Milan fashion week: People everyone's talking about

Jess Cartner-Morley eavesdrops at Milan fashion week to find out which names are on everyone's lips.

 

Milan fashion week: Katie Holmes on the front row at Maxmara. Photograph: Jacopo Raule/Getty Images

Katie Holmes

Mrs Tom Cruise was the star turn of the day, pitching up for Maxmara's show in a chocolate-coloured jumpsuit and sensible camel cashmere coat. But: no Suri! Surely the little high-heeled one would have loved a trip to Milan fashion week.

Meredith Koop

First-lady fashion is an industry obsession, and 29-year-old Koop has been outed as Michelle Obama's secret weapon in the struggle for supremacy between Flotus and the Dior-clad Carla Bruni. Koop used to work for Ikram Goldman, the Chicago boutique owner who acted as unofficial wardrobe advisor during the Obama campaign.

Britt Lintner

The American-born, London-based fashion designer left a job as a hedge fund manager because she couldn't find any nice outfits to wear to work, priorities for which we wholeheartedly salute her. She now makes clothes aimed squarely at executive women. Sarah Brown has long been a fan, a fact of which we were reminded in titbits from Behind The Black Door this week: "London G20 summit about to kick off. I change into Britt Lintner dress and nice Jimmy Choo stilettos."

Florence and the Machine

Ms Welch was named by Gucci designer Frida Giannini as the inspiration for the floor-length (but with sexy thigh-high split, natch – this is Gucci) dresses which featured in Gucci's 90th anniversary show this week. Giannini reckons she can picture Flo wearing one on stage. Look out for Ms Welch in a ruby or emerald Gucci chiffon number at a festival near you this summer.

Coco Sumner

Her live turn was the highlight of Gucci's super-glitzy after-party, which was impressively late and lively for a 90-year-old. Looks like Signora Giannini is partial to a British songstress (see above).

Massimo Dinoia

No, you won't have heard of him, but this man has more influence than anyone over the fate of one of the biggest names in Italian fashion – he's the lawyer hired by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana to defend them in their tax fraud case. A preliminary hearing last Friday in the case was adjourned. Fact fans: Dinoia also represents "Ruby the heart stealer", the teenager at the centre of Berlusconi's latest scandal.

Jeff Rudes

The founder and CEO of J Brand jeans has scored a coup by signing up Christopher Kane to design a denim range. Expect to see a lot of Kane for J Brand jeans on dressed-down fashion editors catching the early-morning flight to Milan next season.

Stefano Pilati

That YSL designer Pilati is about to leave/get fired is one of the longest running rumours ever to take hold of the fashion world – it's been around for years, and Pilati recently signed a new three-year contract. But the whisper was back in the front row this week, after a publicist for Kenzo tweeted a 'blind' (but totally obvious to anyone in the industry) item suggesting Pilati's dismissal was imminent. We shall see. Expect this one to run and run.

Oliver Theyskens

Spotted front row at the Prada show, and no doubt very gratified by the high number of fashion editors in attendance wearing Oliver Theyskens for Theory.