KIM JONES

The Italian fashion world has opened a Milan Fashion Week that brought the return of Russian buyers after two years and the easing of pandemic travel restrictions.

The name Kim Jones dominated Paris fashion for a second week running as the indefatigable Briton who designs for Dior Men’s was back on the runway to present his latest couture collection for Fendi.

Dior took over Paris’ iconic Place de la Concorde for its menswear show whose theme was none other than the city of Paris itself.

Louis Vuitton has pulled out the stops to present the final collection of Virgil Abloh, the house’s first African-American designer who died in November after a two-year battle with cancer.

Milan menswear designers seem to have decided on the answer, but the question remains: Have the pandemic lockdowns emboldened men to embrace a more feminine silhouette, including skirts, mini-dresses and cape coats.

Italy’s fashion capital is again alive with the sound of shoppers swarming boutiques and editors filling socially distanced fashion week venues, a sign of a light at the end of the pandemic tunnel.

NEW YORK – The Council of Fashion Designers of America gave its top fashion awards on Monday to Gabriela Hearst for womenswear and Kerby Jean-Raymond for menswear. The two designers led a group of winners that the CFDA said was the most diverse in the 39-year history of the awards. The winners also included Telfar Clemens, who won the accessories award, and Christopher John Rogers, who won for American emerging designer. The award for international women's designer went to Pierpaolo Piccioli for Valentino. The international men's designer award went to Kim Jones for Dior.

FILE -- In this Jan. 17, 2020 file photo, designer Kim Jones accepts applause after the Dior Homme Mens Fall/Winter 2020-2021 fashion collection presented in Paris. Rome fashion house Fendi announced Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020 that Kim Jones is taking over from the late Karl Lagerfeld as creative director of haute couture, ready-to-wear and fur collections. Jones will take on the Fendi duties while staying on as artistic director of Dior Homme. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)ROME Rome fashion house Fendi announced Wednesday that Kim Jones is taking over from the late Karl Lagerfeld as creative director of haute couture, ready-to-wear and fur collections. Jones will take on the Fendi duties while staying on as artistic director of Dior Homme, another house in the Paris-based luxury goods empire of LVMH chief Bernard Arnault.