Selecting the beauty - A chat with Michela Gattermayer

Last week, at the Altinate S. Gaetano Center in Padua, took place the tenth edition of the Future Vintage Festival, the event in which streetwear, sneakers, music, food, and art blend in a unique and original language.

The festival hosted a series of talks focusing on the evolution of street fashion, where nss magazine was among the guests, along with Danilo Paura and Maurizio Tentella. During the three days, there were moreover deepnings and focus on the history of fashion and women empowerment together with Chadia Rodriguez, Greta Menchi, Valentina Nappi and Freeda. In Padua also two exhibitions dedicated to some archive pieces by Vivienne Westwood and a Band T-shirt collection, here are some photos from the event. 

Among the guests, there was also Michela Gattermayer, Elle vice director and a leading figure in Italian fashion journalism. We caught up with her and she told us about contemporary fashion and the state of health of the Milan Fashion Week.

#1 The claim of this year's edition of Future Vintage Festival was "Be Dissident". Are there any taboos and rules in the fashion world that have not been broken yet? 

I'm afraid I have to say no, of taboo, if we can call them that, there haven't been any for at least thirty years. If we think of Chanel who has taken off the corsets, of Mary Quant who has shown the legs, of the Beatles, of Mick Jagger, of David Bowie above all, of punk. It seems to me that more than that...

#2 You have always been very vocal and committed towards the protection of the environment and to issues such as sustainability and recycling, which seem to finally interest even the fashion industry. Do you see it as just a trend or do you see the basis for a truly greener future? 

I believe that we can no longer speak of trends but of duty. And it seems to me that companies are sincere when they approach the problem trying to do their part to solve it or at least alleviating it. 

#3 In an industry where the main protagonists are influencers, bloggers and Instagram celebs, what is the role of the fashion editor and what should it be? 

Good question. Those who do my job, do something different from bloggers and influencers, some of whom are very capable. I believe that newspapers should reiterate their role which is increasingly that of selecting the best and the beautiful, for those who deal with information that is to speak about reality.

#4 What is the state of health of the Milan Fashion Week?

Like all fashion weeks, it's a rather old-fashioned way to show fashion, but nobody, neither Paris nor London nor NY, has managed to come up with something different. The truth is that for young designers, the fashion show is a point of arrival, which then becomes a starting point.
However, it remains the best way to show your work: a worn dress is alive, on a mannequin it dusts. It is clear, however, that the fashion week system needs to be rethought if only for the current times we're in. One cannot think that everyone sees the collections months before this is for sale. Unfortunately, companies can't make it up to the times, and it's not even fair for them to try, speed is good for nothing or anyone. The case of Virgil Abloh who has admitted of being tired and in need of a break should teach us something...