Low Star Wattage at the Milan Shows

By topeditor

The Oscars are taking place one week earlier than last year — and that’s bad news for the celebrity count at Milan fashion week.

Instead of posing in the front row of the catwalk shows, all the big silver screen names are back in Hollywood prepping for the big event Sunday.

Giorgio Armani usually draws some of the biggest celebrities to his events. The glamorous Cate Blanchett, an Oscar nominee, took a front row seat at the Armani Prive couture show in Paris last month.

But at the designer’s women’s ready-to-wear show in Milan today, star wattage was low. Tina Turner was the biggest headline figure present — but she’s past her celebrity peak by a good decade. Another local Italian actress, Martina Colombari, pushed past to get inside the show as people in the crowd wondered who she thought she was — and who she actually was.

The earlier Oscar date this year, which falls between the Milan and Paris fashion weeks, bodes well for the French capital. Hollywood’s stars can take their Oscar victory lap at the Paris fashion shows next week, where houses like Louis Vuitton and Chanel are known for having the biggest bold-face names in attendance. — Christina Passariello