On October 25， 2017， the route to the 26th edition of Milano Unica has begun with the presentation of the S/S 2019 trends at the Teatro Vetra in Milan.

The three themes that inspire the international global trends focus on three elements that are essential to our life on the planet - Water， Air and Earth - and its payoff is projected towards the future： “Milano Unica： Save the Planet”.

Myths， heroes， legends， novels， comics， movies， songs， opera， ballets， scientific studies， theories and calculations act as “testimonials”. Identified by Stefano Fadda and a panel of Italian national and international industry specialists， they send out an important and incisive message， which Milano Unica， along with many other fashion players， embraces and intends to promote： love for life， nature and ourselves.

With a view to fulfilling this social need and in addition to the analysis of new technology and research， the dialogue among all the players of the supply chain will play a key role in the identification of new solutions to protect our unique， amazing but also fragile planet.

The presentation， which has now become a ‘must event， will stimulate discussion about an increasingly sensitive and transparent fashion system， thanks to reduced consumption of water and energy and fashion items increasingly devoid of harmful substances.

“The dialogue must extend more and more， and also include end users， as was the case with the recent “Apriti Moda” initiative （in which Milano Unica participated as the partner depositary of the upstream art）， an event that opened the doors of the fashion houses that， until yesterday， had always remained concealed inside their creative cocoons. All fashion players today agree on the fact that fashion must remain “exclusive” but not be “excluding”， becoming a platform to share confrontation strategies. A shared industry vision is critical to boosting creativity based on exchange and unity of intents，” said Ercole Botto Poala， Presi- dent of Milano Unica.

Where will the S/S 2019 trends identified in our contemporary society bring us？ Exhibitors， fashion houses， designers， style offices and for the first time also fashion students will have a preview in the exhibition dedicated to the suggestions for materials and the inspiration behind the creative and productive path.

“Milano Unica interprets international society so that fashion can identify the ideas for tomorrows collections. Milano Unica does it by transmitting our planets need for a rebirth， and the mounting threat it faces from unheeded or disdained transnational agreements. Milano Unica is where ideas and stimuli spark off for the textile collections that fashion entrepreneurs will offer to end users： their needs represent the beginning and the end of a cycle that we all must interpret. It follows， then， that we all have a big responsibility： we need to design excellent fashion and， simultaneously， contribute to saving our Planet，” said Antonella Martinetto， President of Moda In， in charge of the Trends for MU.endprint

Massimo Mosiello， General Director of Milano Unica， added： “We should not neglect the dialogue with fashion students， they are the craftspeople of the future. Talking with them， involving them in the creative process will give strength to the message that Milano Unica also intends to promote to start the engine at the systems core. Textiles and fashion together represent a sounding board with immense potential for reaching out to everyone， even those holding the reins of international politics”.

MILANO UNICA： 2019 SPRING/SUMMER TRENDS

Ecology and Fashion： the combination is the topic of the moment. This is not a passing shift for environmental issues but it is an urgency that requires commitment and dedication by all. Above all it involves fashion that uses its language to affect not only aesthetics， but also lifestyles and ways of thinking.

Hence “Milano Unica： Save the Planet” was conceived， a “green” slogan that heralds a manifesto of awareness of the major issues related to the environment. It is almost a visionary advertisement that draws attention to the cornerstones of life： Water， Air and Earth.

Water， Air and Earth are， in fact， the themes of the trends for Spring/Summer 2019. From these three elements we allowed ourselves to become inspired， starting from what classical writers， scholars and scientists have drawn up， to reach creating three purely fantastical narratives， each of which spotlights a well-known personality.

“For 2019 Spring-Summer trends we believed there was the need to create three ‘short stories on themes as well as iconic figures with a strong connection to Water， Air and Earth. The aim is to give a vision of the future as a synthesis of tradition， respect for nature and faith in technology that improves the quality of life” asserts creative director Stefano Fadda.

For this edition， therefore， the elements Water， Air， and Earth are paired with three types of personalities： the great French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau who championed， back in the day， ecological battles defending deep-sea flora and fauna； the Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev with his ethereal， agile and poetic dance in a space evoking the Northern Lights， and finally the Maasai， a nomadic people， proud of their traditions but， above all， inextricably connected to the Earth， mother and origin of all civilization.

The following three stories were conceived in this way： “Jacques Cousteau and the mystery of Atlantis”， “Nureyev and ballets in a boreal space of the Northern Lights” and “the Maasai and the victory at Zabriskie Point” which coincide with as many themes： Organic Underwater Neoclassicism， Cyber Glam Hyper-futurism， and finally Minimalism and Tribal Purism.endprint

The theme of Water through the imaginative rediscovery of the legendary city of Atlantis by Cousteau introduces us to the human wonders of Hellenic civilization and the natural seabed. The submerged nature reveals all the elements of the nautical world， from waterproof sails to lines and ropes， to winches， to masts and to rudders of wood and titanium， up to reaching all inventions tied to the underwater world， like wetsuits， deep diving suits， and all high-tech materials in continuous evolution.

As for Air， Nureyevs pirouettes lead us into a space where his hyper-technological， glam jumpsuit is a reinterpretation of the performing costumes in a futuristic rock style while the materials evoke an imaginary impalpable lightness， layered tulle， kaleidoscopic satins in iridescent colors， bright micro applications and details with lunar reflections.

Thinking about the Earth leads us to the Maasai people， here represented as cricketers， the sport acquired during British colonization. The match is at Zabriskie Point， in that Nevada desert to which the film director Michelangelo Antonioni introduced us as the place of freedom and love. The vision here is purist and proposes a new minimalism with fabrics like cottons and wools， silks and linens， in “virginal” version， namely organic， wild， although soft and lightweight.

Tribal graphics are flattened not only with colors but also through the most linear and primary shapes. The embellishments also become solid lines in darker shades， but always tone-on-tone or black.endprint