When the wife of drug lord El Chapo takes to the catwalk in a wedding dress, she’s sending a message | Roberto Saviano

There was more to Emma Coronel's turn at the Milan fashion show than most would have realised. It's a cynical game of clues and signals

In the midst of an important Italian fashion event, Emma Coronel Aispuro, who is a former beauty queen but no ordinary model, appeared on the Milan catwalk wearing a sumptuous wedding dress. The wife of Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera - better known by the nickname El Chapo, or the shorty", due to his short stature - made her appearance at Palazzo Serbelloni during Milan fashion week (which, incidentally, has officially distanced itself from her). Much has been written about the fact of her appearance. The remaining issue is why it happened and whether those who were complicit knew what they were complicit in.

Guzman is considered the premier Mexican drug lord. Before his capture, he was head of the Sinaloa cartel. He has escaped from prison twice: in 2001 and then in 2015. Arrested again in 2016, he was sentenced to life imprisonment, which he is serving in Florence prison, Colorado.