Sept. 8 – Italian fashion still dazzles abroad. This time, the very best of the industry helps celebrate the ten years of partnership between Melbourne and Milan. The gala opened the Melbourne Fashion Week in the presence of the Consul General of Italy, Marco Maria Cerbo, and the Deputy Mayor Susan Riley. The tables, laden with Italian culinary products, welcomed a hundred fashion entrepreneurs, many of them of Italian origin, all engaged in the clothing, leather goods and footwear sectors. The majority – reads a note from the Consulate General of Italy in Melbourne – has commercial relations with Italian counterparts and regularly participates in trade fairs organized in Milan: some produce in Italy products designed in Australia tailored to the preferences of local consumers, while other produce in Asian countries using Italian materials and machineries. The main importers of the most popular Italian brands also attended the event. The main topic of discussion was Expo 2015. The Consul General gave a speech and a couple of documentaries on Milan and its services were screened to help prepare the stream of twenty million people expected to attend Expo2015. The City of Melbourne will participate in the Expo along with the delegation organized by the State of Victoria.
