Pavement the new catwalk for fashion hopefuls and photographers
A cry goes up the from crowd, a sea of craning necks and suddenly hundreds of phones go up in the air clicking photos.
An influencer has just arrived at a fashion show.
This was the scene that played out day after day at Milan Fashion Week, where live shows from brands such as Gucci, Prada and Versace took place from February 22 to 28, accompanied by crowds of fashion hopefuls, fans and photographers hoping to capture the perfect Instagram shot.
At the Versace show, hundreds of fans crushed against a barrier to catch a glimpse of someone – anyone – photo-worthy to post on social media. Every few minutes, dozens of fans would dash to another area of the barricade at the sound of a vehicle.
“We just saw a black car come in, but we saw nothing,” said Riccardo Capobianco, 24, in the crowd with his friend Irina.
“We have no idea what’s happening.”
Ditto with Sarah Pilot, 22, an American student surrounded by her friends. “We’re kind of laughing at ourselves watching,” she admitted sheepishly.
A scream went up in the crowd, but cut off quickly, as a new group of people entering the show came into view.
“Are those just average people with tickets?” one of the girls asked.
Outside Prada, Gucci, Moschino, Max Mara and more, the pavement is the new catwalk for fashion wannabes, the Instagram stars they worship and photographers from all across the globe who capture it all.
But who are these people, this reporter asked, as the umpteenth preening starlet flipped her hair, pursed her lips and jutted out a hip for anyone who pulled out a camera.
“They’re all Instagram fashionistas,” explained London photographer Ash Mahmood, 26, outside the Max Mara show.
“They’re nobody turned into somebody. That’s how it works.”
The amateur photographers hope their subjects – with their thousands or millions of followers – will repost their photos, gaining exposure.
The exercise is not even about fashion, or beauty for that matter, but about how recognisable they are, they acknowledged.
“A photo of just anyone is not worth anything,” Marco Tadini, 60, said. “You can be gorgeous but it doesn’t count a bit.”
Two American fashion students looking bemused at the Fendi event said it was their first time outside a show. New Yorker Taylor May, 20, said she was used to seeing “a lot of weird fashion” back at home so was curious to see what was on display in Milan
– namely neon colours and maxi skirts.
So far, the pair had not recognised anyone entering the fashion show.
“We’re lost but we can see who’s getting their picture taken,” said her friend Kia Patterson, 21, from the US state of Missouri.
That didn’t mean all the fashion was good, May cautioned.
“One of the outfits, I was like ‘Nooooo’ …” she said.
Back to outside the Versace show, and the squeals from the fans and the mad rushes at the barricades to catch a glimpse of arriving guests were starting to get old for Sara Pelizzoli, 22, and her friend Paola Cecinati, 21.
“They’re a little fanatic, they could calm down a little bit,” Pelizzoli said.