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Italian menswear trade show Pitti Uomo has long been associated with established brands like Kiton or Brunello Cucinelli, and a roster of buzzy guest designers. Perhaps less well known is the S/Style showroom, held in the Sala delle Nazione, which each season presents a selection of fresh fashion talents.
S/Style was founded in 2020 by curator Giorgia Cantarini, who felt there wasn’t a talent incubator in Italy that focused on responsibility and style in equal measure. The project was created in collaboration with Kering’s Material Innovation Lab (MIL) last year, and hopes to prove the possibilities of new-gen materials as well as use up the fabric and yarns of Kering houses that don’t reach production.
“People still think [conscious] materials are ugly. But the designers we’ve selected are the opposite of that because they have great stories behind them, great expertise, great creativity and the desire to do better,” Cantarini says.
The showroom features 10 brands from around the world. This season’s line-up is: Domenico Orefice (Italy), Permu (China), Unsung Weavers (Greece), Buzigahill (Uganda), Florania (Italy), Guido Vera (Chile), Tolo (Italy), Caoimhe Dowling (Ireland), Denzil Patrick (UK) and Via Piave 33 (Italy). The designers were hand selected by Cantarini, who attends fashion weeks around the globe searching for talent. They are working with materials ranging from recycled denim, cotton and polyester, to natural dyes and marble dust fabric coatings.
Kering funds the project and provides the materials. “We want to support these emerging brands not just commercially, which is very powerful, but also from a communication perspective and a knowledge-sharing perspective,” says MIL director Christian Tubito. Kering gave the brands a series of workshops to help them understand how the group views sustainability and how it’s working with different materials.
For the most part, this season’s cohort are relatively small businesses, with revenues below €100,000. Each has been identified for their responsible approach, whether that’s using deadstock or upcycled garments, working with NGOs on social impact, or operating on a seasonless and/or genderless basis in order to eschew the typical fashion calendar.
Many work with upcycled fabrics, or prioritise slow, handmade methods, which is proving challenging as they aim to scale and win stockists. With the showroom, Kering hopes to inspire a new generation to work with material innovations like recycled cotton and polyester, alongside their existing practices, to create scalable, responsible luxury. In turn, Tubito hopes this will inspire the adoption of such materials by the industry at large.
Meet the 2024 material innovators:
Permu, China/UK
Permu, the only brand returning to the S/Style showroom this season, is a contemporary menswear brand founded in 2022 and based between London and Shanghai. Its tailoring, using recycled fabrics and new, innovative biomaterials like natural dyes impressed Tubito and Cantarini in the 2023 showroom. “The topic this time was very specific on circular luxury rather than more commercial, wearable pieces — so we wanted to see what he could do,” says Tubito.
The brand is self-funded, with revenues in the five-figure range, and has five stockists across the UK and China. Sixty per cent of sales are wholesale, but founder Pan Heyun is keen to build out his direct-to-consumer (DTC) business.
For this season, Permu made three looks in total, including a “liquid” looking jacket created from wood pigment, and a deconstructed garment that can be worn multiple ways. The sculptural jacket features large cutouts that reveal a red shirt underneath, which has been dyed with Kering’s bio-pigment.
“The most meaningful part of this process is to keep learning about every link in the sustainable chain during the design process, and to influence more people to pay attention to our work,” says Heyun.
Florania, Italy
Designer Flora Rabitti worked for brands like Miu Miu, Alberta Ferretti and Pucci before founding Florania in 2021. Florania works with NGO Social Ateliers (employing female victims of violence, immigrants, or those in difficult situations) to produce genderless ready-to-wear from upcycled fabrics. Annual revenue sits between €50,000 and €80,000, from two stockists, Cavells in the UK and The Forumist online. The brand has already presented off schedule in Milan, Tokyo and New York, and was on schedule at Swahili fashion weeks.
For S/Style, Rabitti was given pre and post-consumer cotton as well as chemically recycled polyester. “The look is a bride running away in the rain: she has a cape coat made with marble powder that transforms into a hammock when needed,” she says. “She wears a circular viscose draped dress, dyed with vegetables and fruit, and embroidered with recycled-polyester sequins resembling rain.”
It’s “not easy” to reproduce upcycled pieces in a way retailers will accept, Rabitti says, so she wanted to explore new ways to make scalable fashion, “to [secure] commercial partners without losing ethics”. The showroom has introduced Rabitti to various techniques and textiles, such as using natural dyes and draping. “I’ll surely use that knowledge,” she says.
