Italian fashion giants vie at Sanremo music fest
IMG class=hide alt=”Italian fashion giants vie at Sanremo music fest” src=”http://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/wpid-ce4383757eda20095ae215aad1662a2c.jpg” (By Elisa Cecchi). P(ANSA) – Rome, February 19 – For fashionistas watching the 64th edition of Italy’s popular Sanremo music festival that opened Tuesday night, the winners will be decided long before awards are announced on Saturday./PPThis year, the competition is not only between the singers – this time it is also about the designers who decked them out as several leading Italian brand names got a dress or suit on a music star./PPLast year, hosts Fabio Fazio and Luciana Littizzetto, who will also be running the show this time, managed to capture an average of 11.9 million viewers throughout the marathon event, never dropping below a 42% audience share and peaking at 66.6%./PPIt was the best result since 2001 and the growing appeal of Sanremo can be noticed in the number of top-name Italian fashion houses dressing participants this year, when the event has gone head-to-head with Milan fall-winter 2014 fashion shows opening Wednesday./PPFor the opening night of the festival, an institution for music fans as well as star-gazers, French actress Laetitia Casta wore a voluptuous haute couture creation designed by Italy’s Riccardo Tisci for French fashion house Givenchy to mark her comeback as a guest star, after making an appearance in 1999./PPItalian actresses Cristiana Capotondi and Violante Placido have chosen DolceGabbana and a number of other artists are rumoured to be donning one of the designing duo’s high-impact numbers in the coming days./PPCo-host Littizetto will be wearing Gucci throughout the festival./PPThe popular comedian co-presenting the five-day fest pitting 14 top artists against each other and eight upcoming singers for best new talent, will be appearing in long gowns – a tradition since the festival was launched in 1951./PPShe will also convey her comic jibes in stylish embroidered short dresses, mainly in black, bedecked in crystals for added glitz./PPFabio Fazio will be presenting the Italian pop bonanza in suits designed by Italy’s Ennio Capacasa for Costume National./PPFlorentine designer Roberto Cavalli will dress singers Francesco Renga and Francesco Sarcina in his top line and Giusy Ferreri in Just Cavalli./PPA top contender for the Sanremo title this year, Noemi, will hit the stage in Gattinoni couture whose creative director Guillermo Mariotto is known for provocative creations appreciated by pop stars like Madonna./PPFashion dean Giorgio Armani will take his sophistication to Italy’s popular entertainment event, dressing singers Filippo Graziani and Marco Bocci in the Emporio line and actress and presenter Giorgia Surina in his main line./PPPolish actress Kasia Smutniak will pay homage to the festival’s guiding theme this year, beauty, with a black crepe gown by fashion house Fendi while one of Italy’s leading film directors, Paolo Virz