Big brands parade but Milan fashion fest looks beyond

MILAN: With big brands defending their dominance and the fashion press wary of taking a gamble, new designers sometimes struggled to be heard in Milan but Vogue Italia´s editor told AFP that is all in the past.

As Italy´s youngest-ever prime minister, the 39-year-old Matteo Renzi, prepares to take power in the coming days, emerging talent is creating all the buzz in Italy´s traditional fashion hub.

"Things are really changing," Vogue Italia´s Franca Sozzani told AFP at the opening of a show where 11 young designers from around the world have been given a chance to exhibit their work.

"Milan produces a lot of young designers", the fashion editor said, as she toured the eye-catching displays in a project sponsored by Vogue Italia and fashion shopping site TheCorner.com.

"We are looking for young people all over the world. We want the production to remain in Italy but the creativity can come from anywhere," Sozzani said.

At a party launching the event, young designers rubbed shoulders with Gucci creative director Frida Giannini, Donatella Versace and Angela Missoni.

"For me presenting at Milan Fashion week is a huge support and I think this is a great platform to showcase my talent," said Wadha Al-Hajri from Qatar, who produces under the brand name "Wadha".

Al-Hajri said her designs -- which included skirts with mashrabiya window lattice patterns and images of the "eye" talisman -- were inspired by her Arab heritage and her passion for architecture.

"I think it´s really rare to have good quality and a great piece from young designers and that´s what we offer," said the international affairs graduate, who was wearing a traditional Muslim veil.

At a nearby stand, Phyllis Taylor, a British designer of Ghanaian origin, showed off a colourful selection of African print dresses made in Ghana.

"Initiatives like this are amazing," said Taylor, whose brand name "Sika" was a nickname meaning "money" that relatives used for her mother because she sent money back to Ghana from Britain.

She said the Milan project helped up-and-coming designers "to give them confidence to know that they are doing a good job and to keep going," she said.