horizon. Lombardy, whose capital is Milan, is one of five regions in Italy that the government has classified as "orange", which means that shops and most schools are closed, and a curfew remains in force at night.

As such, men’s fashion week will once again take place without its traditional audience of buyers, bloggers, celebrities and media, as brands turn to digital solutions to present their fall/winter 2021-22 collections.

Fendi, Etro and Kway have opted for live shows, minus an audience, while most other brands, including Ermenegildo Zegna, Tod's, Prada and Church’s, will offer pre-recorded presentations. An increasingly common occurrence during the pandemic, these pre-created presentations offer brands unlimited creative freedom, but lack the immediacy, drama and social aspect of traditional runway shows.

The pandemic has upended Italy's crucial luxury sector, with the men’s fashion segment particularly hard hit. In Italy, the sector ended 2020 with revenues down by 18.6 per cent, representing about $2.4 billion in lost sales.