The end of the 2009 edition of Milano Moda Uomo

Mario Boselli, the president of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion (CNMI), is pleased: despite fears on the eve of the event, “the round of men’s fashion shows that ended Tuesday was surprising because of the quality and creativity of the proposals and the spectacular settings”.

An edition that began with misunderstandings with Paris (the announcement of an Yves Saint Laurent event on Tuesday evening caused concern that buyers and the international press would leave early for the “Ville Lumière”) and desertion by some fashion houses – two factors that led to the decision to shorten the program to four days – in the end went better than expected “and the next time it will be back to five days again” the CNMI president stated.

The much-feared defection by buyers was also less of a concern: “The delegations from abroad were, perhaps, smaller and there was less spin-off for the city, but the budgets invested in orders were still substantial” Boselli said. “What’s more”, he continued, “I saw that all the fashion shows, even those by minor labels, were fairly packed and there were some important people in the audience. I also saw that Italian retailers were well represented”.

The president of the Chamber repeated that he was impressed by the level of the collections at this edition of Milano Moda Uomo, but not all buyers were convinced: “Italian companies showed that they believed in their work”. If there were fewer fashion shows, that can’t be helped: Boselli has always been a supporter of static presentations that enable the product to be more closely evaluated by touching the materials and examining the details; they also avoid the excessive delays frequently associated with catwalks: “As a Chamber, we gave indications of this kind” Boselli said. “I hope that for Milano Moda Donna more companies will also choose solutions of this type”.

One of the things that worries Boselli is the future of Milan’s airports: “We cannot forsake the certain, Linate, which functions well today, for the uncertain, a wonderful Malpensa in the future”. Boselli took part in a recent meeting with the top managers of the new Alitalia: “Let them get Malpensa ready first” he declared.