Since 1958, one week every year has been dedicated to what is known today as Milan Fashion Week (MFW). Every year, the city of Milan is taken over by fashion designers, advertisers, photographers and budding fashion design students such as myself. This grand week is generally classified as one of the four biggest fashion weeks in the world. This fashion seven-day extravaganza offers a series of runway shows and exhibitions of designer clothing hosted by The National Chamber for Italian Fashion that is in charge of making every fashion event look effortless.

This year (2016) I had the great pleasure of attending MFW and the experience was unmatched. Although I was not an invitee (only attendee), which prohibited me from attending any fashion shows, I was able to attend exhibitions, see fashion houses and experience some impromptu—unregulated fashion shows. The excitement and bustling nature of the event made me feel as though I was a fashion insider.

In the midst of taking in the extraordinary nature of this event, I suddenly was stopped in a surreal moment contemplating what fashion truly is. I realized something I have always known in my mind, but this time the knowledge made it to my soul. A soul that understood in a moment that fashion is art. It is an art form practiced by all in some manner as a form of expression indicating who we are without words. It can be beautiful and pure. It can also be corrupt and tainted.

I first became aware of the tainted nature of fashion at this show when I was watching with wide-eyed naiveté, a big screen television flaunting models in fantastical dress. Suddenly my wide eyes gave way to shock as I watched models walking about in garments exposing sensitive parts of their body. I witnessed material giving way to sheer fabric exposing the model’s breasts.

At first, I wondered if I was still at one of the world’s most extraordinary fashion weeks or if I somehow had been transported into a very expensive high fashion form of vulgarity. I found myself admiring the garments for their beauty and intricate details. Then, I would find myself wanting to divert my eyes as I peered, shockingly, at a strip of exposed breast.

I began asking myself: “What is the point of this?” Have we become such a brash nation of openly coarse thinkers that we are now trading the thought of fashion as form of expression for a form of vulgarity? Have we, as a society, traded the thought of adorning women in luxurious clothing for exposing their breasts for shock and awe. I was always told that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In this case, I had to ask myself: “Who is the beholder?” It is the nice man one would want to attract or a pariah wanting to take advantage of the vulnerable nature of a woman so insecure that she would spend her hard earned money on a shirt to intentionally expose herself. Thoughts, questions and visions of women walking unencumbered on city streets with their breasts exposed flooded my mind.

I thought, someone has to speak out. Someone has to stand up and say: “Stop, think, what are you doing?” I looked around myself and saw onlookers staring at the large television screen with models continuing, one after another, walking exposed without a care. Some of the onlookers peered with lust, some with adoration and I hope some, like myself, with pure shock.

This article is not being written to take away from the great Milan Fashion Week that has been a presence in the fashion society for the past 58 years. It is only to question the form of fashion being offered. Fashion is my passion, but exposing my breasts to onlookers is certainly not. I wondered what I would do if I had daughters who brought home one of the shirts being modeled and said, “Look, it’s the latest fashion.”

I would challenge the designers of these fashions to think about what they are doing and the consequences of exposing girls in such a manner leaving them vulnerable to onlookers who may have less than pure intent. I wouldn’t want my daughter or sister or friend to walk down the street wearing something that showed off their breasts. Where has modesty gone?

A woman’s body is a beautiful thing and never something to be ashamed of. Women have been adored throughout the centuries for their curves. These beautiful curves should be cherished and not shared with every passerby on a street. A woman’s body should be saved and shared with someone special who has put forth the effort to be invited in to see the curves below the clothes.

Milan Fashion Week: Thank you for including me. Thank you for inviting me in to the glorious event and for sharing fashion with me. Please…please…next year consider covering your models and create fashion that will glorify the curves women have without exposing them. After all, beauty that is preserved is certainly the most lasting.