Anna Wintour “Disgusted” By Berlusconi; Milan's Fashion Week Spot May Shift

With the close of Milan Fashion Week close at hand, fashion's heavyweights have turned their attention to the city's status as a fashion capital, in some instances speaking out against the Italian government.

Vogue editor Anna Wintour focused on the political climate in Italy, telling Italian newspaper La Repubblica that she'd like to see women protesting Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's regime during Fashion Week. According to WWD, Wintour pointed out the discrepancy between Milan's strong fashion industry and the country's government: 

“On one side, there is the Made in Italy, the designers, the great creations that credit you around the world and that have no equal. On the other side, there is a political reality that is so compromised. How can you tolerate all this?”

She even went so far as to call the government a "dictatorship," and to say that she was "disgusted and embarrassed" by Prime Minister Silvo Berlusconi.

Within the fashion industry itself, it seems changes may be brewing. After recent protestations over the city's time slot (claiming late September puts a strain on production schedules) WWD reports that Italian designers can have the option to show in July, move to the week just prior to New York's second-Thursday-in-September kick-off, or just keep their existing time slot.

The current calendar was agreed upon by the four fashion capitals, New York, London, Milan and Paris, in 2008 as a three-year contract, but the Italian Chamber of Fashion is accusing the CFDA of "forcing" the calender on the Italians, according to WWD.

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