Vogue World Milan may have just offered a preview of the type of collaboration to expect when the fashion and culture event comes to San Francisco in 2027.
The event’s finale, a roughly 40-minute presentation in the historic Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II included the release of more than 6,000 paper libellule (Italian for dragonflies) that descended gently through the space to American singer Alicia Keys’ rendition of the disco hit “I Feel Love.” They were made, appropriately enough, by LoveFrom, Jony Ive’s creative studio based in San Francisco’s Jackson Square. Each contained a message stating they were designed in San Francisco.
Ive, a longtime friend of Condé Nast Global Chief Content Officer and Artistic Director Anna Wintour, was a key advocate for San Francisco to host the next edition of Vogue World. Wintour’s visit earlier this year to LoveFrom was partly to see the creation of the libellule.
But there was another notable Bay Area presence in the finale: In simulating the performance, the LoveFrom team reportedly used Codex, OpenAI’s software engineering system. The movement of the libellulewas meant to evoke sycamore seeds floating in the air. The Bay Area-based team also tested the release at an airplane hanger and inside the Galleria itself.
Heather Pegg Ive, left, and Jony Ive attend the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2025 in New York City. (Mike Coppola/MG25/Getty Images for The Met Museum)
The moment came at the end of Act V, titled “Imagination Evolution,” and was meant as a tribute to both the art of craft and the Italian fashion capital, where LoveFrom has previously worked with Italian luxury carmaker Ferrari and fashion house Moncler, both of whom were featured in the show.
“Milan is very special in the fact that it is a city that creates and also makes,” the former Apple vice president and chief designer told Vogue. “And I think, typically, the creation and the making have become increasingly disconnected. So Milan occupies a very special place for me.”
The delicate libellule twirled down from the glass ceiling like snow, creating an aerial ballet throughout the space, its dainty wings evoking a dragonfly.
Ive told Vogue that Milanese lace, Venetian tile mosaics and the architecture of the Galleria were also inspirations. Each was made from a single piece folded by hand and without the use of glue.
“What we were intrigued by was really occupying the whole space to celebrate one moment, and to connect the ceiling to the floor,” Ive said in the Vogue interview. “In the same way that there are thousands of tiles in a mosaic, we loved this idea of being able to release thousands of these libellula.”
The dragonfly symbolism of transformation, adaptability and living life in the moment was a fitting note for an event preparing to pass from Milan’s fashion tradition to San Francisco’s culture of reinvention.
The libellule were meant to be kept and are stamped with the time and place. The rest will reportedly be recycled.
A model wears a creation part of the Diesel women’s Spring-Summer 2027 collection presented in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Luca Bruno/AP)
The Vogue World presentation is a combination fashion show and entertainment spectacle, with ballet and opera performances in the mix.
This year’s runway included Italian design powerhouses Prada, Armani, Versace, Ferragamo, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, Bottega Veneta and Etro. Even robots walked the runway, albeit unclothed.
Previous iterations of Vogue World have been hosted in Los Angeles, Paris, London and New York.
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This article originally published at San Francisco left its mark on Vogue World Milan’s biggest moment. Here’s how.