Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2024

With the two debuts of the season, Milan has emerged as the city to watch after seasons of relative calm and predictability (some might say suffocating sameness). The first stop is Gucci's Sabato De Sarno. The former Valentino No. 2 is a relative unknown, and he's taking on a massive task, following in the footsteps of Alessandro Michele, whose version of Gucci may have looked familiar at the end, but it changed not only the fortunes of the brand, but the course of fashion itself. The stakes are high for the $10 billion house, which reportedly wants to go more traditional (read: Hermès).

Another longtime deputy, Peter Hawkings, took over as creative director of Tom Ford in April after the brand was sold to Estée Lauder and Mr Ford stepped down. Mr. Hawkings worked alongside Mr. Ford for decades and, judging by his official portrait, looks exactly like him (down to the tinted aviators). Given that Mr. Ford may have coasted on his greatest hits in recent years, there is hope that Mr. Hawkings will steer the brand in a new direction.

Last but not least, Moschino is entrusting its 40th anniversary show to four stylists for a one-season-only inspired-by-the-archives extravaganza while it searches for a new designer (Jeremy Scott, who made the brand the subject of memes during his 10-year tenure, left in March). The stylists are Katie Grand, Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, and Lucia Liu. The outcome is almost certainly going to serve as a reminder of what we lost when the very talented Mr. Moschino passed away in 1994 at the age of 44 and why brand founders are so important.

In New York, Peter Do is the name to remember. On Day 1 of the official New York Fashion Week schedule, no less, the acclaimed young designer debuts his first collection for Helmut Lang. Since the founder of the well-known company left in 2005, Fast Retailing, also known as the business that founded Uniqlo, has owned the brand. The name still exudes potential and goodwill, but not much financial gain. It's Mr. Do's responsibility to reposition it as the centre of cool. There is no pressure.

With the debut of the "Victoria's Secret World Tour" movie/event, Victoria's Secret, which will serve as a de facto curtain raiser for New York Fashion Week, is also under pressure. It's a complicated remake of the old VS show that involves four different cities, 20 designers, artists, and filmmakers, as well as a cast of models who are as diverse as possible. The company returns to the runway for the first time since that year. Will it be sufficient to persuade the general public that Victoria's Secret has indeed changed? Do they have wings? Some of the queries are as follows.