Milan (AFP)

Milan is again this week the center of the planet fashion for a Fashion Week under the sign of sustainable development, with brands that want more and more eco-responsible.

A total of 57 parades, 110 presentations and 54 events will feature in this week's program, which will feature prominent Italian brands such as Prada, which opens the ball on Wednesday, Fendi, Bottega Veneta, Armani, Versace, Missoni, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci, which will close the festivities. Sunday.

As a prelude to a Fashion Week that year by year takes a shade ever "greener", their compatriot Benetton Tuesday offered an appetizer simmered by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac.

Among the original pieces proposed by the French, who had invited fashionistas to the pool: a paper trench.

"My problem with Benetton is that they never tell me no," the designer laughs, noting that the Italian teams have led to his demand for "experiments on recycling and research on paper, such as this one. very resistant which can contain cement ".

Of course, the trench "will not go to the washing machine, but it can last for months or even years," says Mr. de Castelbajac, called a year ago to the rescue to recover United Colors in great difficulty.

His collection for spring-summer 2020 is full of colors, remaining faithful to the DNA of the brand created in 1965 but giving it a huge youthful look. The atmosphere is at the holidays, with parts in a diving suit, big flowers or a little dress postcard, photo of Saint-Tropez on the front, message on the back.

The day before, it was the American Tommy Hilfinger who made the show off the official calendar, presenting his new collection called TommyXLewis, co-designed with the five-time world champion Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton.

- Polluting industry -

Among the newcomers on the calendar are DROMe, a 100% "Made in Italy" brand founded by Marianna Rosati, a regular at the Paris fashion shows, as well as Boss, the young German Hugo Boss and Peter Pilotto's English. to present for the first time their collections in Milan.

Young people will also be in the limelight, including Simona Marziali-MRZ, winner of the Who is On Next 2018 award for new fashion talents, and Tiziano Guardini, ecodesigner who uses exclusively natural fabrics and sustainable materials.

The fashion sector's commitment to the environment will also be on the catwalks, notably through the Green Carpet Fashion Awards, a kind of sustainable fashion oscar, whose third edition will be held on Sunday at the prestigious Theater. Scala in front of a crowd of stars.

The awards will distinguish the greenest companies in a textile industry that is still among the most polluting on the planet.

According to the French Agency for the Environment and Energy Management (ADEME), fashion emits annually 1.2 billion tons of greenhouse gases, more than international flights and traffic maritime union.

An environmental emergency in which 32 companies representing 150 brands of the fashion industry signed at the last G7, end of August in Biarritz (south-west of France), the "Fashion Pact" (fashion pact).

Presented by François-Henri Pinault, CEO of giant Kering, this commitment aims to achieve zero net emissions of carbon dioxide by 2050 and move to 100% renewable energy across the supply chain by 2030.

Two weeks later, Italy's Gucci, flagship of the French luxury group, set an example by announcing that it had achieved carbon neutrality on its supply chain, namely the balance between the volume of carbon emitted and withdrawn in the world. atmosphere by its activities.

© 2019 AFP