Take part in Milan Fashion Week with Diego Portillo, deputy visual editor at Vogue

Hello Vogue Club, I’m Diego Portillo, deputy visual editor at Vogue. In my role, a working knowledge of the runway helps research and decide on the best visuals to use in print and digital. To give you some insight into how I look out for new trends and key fashion moments, here’s a recap of my recent trip to Milan Fashion Week.

Although my role allows me to travel all over the world – I recently ventured to Mexico, New York, Paris and London – this was my first trip to Milan and there I was fully immersed in the fashion week festivities.

What I wore to my first fashion show

Of course, there is a lot of debate about what to wear to fashion week. I recently read an article by Lynn Yaeger and Beca Gvishiani titled Fashion Week “Regulations”.— during which Lynn and Beka discuss the dos and don’ts as well as etiquette at various shows and celebrations. Ignoring their advice not to get completely involved with the label before the show, I went to the Diesel store in downtown Milan before the show and left with a full outfit. (Bonus: clothes now double as souvenirs!)

Diesel fashion show

By accident, when I arrived at the Diesel show, I met Beka, the founder of Style Not Com – he’s someone I follow, so it was great to meet him in person.

As for the show itself: on the runway, models walked through a pile of denim scrap. A detail you’d miss if you weren’t looking closely: the models wore white, red, yellow and black contact lenses. Seeing the collection in person really helped me appreciate the materials and details that sometimes don’t translate as vividly in photos or videos. (I also loved seeing the contestants’ outfits!)

Vogue Italia 60th anniversary party

Shortly after arriving in Milan, I attended Vogue Italia’s 60th anniversary celebration, which began with an exhibition dedicated to the history and highlights of Vogue Italia. I loved thinking back to this particular issue from 1969, featuring Berkley Johnson, who represented timeless beauty but with a twist – a concept I always associate with Italian fashion. It made a huge impression on me because it still seems modern to this day.

Latin American fashion awards cocktail