MILAN — The Prada Group held its first conference on sustainability, called “Shaping a Creative Future,” in partnership with Yale School of Management and Politecnico di Milano School of Management.
The two-day event was held at Fondazione Prada on the first day on Monday, and at the brand’s headquarters in Milan, where the show is held, the second day.
Focusing on the relation between sustainability and innovation, the conference was made up of conversations, debates and discussions with leading international academic, creative and business figures, moderated by the two universities.
The first day saw representatives from leading businesses meet with Yale School of Management and Politecnico di Milano School of Management professors and alumni for discussions on sustainability and innovation.
The discussions over the two days hinged on brand heritage and market value; design for sustainability through innovation and tradition; sustainability and value creation, and driving creative excellence.
“One of the universal fundamental virtues is creativity,” said Prada chairman Carlo Mazzi. “Positive creativity requires equality and liberty, and we need courage and a strong mind. Where creativity is focused on the good and beauty [there] is also sustainability.”
The first speech centered on brand heritage and market value and Yale Professor Ravi Dhar explained how “products are more

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MILAN — Fendi is once again turning its attention to the arts.
The Rome-based company will support the Italian Pavilion and the exhibition “Il mondo magico [The magical world]” at the 57th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. The exhibit will be curated by Cecilia Alemani, who invited three Italian artists — Giorgio Andreotta Calò, Roberto Cuoghi and Adelita Husni-Bey — “to represent Italy through works and languages that are closely tied to Italian culture, but forge a dialogue with international art,” Fendi said. The Biennale will run May 13 to Nov. 26.
Pietro Beccari, president and chief executive officer of Fendi, expressed his pride in the project, defining the Venice Biennale as “one of the world’s most important and prestigious international showcases for contemporary art.” Beccari said the brand “increasingly feels that one of its guiding principles, as well as its duties, is to value and support Italian art around the world, with all its outstanding achievements and talent.”
“The magical world” draws its title from a book by Neapolitan anthropologist Ernesto de Martino, which studies how various cultures and populations employ magic as a tool for responding to crises that undermine their power to grasp and shape the world around

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FLYING THE FLAG FOR BRITAIN: It’s not only the young royals who are making a grand tour of Europe this year: The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are also packing their bags in preparation for a trip early next month that will see them visit Italy, Romania, Austria and the Holy See.
See Also: Brexit Britain’s Secret Weapon? The Young Royals >>
During the Italian leg of the visit, Prince Charles will speak at an event at Palazzo Pitti in connection with The Campaign for Wool, the global initiative he founded that raises awareness about the benefits of the fiber.
The prince, the campaign’s royal patron, will speak about using wool in fashion. He will also be the guest of honor at a dinner to mark the centenary of the British Institute of Florence. The prince will be presented with a Renaissance Man of the Year Award, an annual accolade given by the Palazzo Strozzi Foundation.
On a visit to Naples, the Duchess of Cornwall will visit the E. Marinella tie and scarf manufacturer, which sources its silks from Macclesfield, near Cheshire, England.
During their tour, the royal couple will meet Pope Francis, while the prince will travel to Amatrice in central Italy to

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OUT OF THE FRAME: In keeping on track to make art more accessible, Isabella Huffington has a two-item collaboration with Designow and two upcoming exhibitions.
While her paintings can be “kind of intense, colorful, bright and a bit overwhelming,” she decided to translate a “very light one” called “Chrysanthemum” for the dress and scarf that will be sold on Designow’s site starting March 30. The artwork’s floral motif is actually a collage made of found objects like books and magazines. With clothing, you’re thinking about the consumer and you’re thinking about yourself, so it’s much more like an architect. You want to be authentic but it also has to look good on the person.” Huffington said of the $250 long-sleeve knee-length dress with a tapered waist. “You could wear it to a party but you could also wear it to work at 20 or at 40. I’m really interested in making art that has mass appeal.”
There is also a scarf with an artistic box that is geared for gift-giving or for a younger shopper who might not want to wear a dress. Huffington said of her fashion debut, “This is the first dip in the water but I’m definitely interested in

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SMALL FRAGMENTS: Kim Jones, men’s artistic director at Louis Vuitton, has been dropping a trail of digital breadcrumbs, releasing a few details of pieces from the French house’s latest collaboration with the Japanese label Fragment Design. The collaboration will be part of the Louis Vuitton pre-fall men’s collection, which is set to launch on April 21.
This week, Jones posted an image of a model wearing a white long-sleeve shirt bearing a typographic LV logo. The shirt is shown under a navy zip-up vest, its front pocket embellished with small charms. The model also wears a French sailor style cap emblazoned with the words “Paris Tokyo.”

