Anna Vitiello’s Milan Fashion Week Diary Includes Pasta And Prada

Still reeling from fashion month? Look to our Vogue Philippines correspondent Anna Vitiello who breaks down how her week in Milan flew by. Spoiler: it included servings of pasta, pizza, and fashion.

“Ate a lot of pasta, for sure!” Anna Vitiello beams when I ask her what she was up to in Milan during Fashion Week. The Filipino-Italian editor-turned-content creator was Vogue Philippines’ European correspondent, and she was more than happy to break down her experiences in Italy. “I’m always excited because Milan is my favorite out of the four fashion weeks and all my favorite brands are there,” she says. “Milan’s actually a very tiny city. There’s only about a million people. Fashion is everywhere. Sometimes it feels like a very chic Disneyland of fashion. The billboards are building size and it’s such a special feeling to be completely surrounded by it.”

Aside from the city’s already-stylish energy, there was even more palpable excitement for the shows. “There was a lot of buzz this season. There were so many debuts happening,” she says, describing the vibe, adding, “Obviously, we were most excited about Rhuigi [Villaseñor] for Bally.”

Vitiello goes on to talk about how special it was to witness Villaseñor’s outing at Bally, especially as a Filipino. “Bally is a house that I’ve always loved. I’ve always carried their bags, and I’ve always loved, loved them as a fashion house,” she begins. “There’s obviously been a waning over the last few years and I think it was so special to see Rhuigi bring an energy back to the house.” Villaseñor’s debut, which Vitiello covered for Vogue Philippines, included street style and Asian elements elevated to luxury-label level. “He killed it, he absolutely killed, it was such a beautiful collection and it was wearable.”

Aside from Bally, Vitiello took in the new design offerings for Spring/Summer 2023 and attended shows and viewed showrooms of GCDS (“It’s really amazing to see him come up and kill it in the way that he’s doing,” she says), Jimmy Choo (a “beautiful, beautiful collection” with “crystals everywhere”), and the “reveal of Kim” at Dolce & Gabbana (which she calls “really exciting” and “really wild”).

But her days weren’t just filled with fashion—they were also filled with food. Vitiello says she stuck to her “very Italian rituals” (read: coffee and carbs) while in Milan. “I love just going down to the coffee shop and just standing in the bar and having my coffee because that’s such an Italian thing, you don’t see it anywhere,” she says. It’s one of her “favorite” morning rituals. “That’s how I start my morning. It’s a coffee down at the bar with my cornetti (a plain croissant) and then I feel ready for the day.”

Aside from her cornetti, Vitiello also made sure to grab pizzetta during the busier days. “You know what Fashion Week is like. Sometimes, there’s no time to stop,” she recalls. Though she promises she had “proper lunches,” she also waxes poetic about the carbo-loaded snack she enjoyed munching on. “My energy drops really quickly so I always need something to keep me going. So I just swing by the various little shops and buy pizzetta in between shows … It’s like a little hand-size pizza that you can shove in your mouth,” she shares.

Her food habits in Italy are even more regimented than her beauty routine, she reveals. “I’m super low maintenance,” she says of her skincare and makeup rituals. “While everyone is out there having their hair and makeup done, I’m just really more interested in food.” Naturally, she knows exactly where to get her favorite cacio e pepe and pasta pomodoro.

When it comes to her outfits though, Vitiello is also sticking true to wearing what she wants, though she admits there is pressure to dress her best during Fashion Week. “What an incredible experience that I get to like even wear all these clothes and be dressed,” she begins, adding, “But I think there’s pressure from all angles … There’s an element of wearing a look that is worthy of being street styled and I think very, very few people would admit that.” Still, she treats Fashion Week like her “dress-up box.” Vitiello says, “It’s really like an arena where I can fully be myself because it doesn’t matter what I wear. I can be all out and put my ridiculous sunglasses on. I can put my elbow-length gloves on. I can really just be myself.” Her favorite look she wore this season? “The Sportsmax.”

Below, Anna Vitiello breaks down her week in Milan in a photo diary (and gives tips on where to get pasta in Milano).

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