While most of us thought that whole fashion week scheduling debacle had been settled, apparently the war is still raging in Milan. At least as far as Roberto Cavalli is concerned.
Thought the fashion month show scheduling nightmare was over? Nope, it just got way more complicated. France’s Chambre Syndicale has been weirdly quiet while New York, London, and Milan have been battling over show dates. Until now, that is. They just dropped a bomb that essentially pits New York against the rest of the fashion world.
If you’ll recall, the latest development seemed hopeful for a scheduling resolution: New York agreed to move its spring show dates back to September 6, 2012, and Milan and London agreed to a subsequent second Thursday of the month New York start date for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. But Milan had two conditions: They wanted New York to cut its fashion week by one day so that editors could make it to London’s menswear shows (which are usually eclipsed by the first day of Milan shows), and that all the cities–Paris included–had to agree.
Well, Paris doesn’t agree.
The latest news in the ongoing spring 2013 fashion week scheduling conflict between the fashion capitals comes from Milan’s Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, who have been the main instigators in this whole fiasco.
To recap: Milan consciously set their September 2012 fashion week schedule to overlap with New York and London because Labor Day forced New York to push the fashion weeks back a bit and Milan wasn’t down with that. Despite Vogue editors threatening to skip Milan and the CFDA’s attempts to reason with them, Milan stood their ground. A couple of weeks ago, the CFDA, with whom London has been in cahoots from the beginning, issued a proposal agreeing to move their dates back a week on the condition that Milan and Paris agree to the second-Thursday rule for the long term.
It looks like Milan is going to get its way in September 2012 and will be able to show its designers’ spring 2013 collections from September 19-25. Diane von Furstenberg had indicated last month that the CFDA would “bite the bullet” and switch dates, and now that appears to be the official plan, WWD is reporting.
New York and London will both agree to move its show dates back a week–New York will run from September 6-13 and London from September 14-18–with a few caveats.
The war on fashion week’s scheduling continues.
After CFDA president Diane Von Furstenberg sent out a rather conciliatory open letter earlier this week, saying the whole thing was one big “misunderstanding,” and that she’s “convinced it will be resolved,” Mario Boselli, head of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, has vowed that no compromise will be made when it comes to Milan’s proposed show dates.
“There is nothing more to add or change,” he told WWD. Adding that “we regret things went this way, but…it is not our fault and…we are not responsible for this turn of events.” He might as well have finished his sentence with “Na-na na-na boo-boo.”
