Vogue World Milan Robots Put Fashion And Silicon Valley On The Same Runway

Vogue World: Milano ended with an unexpected technological spectacle as four humanoid robots took the runway during an act called “The Age of Intelligence,” turning what was billed as a celebration of Italian craftsmanship into a widely discussed collision between fashion and robotics. The robots, created by Chinese robotics company Unitree, appeared at Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II as part of the fifth edition of Vogue’s global fashion event.

The Milan show was built around the relationship between craftsmanship, human creativity and technology, with five themed acts tracing different periods and ideas connected to Italian fashion and innovation. The fourth act, “The Age of Intelligence,” brought the humanoid machines directly into that conversation, with the robots moving to Gigi D’Agostino’s “L’Amour Toujours” and interacting with the crowd.

Their appearance quickly became one of the defining talking points surrounding Vogue World: Milano, overshadowing much of the discussion around the fashion presented during the event. The robots have also attracted attention elsewhere in 2026 for public dance performances, including demonstrations that have circulated widely online.

Vogue World Milan Brings Unitree Robots To The Runway

The decision to feature humanoid robots was consistent with the technology-focused theme of “The Age of Intelligence,” but the performance drew mixed reactions from people watching the event and from commentators discussing the growing presence of technology in fashion.

“They were not wearing clothes,” while performing their routine, according to the original account of the show, with the machines waving their arms toward spectators and one performing a lasso-like movement. Footage and images from the appearance spread rapidly across social media, helping turn the robots into one of the most recognizable images from Vogue World: Milano.

The discussion comes as Vogue continues to put technology more visibly alongside fashion. Vogue World: Milano listed Meta Glasses among its presenting sponsors, while OpenAI provided additional support for the event.

That relationship with the technology industry is particularly notable because Vogue World is heading to San Francisco for its 2027 edition. Vogue announced that next year’s event will take place in the California city, describing the edition as a celebration of San Francisco’s culture, creativity, innovation and diversity.

Vogue World San Francisco Raises The Stakes For Fashion And Technology

The upcoming San Francisco edition is likely to attract additional attention because the city is closely associated with the technology sector. Vogue has already positioned the 2027 event as a return to the United States following its international showcase in Milan.

For some observers, the Milan robots represented an uncomfortable intersection between fashion, technology and the economic power of the tech industry.

“I’m annoyed by the celebrities cheering the whole thing,” one tech founder wrote me on Instagram. “It’s sick and gloom. People are literally losing jobs and livelihoods because of these things. They need to stop encouraging it. What’s it even modeling? Headphones?”

A fashion reporter contacted for a reaction to the robots offered a much shorter response: “No.”

Jason Johnson, founder of Culture Impact Agency, viewed the development through the broader relationship between fashion media and the technology industry.

“Publications are figuring out new ways to make money and tech has money,” he told me. “Vogue has the cultural influence and access that those tech people want.”

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Muna Ikedionwu, founder of startup strategy firm MKEDI, took a different view of what the robotics appearance represented. She argued that humanoid robots do not fully capture the depth of the work already taking place where fashion, engineering, artificial intelligence and creative technology overlap.

“I’ve seen such incredible examples of engineering and AI being used to influence fashion, being used to influence design and art,” she told me, adding that robots walking down the runway doesn’t even scratch the surface of what is happening right now at the intersection of fashion and tech.

Ikedionwu pointed to A.A.Murakami’s work on Eileen Gu’s 2026 Met Gala ensemble as an example of a more complex relationship between fashion and technology. The “Airo” dress, developed with Iris van Herpen and A.A.Murakami, incorporated thousands of glass bubbles alongside microprocessors, air pumps and a computer-controlled system designed to release bubbles as Gu moved. Vogue reported that the project involved teams spanning couture, science, engineering and computational design.