The fashion calendar can be pretty unforgiving. Ready-to-wear shows happen twice a year across the world's four fashion capitals, while menswear and Haute Couture only add to the whirlwind of it all. There's one city, however, which goes bigger than any other when it comes to displaying fashion's latest and greatest – and it's largely thanks to one mega event in particular. The city in question? Milan, of course, which plays host to the largest international showcase on the global fashion scene: WHITE Milano.
To call WHITE a trade show would be to massively underestimate its reach and success. Held in Italy three times a year, WHITE is a comprehensive edit of designers and brands, connecting them to new markets via buyers and members of the international press. It even has the patronage of the City Council of Milan, cementing its status as a highly significant event in the fashion calendar.
This season, WHITE runs from Thursday 22nd - Sunday 25th February, alongside Milan Fashion Week. It will present the Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 collections of not just fashion's more established names, but some of the world's most exciting up-and-coming design talent, too. With a strong focus on sustainability, about 300 companies from all over the world will present their collections in the locations of: Superstudio (Via Tortona 27), BASE Ex Ansaldo (Via Tortona 54) and Padiglione Visconti (Via Tortona 58), that will host the East Market.’
For February 2024, WHITE's theme was conceived by Massimiliano Bizzi, founder and art director of WHITE, and is **'**Women... Magical Creatures.' Focussing on a team of young and talented creators, the idea was to unpack and celebrate the value and importance of the female figure. 'I think it is clear to everyone that we are going through a moment of important change,' says Bizzi. 'We as a group today are more focused and committed to the strategic evolution of projects, in line with the change itself, rather than only for the achievement of large numbers. I hope that Milan will seize the opportunity to go along with this transformation and understand it, in order to become the undeniable capital of European fashion.'
One of the most exciting of these projects, held in conjunction with Milan Fashion Week, is Secret Rooms, which involves five hidden rooms in which as many new generation international talents present their collections in spaces they've curated. Scouted by a team led by Simona Severini, general manager of WHITE, the brands include: Alberto Ciaschini, with his iconic Smoking Hot cigarette heels; Samanta Virginio, a Central Saint Martins graduate with a hyper-feminine aesthetic; MIAO RAN, who subverts gender constraints; YANGKEHAN, a Chinese designer who draws on traditional Eastern aesthetics to create something entirely modern and PROTOTYPE: AM, a Berlin-based luxury brand specialising in experimental outerwear which plays with silhouette and volume.
This particular edition of WHITE includes an incredibly diverse range of brands from across the world, including seven Spanish brands, as well as six Korean designers who are already seeing success in their local market are are now looking to expand into the global fashion scene.
In truth, there are too many designers to mention, such is the scope of WHITE Milano. It's not just a space to exhibit fashion, either. Excitingly, WHITE Village is back for its second season, offering a dynamic programme of events, music, cocktails, tastings and performances – all organised in the following locations: WHITE Garden @Superstudio, WHITE Bistrot @PHYD, Botanical Club, MUDEC and the Visconti Pavilion.
There's even a musical partnership with MTV Italia, which will involve different DJ sets at WHITE Village events every night. If that's not enough, there will be brunches, lunches, aperitifs and musical entertainment at the trendy Botanical Club in the Tortona District, not to mention cultural activities relating to topics such as sustainability and the impact of artificial intelligence on the fashion industry.
As an incredibly fast-moving industry, fashion can be difficult to keep up with. How wonderful, then, that WHITE Milano offers the best new and established brands in one place. For anything worth knowing, WHITE is the answer.
See WHITE Milano's full list of brands here.