Milan Fashion week winter 2008

This winter fashion week has been my third. During these periods I've had the opportunity to meet and interact with people from all over the world. Over this last fashion week period I have managed to meet a range of interesting people.

The first person I would like to talk about is an english guy who I met at the Roen after party. This guy is the drummer for a pretty successful English band, they have had a fair level of success touring around the world and the UK. He fell into modelling by being spotted at one of his shows by someone from a london agency. He had a pixie like face with long dark rock and roll hair, he was as genuine as they get and he didn't have the arrogance you would expect from a model playing in a successful enough band. I shared a bus ride with him unto which I discovered he drunk at the same local as Noel Fielding (mighty boosh fame) and to which his biggest passion was quite obviously music. Fascinatingly enough letting me know that John Richmond the fashion designer was in a punk band in the 80's, ah the irony. I left him with 3 girls whom were certainly looking at getting to know this character a little better.

The second night of Fashion week I found myself at the Neil Barrett party. This party was as extravagant as fashion parties get. Held in a massive warehouse decked out with amazing lighting, chandeliers and sponsored by a vodka company, the scene was set for a memorable night. As it turned out I did take advantage of the vodka sponsorship and most of the night is unfortunately a vague blur, with one highlight of spotting Naomi Campbell. As I came to leave and look for a taxi I came across 2 guys heading in my direction so we shared a cab. Once we got talking we decided to go for some pizza as we had all drank way too much and eaten way too little. 

Upon sharing this meal with these 2 guys I discovered that they are professional water polo players. One was Italian and his english was slight, the other was American who had learnt to speak quite good italian after living in the country for close to 2 years. From what I drained out of them, it was likely they were going to represent their respective countries in water polo at the olympics this year, all things going to plan. I discovered they played in the same team as Elka Graham's (a famous Australian swimmer) boyfriend's team. Elka famously made news recently in Australia by saying another Australian swimmer offered her performance enhancing drugs. These two knew of the comments and claimed Elka had told them who this was. Despite my drunken manipulative attempts to get a name out of these 2 chaps they held firm and said nothing but insisting that elka would kill them if they did say anything. We ate pizza then shared a taxi home. For me the experience that made the night was not that I was able to party at some extravagantly over the top, overcrowded fashion party unto which Naomi Campbell was present (don't get me wrong, it was pretty awesome), but the fact these two humble potential olympians shared stories with me over a drunken pizza at about 4 A.M.

Finally, my third meeting with an unforgettable individual during this period was at the Roberto Cavalli party. This meeting was for all the wrong reasons. She was an upper class English girl who had the desire to be rude to me at every opportunity. She was a journalist for a trend forecasting agency in London. She was condescending to me by asking my age very early in the conversation and proceeded to make comments like "you're just a model" and "all i want is some intellectual conversation". It's amazing how certain people desire intellectual conversation at 4.30 am after an incredibly drunken evening. In hindsight I wish I had have asked her opinion on Dmitri Nabokov's dilemma of publishing his late Father's last literary works when he wished for them to be destroyed as they were incomplete. However, my major concern was getting a taxi. So after having one too many condescending comments directed towards me, I replied with "f*** off you miserable B****" walked down the road and pretty much instantly got a taxi. To be honest, it was a hell of an exit.