MACKO MOMENTS!

(MILAN) Monday, June 23
"Milanesia"--it's a term that I've come up with to describe the feeling you have of only being in Milan for two days, but feeling like you've been here for two weeks! You are disoriented, not sure what day it is or why it's 8:30 p.m. and still sunny and 90 degrees outside. Today the "Milanesia" set in as we raced from show to show: Bottega Veneta, Roberto Cavalli, Ferragamo, Emporio Armani, Alexander McQueen, Neil Barrett and Prada--not to mention presentations by Valextra, Ferré, Pringle and Mulberry.

On Saturday we saw a preview of Massimiliano Giornetti's collection for Ferragamo, but I was still blown away by how beautiful the Indian-inspired collection was when I saw it on the runway.  Again, bold but appropriate color was an important theme in this extremely wearable collection.

Miuccia Prada also had one of my favorite collections in recent memory. Filled with extremely wearable pieces, she chose not to play with bold color, but instead gave men's wear a whole new silhouette. Immediately following the Prada show was a party to launch their new men's fragrance, Infusion d'Homme, where they served my favorite thing of the day: the Prada-cicle! It was a delicious orange ice-pop in a Prada wrapper. I loved it! It was so Tom Sachs!

The items I'd buy off the runway or from the showrooms today: Pringle's navy blue seersucker suit, the paprika ombré sweater and matching scarf at Ferragamo and the red gingham swimsuit by Tomas Maier for Bottega Veneta.

Tuesday, June 24
We're seeing many of the same front-row celebs at almost every show, including Gerard Butler, Adrien Brody, James Franco, the face of the new Gucci fragrance, and Josh Hartnett, who is the face of the new Emporio Armani Diamonds for Men fragrance campaign. Also, James Blunt made an appearance in the front row of Roberto Cavalli.

Last night Gucci went brand to brand with competing parties. First, Frida Giannini hosted a dinner in the garden of the Diana Majestic that featured a premiere of the video for her new men's fragrance, Gucci Pour Homme. Afterwards, everyone went into the adjacent show space for a performance by Roisin Murphy, who, incidentally, sings an amazing cover of "Slave to Love" in the commercial.

Next, it was off to the Via Mozart to a palazzo that Tom Ford's Lisa Sheik told me had NEVER been used for a fashion event before, and, because it was just sold to a bank, probably never would again. As only Tom Ford can do, he left the art on the wall (in the form of a specially commissioned, mixed-media work by the German artist Anselm Reyle that was mounted behind a custom-made, hand-polished stone bench), turned out all the lights, lit a few thousand blue candles and welcomed us into his world. DJ Jesse Marco, touted as the next Mark Ronson, had the fashion crowd dancing into the wee hours of the morning!

And for today, we can't help but love the adorable Moschino show, which had a picnic theme featuring stuffed mice, ladybugs, fish and even an octopus!

Till tomorrow,
Michael