Milan Fashion Week is back in a big way, with more than 125 shows, presentations and events on the physical calendar from Sept. 21 to 27.
The fashion industry is eager to reunite in Italy, the mecca for luxury shoes, as the country continues its pandemic recovery. Here, FN brings you all the latest show news, collaborations and shoe scoops.
Furla
For the Italian handbag and accessories brand’s 10th anniversary of its popular Candy bag, Furla introduced the Re-Candy, a sustainably-focused version.
The bag, which comes in bright hues of pink, purple, orange and lime green, has eco-friendly details that include a label made of FSC certified paper, an outer bag done in recycled cotton dyed with natural colors, shoulder straps and accessories made of recycled materials. Furla also used an embossing technique for its logo to avoid the use of polluting inks.
Furla is also celebrating the anniversary with a new installation called the Field of Flowers, imagined by New York-based Studio DE- YAN. The setup includes gigantic, multicolored inflatable flowers dotted with seating and display totems. The installation, located at Via Senato,10 will be open to the public until the September 25. —Shannon Adducci
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Casadei
Italian luxury heritage brand Casadei returned to an in-person presentation, kicking off Milan Fashion Week on Tuesday with a showing at the city’s Palazzo Parigi. The bright, lighthearted collection included a series of larger-than-life platforms, done in patent leather and glitter, the ultimate in optimistic footwear for spring ’22.
It also includes a capsule of floral-accented heels done in collaboration with the historic Italian textile company Mantero Seta, using archival prints from the Como-based manufacturer to create materials using Resilk, a yarn created from regenerated silk with an exclusive fully traceable process (which is certified by the Global Recycled Standard, plus insoles made of sustainable cork and woven vegetable leather laces.
This month also marks the 10th anniversary of Casadei’s Blade heel, and spring ’22 includes versions of its pump in pastel green, café au lait and powder pink. —SA
Viky Rader x Maria Luca
Maria Luca, the footwear label established and designed by Carlotta De Luca, who in 2011 launched the Charline De Luca brand, has teamed with Munich-based digital content creator Viky Rader, aka @vikyandthekid, on a capsule collection that will debut at Milan Fashion Week.
“I met Viky last winter and when I returned to Rome, my creative hub, I started thinking that I wanted to give Maria Luca a more fashion and contemporary twist, which is something defining Viky’s aesthetic,” said De Luca, whose footwear line is produced and distributed by Italian company HIM Co SpA — High Italian Manufacturing. “Maria Luca has a nostalgic and minimal vibe. Viky is a very modern woman with a very impactful style. So I thought that together we could have created an interesting contrast.”
“When I met with Carlotta, I immediately fell in love with her aesthetics and taste. She has a strong Italian heritage and her background in architecture is reflected in her work. I enjoyed every bit of it. Carlotta took me through the creative process and really explained how shoes are made,” Rader commented.
The capsule includes two drops. The first will hit physical stores and online shops in December while resort deliveries, which will include a completely new heel, will be available from mid-February.
The first drop includes geometric shapes, including slingbacks with chunky graphic heels, mules and ballerinas with squared toes, all featuring the brand’s signature anklets decorating the left shoe.
“I wanted to give a strong design contribution, but at the same time quality and comfort are so important to me. I loved working closely with Carlotta and the team, meeting the artisans was amazing,” Rader explained. “The production site for Maria Luca is in Veneto, therefore I thought of something very recognizable for the area, and Murano came to my mind. I am so happy with the result of these colorful artisanal beads,” added Rader, referring to the multicolored beads peppering the ankles of the ballerina styles, available in orange, black and a zebra pattern.
The Made In Italy collection, positioned in the advanced contemporary market, mainly targets European consumers, but will be available in select stores across the U.S.
The capsule will be unveiled during a cocktail party Friday at Maria Luca’s parent company store, named Blancah, on Milan’s Via Sant’Andrea. — Alessandra Turra
