For some, it’s just a natural fit - film and fashion - and Constanza
Cavalli Etro is among those who believe this. She is the founder and director of
the first edition of the Fashion Film Festival Milano, held at the start of
Milan Fashion Week in mid-September.
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| Escandalo: A Cruise, by Dean Alexander, won for best editing |
With sponsorship mainly from the Italian Fashion Council (Camera Nazionale della
Moda Italiana), the hugely successful festival was the first event of this kind
in Italy to showcase fashion movies from around the world.
According to Etro, famous feature films such as Prêt-à-Porter and The Devil Wears Prada indicate the
public’s interest in the world of fashion, and the festival wanted to
take things further.
The long-term aim is to become a “meeting point for designers, video
makers, directors and artists, who share great talent from all over the world”.
The event, which took place on Sept. 14 and 15, comprised two sections, a
film competition and an exhibition. The competition featured 30 finalists selected from more than 300
submissions, while the exhibition portrayed the top fashion films from
well-known directors and established brands.
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| Poster for the festival, with inspiring quote. |
A panel of five judges selected nine winners in categories such as best
fashion film and best Italian fashion
film, among others.
Cavalli Etro described the initiative as a means of combining her love
and respect for fashion and her passion for cinema. Born in Buenos Aires,
Argentina, she lived for many years in Mexico where she became the fashion editor of Fashion Week
Mexico and co-founded the first Latin America Film Festival. She now lives in
Milan with her husband, the designer Kean Etro.
Her Fashion Film Festival Milano joins the ranks of other festivals
devoted to the art of fashion. In Paris, A Shaded View on Fashion Film (ASVOFF), was launched in 2008, and this year’s edition
will take place in November, after Paris Fashion Week (Sept. 23 - Oct. 1).