Last month, Jones posted an image of a model wearing a khaki military shirt embellished with sewn-on patches. He’s holding a bag in the house’s monogram print. Jones has also posted an image of black leather boots and one of a LV-monogrammed bear resting on a guitar case.

The French fashion house and the Japanese label have partnered in the past. Last year saw the launch of their collaboration of ready-to-wear items, shoes, accessories and four limited-edition versions of LV’s Monogram Eclipse bags. Hiroshi Fujiwara, one of Japan’s first hip-hop DJs and a music producer, is the

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Phoebe Neuman

Known for her signature blunt bangs and unique style, Mademoiselle Yulia has been one of Tokyo’s most recognizable club kids since she was a teenager, and made her debut as a DJ in 2008 in her early 20s. Starting with spring 2016, she began funneling that fashion sense into her own brand, Growing Pains, which put on its first runway show this season as a part of Amazon’s At Tokyo program.
Yulia created what she called a “femme-military hybrid aesthetic,” sending out models including Yumi Lambert in asymmetric gathered skirts, pouf-sleeve blouses, olive drab trousers and bomber jackets. There was a gender-fluid edge to the collection, with men sporting layers of necklaces and women in wide-leg trousers and cargo-pocket vests.
Military influences were were in no short supply: There were epaulets, holster-style bags, camouflage prints and combat boots. But there were also nods to sport in the form of track pants, puffer jackets and snow pants.
Yulia said she took inspiration in part from World War II-era nurses, most obvious in the red cross motifs that adorned white ribbed sweaters and berets. But the last couple of looks took this concept a bit too far, bordering on costume-y. In a collection with myriad influences, a less

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Mitsuru Nishizaki’s seven years as a pattern cutter under Yohji Yamamoto are testament to his skill in creating beautifully cut and draped garments, but this season he aimed to add “new possibilities and value” to his signature relaxed tailoring. The result was an edgier, less “pretty” collection of modern takes on classic separates.
Nishizaki employed lots of elements of men’s wear and suiting, such as button-up shirts so long they nearly grazed the runway, and a loose-fitting checked pantsuit with contrast sleeves. But he added unexpected athletic influences as well, such as rib-knit cuffs on blazer sleeves and snaps down the sides of pant legs.
While not as prominent as in previous seasons, he also showed feminine pieces. Long, embroidered mesh skirts were worn over slim trousers, while a pale pink sleeveless trenchcoat topped a charcoal gray funnel-neck sweater. And speaking of knits, Ujoh’s were soft and roomy, with asymmetric slits up the side that were sometimes filled in with a gathered swath of a contrasting fabric.
The juxtaposition of dressed-up with dressed-down created a look that was feminine enough to appeal to Nishizaki’s customer base, but comfortable enough to attract the attention of any city girl on the go.

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THE ARTISTS’ VOICE: For this year’s installment of the Whitney Houston Biennial, founder Christine Finley has lined up 125 female artists.
Running through March 29 at chashama at XOCO at 325 West Broadway in Manhattan, the all-women show features art, poetry readings, dance performances and guided tours.
For this go-round, Finley has asked participating artists to select a female pioneer who inspires them to accompany their work of art, “thereby expanding the show through generations of inspiring women who came before them.” Finley said she first came up with the idea in 2014, after imagining she were tapped as the curator of the Whitney Biennial and deciding she would show three floors of women artists. “When I told this to my friend, the artist Eddy Segal, she immediately joked, ‘The Whitney Houston Biennial!’ We laughed like crazy, but I also realized that I had to do it,” Finley said.
The original plan for the 2017 installment was to feature 48 to 55 artists, but after totaling everything up, she wound up with 125. “With everything, all the poetry readings, performances and film screening, we are 167 female artists in the exhibition. I am really into the political paintings of Haley Hughes, and a

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Phoebe Neuman