Fashion is an unstoppable force in Italy, as was proven yesterday when the live runway presentation of the Who Is on Next? competition’s 2020 fashion design finalists was interrupted by a downpour and hurriedly moved inside. The clothes were worth the slight delay.
The jury, in which I participated remotely, reviewed the collections of 12 brands in 4 categories: accessories, menswear, womenswear, and for the first time, genderless. No matter where they come from or what their aesthetics, these emerging talents are deeply reliant on, and invested in, maintaining the excellence associated with the Made in Italy designation.
Sustainability was the key issue for the group members, each of whom took different approaches to implementing responsibility, whether that was by using existing materials or buying back products. Dima Leu, this year’s winner of the Franca Sozzani prize for menswear, for example, uses deadstock fabric, some of which he acquires from the archives of textile manufacturers.
Born in Moldavia, and raised mostly in Italy, the designer has a keen color sense and offers the customer varying entry points into his world. Two of his lines, Striiiiiiiipes and Sport Suit, consider the connection between sport and tailoring that are at the heart of the label. More recently, Leu introduced Homme, a line that focuses wholly on sartorial traditions.
Daniele and Simone Testore, the brothers behind the handcrafted eyewear brand Zeroundici took home the accessories prize. Their frames and palette are inspired by their beloved hometown of Turin. All of their pieces carry the geographic coordinates of their showroom as well as their symbolic logo, a hexagonal bolt.
Francesco Murano is the winner of both the womenswear award and Pitti’s Tutoring Consulting Prize. This 21-year-old designer, from the coastal town of Agropoli, takes inspiration from classical and Baroque sculpture—of which there’s no lack in Italy—and has a special skill for manipulating fabric. He often combines tailoring and flou in a single piece, like the gray jacket-dress from his 2019 graduate collection that Zarina Akers called in for Beyoncé to wear to a recent Grammy’s brunch. It’s safe to say that Murano is starting his career on a high note.
Also benefiting from Pitti’s mentorship will be Vaderetro, an ethical and environmentally conscious genderless brand founded by Antonio D’Andrea and Hanna Boye, who describe their aesthetic as “Retro-garde.” Heavy into 1980s and 1990s references, the pair choose a different nostalgia-driven theme each season. For spring it was the immigration of Italians to America. Designed to be “democratic,” Vaderetro’s range includes T-shirts and hoodies as well as pieces tailored in the Neapolitan tradition. This allows the customers to suit themselves.
