Meloni joins Milan Fashion Week gala as Dalí fashion show opens
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took her seat at Milan Fashion Week on Wednesday evening.
She attended the gala dinner for Milan Women's Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2027, the showcase for womenswear due in shops next year. It was her first appearance at the Camera della Moda gala. It was also the first by an Italian prime minister in 10 years, after Matteo Renzi. WWD
The dinner was organised by the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, the industry body that runs Milan Fashion Week. The event is formally listed as the Milan Women's Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2027 Gala Dinner of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana. Reuters It was held in a courtyard of Milan's Royal Palace, near the Duomo cathedral. Entry to Milano Fashion Week events is by invitation only.
The Camera is based at Piazza Duomo, 31 in Milan. It is the exclusive owner of the Milano Fashion Week trademark. That name covers the city's official showcase weeks, which designers, buyers and press attend by invitation.
Meloni sat between Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala and Camera chairman Carlo Capasa. She wore a dark pantsuit by Ermanno Scervino, the Italian fashion house, over a white blouse edged with lace. She stayed for dinner. She spoke to the room about support for the sector, referring to EUR 100 million in investments in the fashion industry.
The gala shared the night with an opening next door. "Dalì e la Moda" was unveiled at the Royal Palace on the same evening. The show is the first exhibition dedicated to the link between Spanish Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and fashion. Surrealism here means art built on dream images and unexpected pairings. Fashion, in this context, means clothes and accessories made for wearing and showing.
It brings together more than 200 works, including paintings, clothes, photographs and jewels. Archival garments come from fashion houses Schiaparelli, Chanel, Dior and Rabanne. The curators are Laura Bartolomé and Judith Clark. Loans arrived from the Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí in Figueres, the Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid.
The exhibition runs until Jan. 31. It gives daytime visitors a reason to come to the palace after the dinner guests have left.
What makes this stand out for a general reader is the double bill. A prime minister at dinner. A Surrealist in the galleries. Fashion week can look closed off. This night opened two doors at once, one for politics and one for the public.
