- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Nobel winners hope protein work will spur 'incredible' breakthroughs
- What are proteins again? Nobel-winning chemistry explained
- AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins
- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
- Demis Hassabis, from chess prodigy to Nobel-winning AI pioneer
- Global stocks diverge as Chinese shares tumble
- Time runs out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Chad issues warning ahead of more devastating floods
- Creator's death no bar to new 'Dragon Ball' products
Fashion courts K-Pop and its fans at Milan catwalk shows
Milan's catwalks may be the epicentre of global fashion this week, but it's Seoul and K-Pop fans who are front and centre in the battle for new luxury customers.
Outside Prada's fashion show on Thursday, the biggest squeals of excitement came from fans of Jeon Somi, South Korea's blonde singer with 16.6 million Instagram followers.
The hordes of pushing, screaming fans straining for a view of their favourite K-pop or Korean film and television stars are expected to come out in force for the duration of Milan Fashion Week -- underscoring the strategic importance of the South Korean market to Italian fashion.
"I've been here since 11 o'clock in the morning to see Somi," 20-year-old Italian fan Serena Danimarco told AFP. "I love her, her music, her look."
She held up a sign reading "Somi I'm so Dumb Dumb for you," a reference to the singer's 2021 single.
Such enthusiasm also greeted the arrival of Korean actress Song Hye-kyo at the Fendi show Wednesday, which kicked off fashion week.
Fan Giulia, 20, was crushed behind a barrier outside the show, holding up her handmade sign with photos of her idol and an "I love you" written underneath.
"I knew she was coming through the networks of Neverland, one of the Korean Idol fan groups. I am also a Blink, a Blackpink fan!" she said, referring to the chart-dominating girl group named by Time Magazine as 2022's "Entertainer of the year".
- Ambassadors of luxury -
Luxury brands, whether based in Milan, Paris, London or New York, have been snapping up South Korean stars as brand ambassadors, including at Bulgari, Chanel, Celine and Giorgio Armani.
Jimin, a member of the best-selling K-pop boy band BTS, became Dior's latest global brand ambassador in January, while Valentino announced its collaboration with Suga -- another member of the band that is on a temporary hiatus -- who plans a solo tour this spring.
Gucci, meanwhile, has seized on Hanni, the lead singer of NewJeans, another South Korean girl group who released their debut single last summer.
Hanni is expected in the front row of Gucci's show on Friday.
Like Dior, which held its first runway show in Seoul last year, Gucci also plans to hit the South Korean capital for its upcoming cruise collection in May.
A show planned for last November -- which would have been the South Korean debut for Gucci's former creative director Alessandro Michele -- was cancelled following the Halloween stampede in the city centre that killed more than 150 people.
Sales of Italian fashion to South Korea rose 31 percent in 2022, according to Italy's fashion chamber (CNMI).
Seven out of the top 10 Italian exports to South Korea relate to fashion, the Italian Trade Agency said.
The biggest chunk comes from leather goods, comprising 21 percent of total Italian exports to South Korea, up 5.8 percent over 2021, followed by footwear.
T.Morelli--CPN