At Milan Fashion Week, sidewalks are the new catwalks for photographing influencers
A rumor rises from the crowd, heads turn in the same direction and suddenly dozens of phones rise simultaneously in the air to immortalize the arrival of an influencer at a fashion show for women’s fashion week in Milan. Since February 23, this scene has been repeated in the Lombard capital where the 58 face-to-face fashion shows follow one another, attracting fashion fans and photographers in the hope of taking the perfect photo of their favorite influencer.
The women’s fashion shows for fall-winter 2022-23 end on February 28 in Milan, giving way to Paris Fashion Week, which master students at the Institut Français de la Mode will launch with their show mixing real and virtual world, the fall-winter 2022-23 women’s ready-to-wear week, which takes place there until March 8, 2022.
Whether it’s in front of Prada, Gucci, Moschino or Max Mara, the sidewalk has become the new catwalk for aspiring designers, the Instagram stars they revere and photographers around the world, mostly amateurs or freelancers, who immortalize them.
At Versace, hundreds of fans crowded the security barriers trying to catch a glimpse of someone worthy of posting on social media. “We just saw a black limo arrive but we saw nothing”laments Riccardo Capobianco, 24, who came with his friend Irina. “We have no idea what’s going on.” Same problem for Sarah Pilot, 22, an American student surrounded by her friends: “We laugh at ourselves watching”, she acknowledges. A new group of invitations has just arrived and is about to enter the parade: “Are these just normal people with invitations?” » asks one of the girls.
But who are these people whose photos we tear off? “They are Instagram fashionistas”Ash explains Mahmood, 26, outside Max Mara. “They are anonymous people who have become celebrities. That’s how it works”.
Amateur photographers hope that the characters they photograph will relate their photos, which will allow them to gain visibility. Here, the important subject is not fashion or beauty but the ability to be recognized, recognized themselves. “A photo of a stranger is worth nothing. You can be super handsome but that doesn’t count”comments Marco Tadini, a 60-year-old professional photographer.
Outside the Dolce & Gabbana show, influencer and model Rahi Chadda, who has more than a million followers on Instagram, sports a green jacket and turtleneck over black painted jeans. He admits he doesn’t really know who is taking his picture “but when we go to fashion shows throughout the season, we begin to recognize their faces”he confided to AFP.
In front of Fendi, two fashion students from the United States confide that it is their first time at the entrance to a fashion show. Taylor May, a 20-year-old New Yorker, says she saw “lots of weird fashion” in her city and is curious to see what is being done in Milan. For the moment, they have not recognized anyone among the arrivals. “We are lost but we can see who is having their picture taken”, comforts her friend Kia Patterson, 21, from Missouri. All the outfits did not convince them. “One of the looks was really not great”slips Taylor May.
In front of Versace, the cries of the fans and the movements of the crowds according to the arrivals of the guests begin to tire Sara Pelizzoli, 22 years old and her friend Paola Cecinati, 21 years old. “They are exaggerating, they could calm down a bit”Sara observes.