A Resolve That No One Expected

Georgio Armani and co: you know it's serious because
none of the models are smiling (WSJ photo)

The war in Ukraine has resulted in a falling stock market, the skyrocketing price of oil, and fear of the big one: nuclear annihilation. But there is another catastrophe:

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Casts a Pall on Milan Fashion Week:

The disconnect between fashion and the “real world,” always a heated topic, felt particularly extreme on Thursday, when the invasion escalated and brands including Prada staged their fashion shows to audiences of editors and celebrities...

In a tweet last week that was later deleted, the European Union’s high representative and vice president, Josep Borrell Fontelles, appeared to refer to the rich Russians such sanctions would hit. He wrote, “No more: Shopping in Milano Partying in Saint Tropez Diamonds in Antwerp.”

For an industry that is mightily bolstered by the support and investment of Russian money, any sanctions are consequential. (Italy sells about $1.34 billion of luxury goods to Russia each year.)

The Russian oligarchs could not have imagined that they'd be locked out of Milan, St. Tropez, and Antwerp.

Europe has shown a resolve that no one expected.