The rapid spread of the coronavirus in Italy disrupts fashion shows and sows anxiety among fashion professionals from around the world gathered for Milan Fashion Week, an hour's drive from one of the main centers of the epidemic. For the Giorgio Armani show, the models will parade this Sunday on the podium, but exceptionally without public. Journalists and buyers will be able to follow the parade filmed and photographed in streaming on social networks.
The news changes from hour to hour: if the Dolce & Gabbana fashion show is still held at 2 p.m., that of Laura Biagiotti is canceled. The eagerly awaited presentation of the Moncler Genius collections, which was to be open to the general public on Sunday, was also canceled.
High risks of virus spread
60 km from Milan is the town of Codogno, one of the main centers of the coronavirus epidemic, which killed two people in Italy and prompted the authorities to quarantine 52,000 inhabitants from 11 cities in the North.
"The whole world was in Milan these days for Fashion Week, we were in contact with hundreds of people every day and if we think about all these interactions, it gives the thrill! Comments a young woman who works at the Fendi Showroom. Fashion Week brings together some 25,000 professionals who will leave on Sunday in the four corners of the world, at the risk of transmitting the virus if they have been infected over the course of parades, cocktails and parties.
"All the recommendations that are made to us now were not on the agenda a few hours ago and many journalists, photographers, buyers who were at Fashion Week have already left or are leaving for their country or to Paris, where fashion week begins [Monday], ”observes this Fendi employee.
“When the news fell last night from the closed door parade, we understood that things were getting serious. We did not know whether to think that the measure was excessive or necessary, ”says an Armani employee.
A wind of panic?
Because again on Saturday, the parades of this highlight of the fashion calendar were held as if nothing had happened in the Lombard capital. To show that life goes on, Bottega Veneta maintained its party on Saturday to celebrate the new collection but between two dances, we checked the latest news on the phones.
“The alarm is turning into alarmism. You have to be careful not to panic. Our trips to Paris are maintained and as long as the editorial staff does not give contrary instructions, the work continues, "comments an Italian journalist from a major fashion magazine.
The photographers clustered on the small platform of the podium of the Boss parade held on Sunday experience the crowding which is usually their lot a little less well. "We are careful, we respect basic rules of hygiene, we avoid coughing, we can feel that this is causing anxiety for everyone", comments the photographer of a large international agency. "While rallies are banned in the region, one wonders why the parades that gather so many people are not canceled," he wonders.
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