Caoimhe Dowling, Ireland/Denmark
Irish-born, Copenhagen-based designer Caoimhe Dowling launched her label in 2021, following her MA in sustainable menswear at the Royal Danish Academy. She uses artisanal wool, local production and local craftsmanship, working with weavers on the North East coast of Scotland called Woven In The Bone. “It’s really about taking traditional textiles and concepts and reimagining them in a contemporary world of menswear,” she says. Annual revenue is below €100,000, split 50-50 between DTC and wholesale, with three stockists. She’s receiving support from the Danish Kunstfond (art fund) alongside a sustainability scholarship from the Irish government.
She created a belted camel jacket, a floral skirt and trousers using recycled end-of-use denim, and pre and post-consumer textiles blended with organically grown cotton and recycled camel fibres.
“This collaboration with Kering MIL and Pitti Uomo is such an amazing opportunity for me to get the best exposure possible for my brand on an international level,” Dowling says. “I learnt to take more creative risks.”
Via Piave 33, Italy
Via Piave 33 is a family business launched as an artistic project in Milan in 2021 by Alessandro Spaggiari. The brand recently showed at Milan Lifestyle Week in Shenzhen, and has revenues in the €15,000 to €30,000 range, with 70 per cent from DTC. It offers wardrobe staples and collectible contemporary pieces, from bomber jackets to more sophisticated knits. Production is based in Italy and everything is made in the founders’ native Veneto, in a small atelier.
With the Pitti showroom, the aim is to reach a new audience, to help boost the DTC and wholesale business, particularly in Asia. The brand’s S/Style look was made from end-of-use cashmere, recycled silk and cotton, and fabric from banana fibres, made into an alternative to virgin cotton or linen. The single look features a khaki long sleeve, a fine-knitted vest, wide-leg beige trousers and a white jacket that can be hung from the shoulder.
“Our goal is to let our project grow, year by year, to keep the vision clear and to make people embrace our way of seeing the world,” says Spaggiari.
Buzigahill, Uganda
A Ugandan fashion brand and activism project founded by Bobby Kolade in 2021, Buzigahill’s main project under the label ‘Return to Sender’ upcycles post-consumer fast fashion from the Global North into luxury denim, streetwear and shirting. It is sourced from bales of secondhand garments from clothing importers and individual garments from vendors at Owino Market, one of the largest secondhand clothing hubs in the world.
For the showroom, Kolade was provided with pre and post-consumer cotton, dyed using the recycled dye of other textiles, and unused cotton and silk-blend padding from Kering’s production line. He created a textured trench coat and a pale-blue soft-jersey co-ord, applying his usual secondhand source material onto the Kering fabrics.
The S/Style showroom is the first time Buzigahill is participating in a global fashion initiative. “We’re trying to build up style sections that kind of encourage a traditional luxury buyer to stock our products,” he says. “The European market is quite conservative when it comes to this. We’ve had a better reception in Asia.” Buzigahill has four stockists, including Fashion For Good (Amsterdam) and Mona Macho (Tokyo). He declined to share revenues.
It was inspiring to work with new source materials and explore the possibilities, the designer says. “Normally, we are 100 per cent dependent on what is being thrown away in Europe, North America, China and Japan. This dependency on what has been used by the Global North impacts our design and our production.” While his focus will remain on upcycling discarded fashion, blending this with material innovation may help him scale and win European buyer attention.
Unsung Weavers, Greece
Unsung Weavers is a Greek brand founded by Elina Tseliagkou in 2022. The brand is based solely on handcrafted techniques, specifically hand-woven blankets sourced from vintage markets in Greece, which she upcycles using hand-dyes, hand sewing and embroidery. The brand has five-figure revenues and is stocked at four concept stores, including Dover Street Market London.
“Our goal for Unsung Weavers would be to maintain this character but be able to scale it up, so we can involve other makers, embroiderers and weavers,” says Tseliagkou, “[and] to persuade high-end concept stores to invest in pieces that cannot be replicated in big quantities, but that are one-offs, targeting unconventional individuals.”
For S/Style, she created a fluffy gilet and sleeves, using fabric and padding made out of surplus silk and wool-blend fibre fur from Kering’s production. Working with new fabric posed a challenge. “We are used to very thick, old heavy materials that already have a texture and a personality.”
