Milan Organizer Calls New York and London ‘Arrogant and Aggressive,’ Stands Firm on Spring 2013 Overlapping Show Dates

The dispute between Milan and New York/London regarding the scheduling discrepancy for the spring 2013 shows got a bit uglier over the weekend as Milan dug in its heels. The president of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italia (CNMI), Mario Boselli, took a page out of Diane von Furstenberg’s play book and sent out an open letter to journalists, once more stating Milan’s case.

In case you forgot what their case is, it’s this: Milan is keeping the dates as is, and nothing is changing. Boselli reiterated that the “agreement” to start fashion month on the second Thursday in September was a three-year agreement only, Vogue UK reports. He said there is no documentation to prove that there ever was a longer term agreement. Additionally, he produced a press release from March 2010 which announced that Milan’s show dates would be September 19-25, 2012; Boselli claimed that after that press release was sent “no objection had been raised by anyone.”

He sent one last zinger aimed at New York and London:

As a result, we must rebut the accusation leveled at CNMI by New York and London of not having complied with the agreement. Such an accusation, besides showing an arrogant and aggressive attitude towards Milan, was supported by unfair arguments aimed at–unilaterally–imposing decisions that had not been agreed upon.

Oh, boy. The only good thing is that he acknowledged that organizers from all four cities would meet to discuss 2013 show dates so that this doesn’t happen again.

Business of Fashion published an interview with CFDA CEO Steven Kolb, who responded to Milan’s cockiness with a bit of his own, telling the biz blog, “I feel that 20 years ago, Milan and Europe could really dictate and New York had to follow, but I feel like it’s time for us to stake what’s important to us. We have enough strength; we have a strong market; we have a lot of really talented designers. Milan might be surprised where editors and buyers decide to go.” Kolb also denied that New York organizers ever agreed to a three-year scheduling agreement: “…why would we? Since we negotiated the second Thursday start, the idea was to get it as far away from Labor Day as possible.”

Paris still hasn’t officially weighed in–we suspect they’re just letting the other three cities hammer it out. Condé Nast also hasn’t issued another statement since its first one that claimed none of their editors would be allowed to go to Milan if it overlaps with New York and London. Stalemate?.

The president of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italia (CNMI), Mario Boselli,

fashionista.com