TGIF: Vivetta Ponti Launches Venerdì Pomeriggio With Tablecloth Dresses and Deadstock Romance
“I’ve been through a difficult time,” Vivetta Ponti reflected, recalling the period that preceded the launch of her new brand, Venerdì Pomeriggio, which translates to Friday Afternoon. “I thought of it as a terrible week that finally ended: You go home, make yourself a herbal tea or pour a glass of wine, set the table beautifully, invite a friend over, and put on a dress you love. That’s Venerdì Pomeriggio.” The name carries layered meanings besides sporting the designer’s initials: Vivetta, she recounts, was the result of a bureaucratic error. She was meant to be named Vivì, derived from Paraskevi, the Greek word for Friday. “Friday has always felt like my name,” she added. “It’s my favorite day of the week.” Beyond autobiography, Friday is a suspended moment of regained freedom, before the obligations of Monday return. That sense of pause seems to be what structured the entire project.
Venerdì Pomeriggio marks Ponti’s return to fashion under a different premise. No more large seasonal collections or year-long sales cycles; a few capsules per year instead, released every few months and conceived as chapters, where repeated silhouettes reinforce coherence. “I don’t want to chase revenue,” she explained, “I want to keep a brand with taste, and make it accessible.” This is made possible through direct sales and a highly selective network of boutiques: “I prefer to sell a shirt at a sustainable price rather than produce mega collections that end up discounted,” Ponti said.
Configured as a genderless lifestyle brand, Venerdì Pomeriggio approaches clothing as an extension of interiors: domestic imagery became the starting point for the first capsule. The link to its lifestyle aspect became tangible during the runway show: A dress composed of two layered tablecloths, richly embroidered in Puglia, was unwrapped from the model and draped over the coffee table. Then the “abito tavolino” concealed a structured underskirt that transformed it into a literal table structure at the waist. A “lamp dress” translated the shape of a chandelier-like lamp Ponti owned into a sculptural silhouette. Prairie dresses with lace, Victorian references, bloomers, nautical collars, pajama sets, and velvet winter previews coexisted as fragments of a house inhabited by Ponti’s longstanding inspirations.
The fabrics were entirely deadstock or upcycled, sourced in limited quantities across Italy. As Ponti explained, “When I find a fabric, I get every meter left of it, so no one will ever have the same dress in the same cloth once it’s gone.” Interior textiles such as upholstery florals, striped poplins and polka-dot georgettes were recontextualized into garments finished with meticulous binding and pockets carefully edged. Denim was embroidered with small colorful flowers; vintage leather pieces become unique garments covered in ribbons. Each accessory got the same treatment: chantilly lace came from warehouse remnants, cotton socks in filo di Scozia were embroidered in Puglia, and jewelry pieces came from vintage selections, one day to be made for customers. “It’s a completely different way of designing: First you find the fabric, then you return to the studio and think in total freedom,” said Ponti.
The craftsmanship, too, remained strictly Italian, supported by a short supply chain and a small team. Some pieces were produced in collaboration with Made in Sipario, a social cooperative employing people with disabilities: “They had just bought a sewing machine, so we started with the simplest things,” Ponti said. Silk scrunchies, moiré laptop cases and silk pouches were finished with a care that, she insisted, has grown with confidence. Even hangers were dressed in miniature fabric covers, avoiding unnecessary purchases.
Collaboration extended to footwear with ViBi Venezia, whose renowned velvet Furlane Mary Janes were embellished with distinctive elements from Ponti, and to Superduper, which produced sculptural hats requiring a week of work each.
Packaging completed the narrative: logoed ribbons, accessory boxes shaped like tiny houses with curtains revealing the color of the socks inside, fun stickers to attach in a whimsical guerrilla marketing that tapped into a playful, childlike spirit. Each delivery will mimic the intimacy of being invited into someone’s home on a Friday afternoon.
On the runway, staged like a reunion within an apartment entirely wrapped in wallpaper, men embraced feminine codes, friends of the brand hugged cat bags, and Ponti’s ever fashionable mother wore a pink and white striped set. “I want to return to a more romantic dimension of fashion,” the designer concluded. “A small team that’s happy, doing things well.”
Photo: Marcus Tondo/ Courtesy of Venerdì Pomeriggio1/23
Photo: Marcus Tondo/ Courtesy of Venerdì Pomeriggio2/23
