GX Fashion Week The Art of Fashion in the Heart of Milan

Between Palazzo Giureconsulti and Piazza Duomo, the latest edition of GX Fashion Week brought together international creativity, haute couture and aesthetic research, transforming the heart of Milan into a vibrant setting for contemporary fashion. There are places that simply host a fashion show, and others that, almost naturally, become part of it. Palazzo Giureconsulti belongs to the latter. On 28 September, in Milan’s most monumental heart, GX Fashion Week transformed one of the city’s landmark addresses into an international landscape of fashion, where craftsmanship, research and imagination found common ground. Just steps from the Duomo, the evening immediately took on a character of its own. Inside, a select audience; beyond the doors, the ceaseless movement of Milan. The city continued at its usual pace, yet in front of Palazzo Giureconsulti something managed to interrupt its rhythm: a dress, a face, a detail, the passing of a model. Eyes were drawn to the scene, captivated by that distinctive magnetism that only fashion, when it truly comes alive, can create. For a few hours, the boundary between runway and city became almost imperceptible. Milan was no longer merely the backdrop to the event, but a living presence, an ever-changing urban stage. At the heart of GX Fashion Week is Gentiana Dervishi, owner of the GX brand and organiser of the event. Over time, she has developed an international vision capable of connecting Milan, Paris and Albania, building a project in which different designers and cultures can meet through fashion. Her direction gives GX Fashion Week a distinct identity: international, contemporary and deeply connected to the fashion system. It is from this vision that the runway takes shape, entrusted to different aesthetic languages united by a shared desire to interpret fashion as expression, research and identity.

Owana Lima - Nicteel

With Owana Lima and Nicteel, the runway moved into an almost tactile dimension. Eternally the Light, part of the Solsticio project, stems from a reflection on the relationship between light and darkness, permanence and transformation. The Guatemalan-born designer has developed a distinctive technique for working with organic wool, transforming it into a material capable of absorbing and reflecting light across the body. The silhouettes take on a sculptural quality, while volumes and textures seem to follow an invisible movement. These are not simply garments, but surfaces in transformation. In Nicteel’s creative language, light does not disappear: it changes.

Closing the evening was Pin-Up Stars, the historic brand founded in Bologna in 1995 under the creative direction of Jerry Tommolini. With the Spring/Summer 2027 collection, Sotto il segno dei fiori, beachwear once again moved beyond its traditional boundaries and into the broader realm of fashion. Flowers and butterflies take shape through three-dimensional techniques, while nautical imagery introduces a different aesthetic tension, with references to the America’s Cup, marine details and precious accents. The result is a wardrobe that no longer belongs solely to the water: it lives on the skin, in the city, into the evening.

Five visions, five distinct aesthetic languages, brought together by a shared idea of fashion: not surface, but language. Not mere ornament, but identity, memory, research and cross-pollination. Yet what the audience sees on stage is only the final act of a far more complex process. Before the collections come to life under the lights, meticulous work goes into the image, the character of each face, the construction of the hair and the almost theatrical relationship between light, material and stage presence. This is where the beauty team plays a decisive role: not as a finishing touch, but as a genuine design component of the entire visual narrative. Leading this creative universe were Diana Jaupi, Hair Director, and Alex Randulescu, Make-up Director, responsible for the overall vision of the beauty department. Under their direction, every intervention helped create a coherent transition from the designer’s concept to its expression on stage. Working alongside them were Emma Berisha, Image Advisor, Motoc Monica Alexandra, Izabella Alexandra Vass, Mishaela Zefi, Suleimenova Kamilla, Stingaciu Alina, Ishanova Anastasiya, Minushe Dauti, Flutura Coniku, Bocîrnea Anca Gachi, Alekparova Alma, Andrei Cretu, Marjeta Shahini, Bardas Alexia, Colesniuc Adrian, Anastassiya Nurullayeva, Gerta Dhimitri, Antonia Cojocariu, Füstös Nagy Erika, Popa Elena, Armanda Çepe Alex Toto, Meli Sonia, Di Napoli Ilaria. A team of professionals focused on detail, proportion and overall impact, transforming every runway appearance into a visual presence consistent with the world of each collection. Overseeing the complex operation behind the runway was Alessia Xhafa, Director of Coordination. Her experience, developed across several international editions of GX Fashion Week, enabled her to manage timing, people and organisational transitions with a precision rarely visible to the audience. Her work belongs to that part of the show that receives no applause because it remains unseen, yet on which everything depends happening at exactly the right moment. The evening was hosted by Alessio Marrari, who guided the audience through the different identities presented on the runway. A blogger, communicator, podcaster and former radio presenter, Marrari is responsible for the international communications of GX and Albania Fashion Week. His experience in fashion storytelling allowed him to turn the sequence of runway appearances into a narrative journey, giving voice to the collections without diminishing the power of their imagery. Preserving the event’s visual memory were Arjentina Kola and Nicola Giordano, who coordinated the entire photography department. Their role went beyond simply documenting what happened: it involved selecting perspectives, timing and moments capable of preserving the ephemeral nature of a fashion show. Through their work, what exists for only a few seconds on the runway becomes an image made to endure.

GX Fashion Week did not simply occupy one of Milan’s most prestigious venues: it allowed the city itself to enter the event. Palazzo Giureconsulti, the square, the architecture of the historic centre, the ceaseless flow of people and the spontaneous curiosity sparked by something unexpected came together to create a setting that could never be replicated.

The runway seemed to extend beyond the doors of the palazzo. And that evening, Milan itself appeared to keep walking alongside it.