FASHION Magazine

Miuccia Prada isn’t exactly known for being all that press-friendly, and a rare interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica may shed some light on why the legendary designer hasn’t warmed to the media in the same way chatterboxes Karl Lagerfeld and Roberto Cavalli have.

In a translation by WWD, Prada’s feature in La Repubblica details all her concerns about the flagging Italian fashion industry. More than any other nation, Italy has the most family-owned luxury fashion houses: Prada, Gucci, Missoni and Fendi are just a few brands that still have an active voice from the founding designers’ families. But with more and more Italian fashion houses looking to sell (Valentino sold to Qatar’s royal family for over $850 million) or to expand by going public with IPOs, Prada is worried Italian fashion may become “second league.”

“[…] If our brands cross our borders, the credit, glamour, fame and decision making is in the hands of others, and we are abandoned, downgraded,” she cautioned.

Prada doesn’t fault the designers themselves; after all, she shows Miu Miu in Paris because of the city’s “attraction that is called glamour,” and Raf Simons’ move from Jil Sander (which shows in Milan) to Parisian fashion house Dior will mean “his value will further be emphasized.”

According to Prada, the real culprits are the Italian media and left-leaning intellectuals. Journalists’ treatment of their nation’s fashion industry as “frivolous” instead of a relevant industry contributes to the view that Italy is seen as a place with “less resources, culture, protagonists, ideas, vitality and money,” meaning that like Simons, “fashion goes elsewhere, looking for the best.”

From our photo shoot with 82 year-old China Machado to top tips from icons like Sophia Loren and Twiggy, we’re celebrating all things age-appropriate with a jam-packed guide.

Read what Sophia Loren, Twiggy and more have to share about the wisdom of aging and the stories of art, music and fashion.

Sophia Loren | Twiggy | Yoko Ono | Joan Collins | Donna Karan
Annie Nightingale | Deborah Harry | Iris Apfel | Mary Mcfadden

Treat yourself to la dolce vita with glamorous retro classics. See our editor’s shopping picks for spring »

The post The list: 13 glamorous retro classics to get you in the molto Italiano mood for spring appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

See our editor’s 50+ shopping picks for spring »

View by inspiration:

MOLTO ITALIANO
Treat yourself to la dolce vita with glamorous retro classics.

BEDTIME
STORY
Silky pyjama-inspired separates make their way out of the boudoir this spring.

STRAIGHT
FLUSH
Start gazing through rose-tinted lenses: Blush is spring’s freshest neutral.

DARK
DELIGHTS
Boost the cool factor of sugary-sweet confections with tough black accents.

We recently spent a week with Silversea Cruises hopping along the coast of Italy, Croatia and Greece. Here are some of our favourite stops:

Venice, Italy: With only 24 hours in this heavenly city–our first port of call–we opted for a contemporary art overdose, taking a crash course at Palazzo Grassi (palazzograssi.it), which houses one of the best contemporary art collections in Italy, and the Fondazione Emilio e Annabianca Vedova (fondazionevedova.org), which is currently showing an exhibition of some of the rare textile works by the late Louise Bourgeois.

Trieste, Italy: The home of Illy Coffee is, like the rest  of the country, a historic hot-bed. Culturites recommend grabbing a coffee (Illy, obvs) in the largest seaside piazza in all of Italy, the Piazza dell’Unita d’Italia, which is surrounded by Viennese architecture left over from the time of the city’s Austro-Hungarian rule. Post java fix, take in the Museo Civico Revoltella (museorevoltella.it) to immerse yourself in works by some of Italy’s most significant artists from the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

Jordan Singer, 32, is the president of menswear mini empire Henry Singer Fashion Group [read our profile] and Alberta’s very own man of style. He chats to Dolly Magee about hockey, gelato and his own fashion crimes.

The burning question on everyone’s mind…Edmonton Oilers or Calgary Flames?
“Oilers all the way! I grew up in Edmonton in the ’80s–need I say more?”

Describe your personal style.
“My personal style is always evolving, but one thing that never seems to change is my love for understated modern essentials.”

If you weren’t involved with fashion what would you be doing?
“I fell in love with the industry at such a young age. I can’t see myself doing anything else.”