Fashion shows have been held in any number of diverse arenas, from the crowded halls of Spring Studios in New York City to UNESCO Heritage Sites like the Castel del Monte in Italy. Often, the venue is just as much a draw as the clothes, with brands showing at the Louvre in Paris and the Piazza Affari in Milan.
For Philipp Plein, who showed his spring 2025 collection in Milan on Saturday, the venue was especially important because he owns it. The Plein Hotel is the German designer’s soon-to-be-opened luxury hospitality venture, with 20 rooms and four restaurants within its walls in the former Krizia headquarters in Milan. The full experience will open in November, but Plein plans to do more events and one-off activations in the space between now and then.
As for the collection Plein showed on the runway, it was diverse, with everything from torn jeans to leather jackets in both men’s and women’s silhouettes. But there was a particular emphasis on tailoring, a category Plein said is a growing part of his vision for the brand.
“Tailoring is making a huge comeback, with red carpet events, dinner parties and glamorous events happening again all over the world,” he said. “We’ve dedicated a big part of our business to tailoring for men and women, especially on the men’s side with dinner jackets and tuxedos. We have a unique and strong point of view in the market.”
Plein has continued to expand beyond fashion. In addition to The Plein Hotel, he plans to open 25 restaurants throughout the next two years. The Plein Hotel is his first venture in the hospitality space.
Luxury fashion has had a longstanding love affair with hospitality. LVMH, most notably, has an entire division devoted to hotels and restaurants. Its CEO, Bernard Arnault, has pursued acquiring several notable establishments like the Hotel Bauer in Venice and the Bistrot L’Ami in Paris.
For Plein, the chance to use the show in Milan not just to showcase his new clothing designs but also to preview the hotel was too good to pass up.
“It was an amazing experience to host the show inside our property,” Plein said. “We love to create worlds within the brand, and now creating the property allows us many opportunities to do cocktail parties, events, VIP and customer events, and, of course, fashion shows. And we will continue to do events in my homes, inviting guests and attendees into a more intimate experience while keeping the consistent brand image we have built.”
From Milan to Tokyo
While European luxury brands pride themselves on their craftsmanship, several brands at MFW signaled their reverence for, and willingness to partner with, the craftsmen and business opportunities of the Asian market.
Venetian leather goods brand Serapian showed its spring 2025 collection of handbags and accessories in a setting designed by Venetian artist Lorenzo Vitturi. The concept of both the collection and the setting was “Merging Islands,” a cross-cultural ethos that combined the brand’s Venetian heritage with its learnings from Villa Serapian Ginza, the boutique and workshop it opened in Tokyo earlier this year.
Serapian CEO Maxime Bohé said his team has found a shared devotion to “design, craftsmanship and perfection” among Japanese luxury consumers.
“They like discreet luxury, subtle tones and perfection in proportions,” he said. “We also notice that the Japanese are more and more into bespoke and unique pieces.”
Other Italian luxury brands have seen immense revenue boosts from the Asian market. Prada, for example, reported in July that Miu Miu sales in Asia surged by double digits in the first half of the year, leading to a 17% revenue increase for the company as a whole.
As Bohé sees it, Asia, and Japan in particular, is a hub for innovation in design.
“Tokyo is again becoming a true laboratory for creativity and experiential stores,” he said. “And it is one of the cities in the world where you will find the best service level. Service is considered an art, which is a key element for a maison like ours.”
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