Today, while having breakfast, I was reminded of that life, when glitz and glamour were just words, and fashion was about hemlines and silhouettes. In short, fashion is not the center of the world, but just another necessity of life because except for a small segment of the world’s population, everyone wears clothes.

At the same time that the Milan Womenswear season is going on, there are also three business conferences happening in the city. Hence, in the hotel that I am staying at, I have only met one fashion writer other than me and most of the guests are businessmen and women attending one of the three conferences.

So, breakfast is a lively affair in the hotel’s dining room, a common place where hotel guests meet just before going about their business. And today, simply because there were no more tables available for me to dine alone, I chose to sit with a group of Americans who were surprised to find out that I’m a fashion journalist and not one of the business people.

They, like most of the other hotel guests I have met were aware of the fashion shows going on; but instead of the awe that I usually receive from a fashionista, these men and women just took it in stride. To them, it is just another industry meeting, ‘a necessary evil of business,’ one of them said, putting into perspective what fashion week is all about.

Because, although some members of the fashion set had forgotten that fashion week is to ‘preview the upcoming collections’ and saw the runways shows as a ‘scene to be seen,’ the businessman I was speaking with was right in saying that fashion week is above all ‘just another industry event.’

Strip the catwalk shows of the glitz and glamour plus the celebrity sightings, fashion week is ‘just’ a collection of clothes and models are clothes hangers, while journalists attend to report on the trends.

In short, the ‘shallowness’ that had been identified with the fashion set is the fashionistas’ own making, not because others perceive fashion that way. That, botox is a necessity or wearing what is being shown on the runway is one-upmanship is a result of losing the proper point of view of what fashion week is all about.

Yet, taking another point of view, when I looked around, the people sitting around my table, and the other people in the room, everyone was actually dressed nicely. There were Armani suits and Zegna jackets, coats that I know for a fact cost over $1000 retail.

The women were wearing Chanel or Dior suits, while others who were a little bit more fashion forward for this group were sporting Versace jeans. Ferragamo shoes and handbags, plus an occasional Hermes purse together with Gucci laptop carriers were in tow.

In short, this crowd is the luxury market, the same people that fashion week is targeting. And it is humbling to realize that to them, although looking good is important, putting fashion as the center of the universe is not a necessity.

In the fashion industry where youth is put in a premium, and thousands of dollars are spent by women to get botox or collagen treatments, seeing ‘normal’ women without any trace of botox or face lifts is a surprise treat.

These women look good while being unashamed of their laugh lines. Don’t get me wrong; they take care of themselves very well. Their coiffure and make up attest to that. But, then again, for them, ‘looking good’ does not necessarily mean ‘looking young.’ Like most women, they fight aging, yet they don’t go their plastic surgeon regularly to get it. To them, ‘looking good’ is having a healthy point of view.

So, as one by one we stood up to go to our appointments, my realization that I was just talking with fashion’s target market strengthened my resolve to be report on fashion as best as I could.

Others might find that silly, while others might find that too idealistic; yet, for me, who was once a cube farm denizen, the encounter made me see once again with fresh eyes what fashion is all about.