The Italian city of Milan is recognised internationally as one of the world's most important fashion capitals, along with Paris, New York City, London and Tokyo. It is additionally recognised as the main fashion city in the country, with Rome and Florence being other major centres.

Milan has a long history within the fashion, clothing and textile industries. Throughout the late 19th century, being one of the main industrial and economic powerhouses of the country, the city was a major production centre within the trade. Milanese fashion, despite taking inspiration from the leading Parisian couture designs of the time, developed its own approach, which was by nature devoted to the quality of the fabric, soberness and simplicity. Throughout the 20th century, the city developed its role as a fashion centre, with a number of rising designers and figures within the industry which contributed to Milan's image as a stylistic capital. Milan truly became one of the world's top fashion cities in the 1970s and 80s, further developing and keeping its prestigious status into the 1990s and 2000s, being now seen as part of the "big four" cities. Milan is especially known for its role within the prêt-à-porter category of fashion.

Milan (Italian: Milano [miˈlaːno] ( listen); Lombard: [miˈlan]; Latin: Mediolanum) is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital of Lombardy as well as of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area is the 5th largest in EU and the largest in Italy with an estimated population of approximately 5 million. The growth of many suburbs and satellite settlements around the city proper, following the Italian economic miracle of 1950s–60s and massive commuting flows, suggest that socioeconomic linkages have expanded well beyond the boundaries of its administrative limits and its agglomeration, creating a region of approximately 9,3 million people. It has been suggested that the Milan metropolitan area is part of the so-called Blue Banana, the area of Europe with the highest population and industrial density. Its health care and education system is considered one of the best of Europe.

A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, which allows fashion designers, brands or "houses" to display their latest collections in runway shows and buyers and the media to take a look at the latest trends. Most importantly, these events let the industry know what's "in" and what's "out" for the season. The most prominent fashion weeks are held in the four fashion capitals of the world: New York City, London, Milan, and Paris. Some other important fashion weeks in the world are held in Australia, Bangalore, Jakarta, Berlin, Bangkok, Barcelona, Seoul, Tokyo, São Paulo, Los Angeles, Łódź, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, Singapore, Toronto, Madrid.^{[citation needed]}

In the major fashion capitals, fashion weeks are semiannual events. January through April designers showcase their autumn and winter collections and September through November the spring/summer collections are shown. Fashion weeks must be held several months in advance of the season to allow the press and buyers a chance to preview fashion designs for the following season. This is also to allow time for retailers to arrange to purchase or incorporate the designers into their retail marketing. Latest innovations in dress designs are showcased by renowned fashion designers during these fashion weeks, and all these latest collections are covered in magazines such as designerzcentral and Vogue.