- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- Nadal defied injury woes in record-breaking career
- Nadal v Djokovic, French Open, 2006: Chapter One in epic rivalry
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- Pakistan at 23-1 after Brook triple hundred takes England to 823-7
- Zelensky meets Starmer, Rutte on whirlwind tour of Europe
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Rafael Nadal calls time on epic tennis career
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines confronts China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
- Kim Sei-young shoots 62 to take two-stroke lead at LPGA Shanghai
- The haircuts that help traumatised Ukrainian soldiers heal
- Sinner crushes Medvedev to set up potential Alcaraz Shanghai semi
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- England's Harry Brook blasts triple century against Pakistan
- Chinese electric car companies cope with European tariffs
- Zelensky in London for whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Record-breaking Root, Brook both pass 200 as England pile up 658-3
- Football mourns Greek defender George Baldock's shock death at 31
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
- Home is far away for Madagascar in AFCON qualifying
- Two months on, Donbas soldiers begin to question Kursk offensive
- Rugby Australia to counter-sue in dispute with Melbourne Rebels
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines challenges China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
- Mets advance on Lindor blast, Dodgers stay alive in MLB playoffs
- Injury-ravaged Krygios aiming to return at Australian Open
- Greek international Baldock, dead at 31: family
- EU talks deportation hubs to stem migration
- Deaths and repression sideline Suu Kyi's party ahead of Myanmar vote
- S. Africa offers a lesson on how not to shut down a coal plant
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Mets advance on Lindor grand slam, Yankees and Tigers win
- Taiwan President Lai vows to 'resist annexation' of island
- China's solar goes from supremacy to oversupply
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Zelensky on whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Lindor powers Mets past Phillies into NL Championship Series
- Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970: WWF
- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
All eyes on Gucci as Milan Fashion Week opens
Milan Fashion Week opened Wednesday, kicking off six days of shows by the top names in Italian fashion with expectations high for the debut by Gucci's new creative director.
Almost 70 catwalk shows are scheduled in the northern Italian city, with Fendi, Prada, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Bottega Veneta and Giorgio Armani among those showing their women's spring-summer 2024 collections.
The hottest ticket in town is Friday's Gucci show, the first under new artistic director Sabato De Sarno.
The Italian, who previously supervised the men's and women's collections at Valentino, was named in January to replace star designer Alessandro Michele.
The legendary brand, owned by French luxury group Kering, has also seen the departure of long-time chief executive Marco Bizzarri this year as it grapples with stagnating sales.
There are other new faces this week, with Tom Ford making its Milan debut under the leadership of Peter Hawkings and Simone Bellotti's first collection as design director at Bally.
First up was Fendi, with a collection that mixed utility and comfort, pragmatism and playfulness, with masculine tailoring combined with more fluid silks and knits in a palette dominated by orange, brown, yellow and grey.
Artistic director Kim Jones said he was inspired by "women who dress for themselves and their own lives... it's not about being something, but being someone".
Off the catwalk, 76 presentations and 33 events are planned, including Moschino's 40th birthday celebrations.
Moncler, known for its puffer jackets, was presenting Wednesday its new collection in collaboration with musician turned designer Pharrell Williams, who made his debut for Louis Vuitton in Paris in June.
And Diesel was repeating an initiative trialled with success last year, with a show Wednesday to which ordinary members of the public were able to obtain tickets.
According to data from Italy's national fashion chamber, industry sales were up seven percent over the first six months of 2023.
"We estimate annual sales to increase by 4.5 percent compared to 2022, at more than 103 billion euros ($110 billion)," said chamber president Carlo Capasa.
Exports are forecast to be up six percent over the year. Between January and May, exports to China and Japan were up more than 18 percent.
Matteo Zoppas, head of Italy's trade and investment agency, said the "Made in Italy" brand remained strong.
"Compared to general growth in Italian exports of 4.8 percent in the first five months of 2023, fashion exports rose 7.4 percent in the same period -- and female fashion was up 11.4 percent," he said in a statement.
S.F.Warren--AMWN