It’s proving to be a transformative Milan Fashion Week, which is running this season from February 25 to March 3. For years, the event was dominated by heritage luxury houses, including Prada, Gucci and Fendi — brands built on Milan’s reputation for precision tailoring and Italian craftsmanship. But this season, the city is opening its doors to new players.
For Susan Fang, hosting a fashion show at Milan Fashion Week didn’t just offer a change of scenery, but it also served as a strategic business decision. After multiple seasons showing in London, the designer, known for her air-light silhouettes and intricate fabric manipulations, brought her namesake London-based brand to Milan on Sunday with the backing of Dolce & Gabbana’s mentorship program.
“This was an amazing opportunity to have a big international showcase,” Fang told Glossy. “London gave us great exposure, but I wanted to push into the European and Asian luxury markets. Milan, with its craftsmanship and appreciation for artistic techniques, felt like the right next step.”
In July 2024, Fang was named to Dolce & Gabbana’s mentorship program, which gives emerging designers financial support, access to D&G’s ateliers and a platform to present during Milan Fashion Week. Past mentees have included designer Matty Bovan, who used the program’s production backing to scale his namesake brand in 2022.
For Fang, the mentorship meant pushing her brand into new categories she hadn’t had the production capacity to attempt before.
“We introduced tailored jackets, denim, lingerie, swimsuits and even sneakers,” Fang said. “My dad always said, ‘You have so many ideas, but you need to improve your quality.’ That was something I wanted to focus on this season.”
Fang’s debut Milan collection, “Pursuit of Happiness,” was personal. Inspired by her mother’s journey from farmer to artist, it combined rural nostalgia with high-fashion craftsmanship.
“There was something meaningful about using my mother’s artwork,” Fang said. “She retired and joined my brand, and this felt like a full-circle moment. We took her paintings and turned them into embroidered textiles, sequins and jacquard prints.” The collection was texturally and structurally more ambitious than in previous seasons. Dolce & Gabbana’s ateliers helped refine silhouettes, particularly in structured pieces like tailored jackets and corsetry.
“They didn’t have a separate team for this — it was their main design team helping us,” Fang said. “They were busy, but they still made time to develop pieces that pushed our craftsmanship.”
For Fang, the Milan move was also about aligning with a new kind of luxury consumer. While Susan Fang’s direct-to-consumer business thrives in bridal and occasionwear, her wholesale network is expanding. Wholesale partners include Mytheresa, Selfridges, Revolve and 10 Corso Como Seoul, among others. The brand also has collaborations with brands including & Other Stories, which sell across major global cities.
“Our wholesale buyers are looking for everyday wearable art,” Fang said. “And Milan, with its appreciation for craftsmanship, felt like the right place to grow that side of the business.”
Unexpectedly, South Korea has become one of the brand’s fastest-growing markets.
“We’re seeing a huge increase in Korean buyers, and I think it’s because they appreciate color, volume and artistic craftsmanship,” Fang said. “K-pop stars have also played a huge role.” In February, K-Pop artist Jisoo wore a Susan Fang dress on her “Armotage” album cover, further solidify the brand’s cultural relevance in Asia.
K-Way’s 60th anniversary: rewriting the rainwear narrative
For the outerwear brand K-Way, Milan Fashion Week wasn’t about nostalgia, despite aligning with the brand’s 60th anniversary. Instead, it was about redefining what the brand stands for, said Lorenzo Boglione, vp of BasicNet and CEO of K-Way.
Once known for its lightweight, utilitarian packable rain jackets, K-Way has spent the past decade evolving into a fashion-forward, luxury-adjacent brand. Its anniversary provided the perfect moment to solidify that shift.
Boglione’s father, Marco, acquired the rights to K-Way in 2004 for just $8.7 million. He folded it into his Turin-based parent company, BasicNet, which already owned Kappa and Jesus Jeans. Today, BasicNet’s portfolio also includes Superga and Sebago, with K-Way driving $159 million of the group’s $428 million revenue in 2023.
K-Way’s co-ed fall runway show, held at Milan’s Museo della Permanente on February 25, featured the “R&D” collection, which including the brand’s popular Le Vrai rain jacket updated with new luxury materials and streamlined silhouettes.
The front row included Ed Westwick, Pixie Geldof and Cora Corré, showing its fashion credibility — Corré is the granddaughter of Vivienne Westwood, for example. Beyond the show, K-Way is focused on retail expansion and new consumer categories.
“Our recent Palace collaboration, where we made matching jackets for dogs and their owners, is an example of how we’re thinking about new consumer audiences,” Boglione said.
In addition, the brand will host a multicultural exhibition blending fashion, art and cultural storytelling that will stop in different global regions throughout this year.
“Our commitment to art is a key part of our identity,” Boglione said. “This exhibition isn’t just about K-Way — it’s about honoring creativity in all forms.”
The bigger takeaway from this season is that Milan Fashion Week is shifting, and not just in its lineup of designers.
Designer Edward Buchanan of Sansovino 6, who was the first creative director of Bottega Veneta and has worked in Milan for over two decades, noted the city’s slow but significant progress toward inclusivity in a recent Glossy Podcast episode.
“When I first arrived, there were no Black designers on the schedule,” Buchanan said. “Now, we’re seeing real cultural shifts — not just in casting, but in designers getting opportunities. That’s significant.”