Exploring new more reproducible, but still responsible, materials has opened her eyes to the possibilities for her business. “It feels like that sometimes the whole market needs to readjust for smaller scale businesses, for them to be able to survive,” Tseliagkou says.
Tolo, Italy
Tolo is an Italian ready-to-wear label from designer Francesco Tolotta. The brand is still in its very early stages, so the designer declined to share revenues. “Tolo is self-funded and is the result of many sacrifices by me and my family, who are the main support for my project,” Tolotta says. “For instance, to produce [my first] collection, I worked two jobs to cover the expenses for fabrics, prototypes and travels.”
He created sculptural sustainable outdoor garments for the S/Style showroom, using recycled polyester from degraded plastic packaging removed from sea islands and mountains, and mechanically recycled polyester from end-of-use textiles.
“First and foremost, I want to embrace the experience at Pitti to see how the public and the market react to the Tolo aesthetic,” he says. “Following this, my goal is to establish an effective brand within the next two to five years. I am in no rush; I prefer to work hard and accumulate as much experience as possible to eventually create a strong and lasting brand.”
Domenico Orefice, Italy
Domenico Orefice launched their eponymous digital and physical fashion brand in 2021, focusing on Made in Italy sportswear, inspired by climbing and camping. Its revenue is below €50,000 this year, generated from 80 per cent DTC sales and custom orders. Twenty per cent of revenues come from its sole stockist Dover Street Market Paris. Domenico Orefice also has a metaverse website, where users can purchase virtual versions of its clothing.
Their Pitti look, a structured, panelled tech jacket with gold and leather accents, was created using end-of-use polyester and coated fabrics partially made with marble and mineral powder. Removable padding and double-layered pants transform the look from winter to spring, tweaking the silhouette.
“This project has pushed us beyond every conventional method of working with garments based on the fabric,” Orefice says. “I used a fabric made with marble dust, and the result on the finished garment was stunning. I hope to soon collaborate with one of these companies to create a custom fabric for our brand.” Orefice is also hoping the Pitti project will help boost brand awareness for the business while securing more stockists.
Denzil Patrick, UK
London-based label Denzil Patrick, launched in 2022 by designers Daniel Gayle and James Bosley, offers a fresh take on “sartorial menswear” — taking the iconic components of a men’s wardrobe, like sportswear or suiting, and adding a contemporary twist, says co-founder Gayle. The brand, which recently showed during London’s inaugural June fashion week concept, currently makes over £100,000 in annual revenue, 70 per cent of which comes from DTC. The brand also has nine stockists across China, Japan and South Korea.
Denzil Patrick’s textured, dechiré black and red jacket and shorts look for S/Style was created using pre and post-consumer cotton-polyester and recycled polyester from degraded plastic packaging, also retrieved from sea islands and mountains by Kering NGO partner Recyctex.
While the material provided presented a challenge, it has shown the label a way forward. “We’ve learnt to define ourselves beyond colour and print — something we’ve built a reputation around,” says Gayle. “The fabrics that Kering assigned to us were mostly black, so we were challenged to find a way to define ourselves in the absence of colour. Our look encapsulates all things Denzil Patrick: iconic outerwear, textile play and elevated technical items. It was an exercise in reducing all the things we represent into one look.”
Guido Vera, Chile
Guido Vera founded his eponymous label in Santiago, Chile in 2018, “with all passion and no money”. He upcycles deadstock and works with biomaterials like biodegradable plastic Vinylife, cactus or apple leather and banana fibres. Revenues are modest, at €20,000 for this year and the brand has two stockists, Puerto Varas (Chile) and Cement Store (Tokyo).
“Being at S/Style, to me, is having a foot into international fashion and business,” Vera says. “It’s helping me create a name that supports this industry in a more responsible way.” His looks for the showroom — a leather-like amber co-ord and a white cotton three-piece co-ord — were created using organic cotton blended with cellulose made from banana fibres and coated fabrics produced using apple cultivation waste. Both were materials he had already experimented with prior, and he plans to continue using them in future.
S/Style will culminate in a presentation on 12 June in its showroom space. For Tubito, the looks from each designer will hopefully help his case to push material innovations within the Kering group. “When you use circular materials, it doesn’t mean that they should be poor,” Tubito says. “The look and feel is very, very advanced now. Our aim is to improve the current quality even more by [experimenting]. That’s why [for this project] we select specific emerging brands with specific approaches to circularity, to show the potential of material innovations — it’s not time for a generic approach.”
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