Me at Accademia di Moda Maiani exhibition |
For me it was a very busy week, sometimes stressful for the continuous moving from place to place, but so intriguing and rich of pleasant surprises that I look forward to the next edition. This is the report of the most interesting and new things I discovered in Rome and Cinecittà Studios during the AltaRoma days.
Accademia di Moda Maiani exhibition “Il giro del mondo in 80 abiti” |
A message of love for life, as explained Maria Maiani, the founder of the school I spoke with at the end of my visit, who expressed all the passion for this job and the necessity to train the students to the hard work rediscovering the pleasure of handicraft work and of traditional know-how.
Accademia di Moda Maiani exhibition “Il giro del mondo in 80 abiti” at AltaRoma |
Just before the lunch time, I moved for about a chilometer to reach Largo Angelicum. The usually peaceful location of Chiostro dell’Angelicum became an exclusive set for the presentation of CREATIVE DISTRICT, a project launched by the fashion producer Antonio Falanga and the brand manager Grazia Marino of Spazio Margutta for “AltaRoma in Town”. This 4th edition seen the partecipation of six young designers and emerging brands of Haute Couture.
Giampaolo Zuccarello fashion show at Creative District |
It was a modern way to interpret fashion history that showcased by the young designer Irene Mattei with her brand Asia Neri. Inspired by the Spain of 17th century, the designer gives new life to the iconic elements of that period: the “vertugado” rigid underskirt becomes shorter and exposed over the dresses as real protagonist of the collection, the structured volumes of the beautiful short capes have all the elegance of Baroque brocades, while fringes and big tassels decorates edge and belts to give a “coquette” tone to the most simple silhouettes.
Asia Neri by Irene Mattei fashion show at Creative District |
Aline Oliveira fashion show at Creative District |
Antudo by Andy Leone fashion show at Creative District |
Davorin Cordone fashion show at Creative District |
Sosud by Mario Costantino Triolo fashion show at Creative District |
Maria Meira fashion show at Portugal Fashion |
Mara Flora, young designer graduated in architecture, made a very decise choise. Only two colors, white and red, emotion and rationalism in opposition and a conceptual inspiration that found its roots in the eastern culture, from the Hong Kong movie “The Pillow Book” and the calligraphy art. Very beautiful the classic tailoring shapes handled by the sophisticated drapes and ripples that moved the textures.
Mara Flora fashion show at Portugal Fashion |
Nycole fashion show at Portugal Fashion |
The collection of Joana Braga, graduated at ESAD in Fashion Design, is light as a spring day spent without doing anything, in total relax. The references to the French attitude for a “joie de vivre” are clear and the collection breathe freely through a fresh color palette of with and pastels and transforming the very classic white/azure stripes with a delicate fantasy that can recalls some Impressionist paintings.
Joana Braga fashion show at Portugal Fashion |
Daniela Pereira fashion show at Portugal Fashion |
A.I. RE-ACTION, a project curated by Clara Tosi Pamphili and Alessio de Navasques of AI. Artisanal Intellingence, was a kind of space-time trip, with a base camp stage in a large dark room, a rarefied atmosphere, future and past mixed together. Overcoming the boundaries between what is beautiful and what instead is only useful, this exhibition was focused on the connection between sportswear, workwear and technical clothing, transforming tradition in a necessary reasoning about the future.
A.I Re-Action by A.I. Artisanal Intelligence |
Among the most interesting projects presented I want to mention:
- the revisited feminism of the streetwear by Valentina Ortiz with the slogan “I’m not your dream girl but only my own”, awarness based on self-acceptance, expressed through a colorful mix of images on tecnical fabrics
Valentina Ortiz |
- the collective studio born by the collaboration by the knitwear company Vitelli and the French label Neith Neyer, which present a unisex collection inspired by the sub-cultural movement “Cosmic Youth” of the 80s and that idea of freedom and equality
Vitelli |
- Giorgia Andreazza, thinking about the difficult periond we are living, takes the military equipment to create post-modern armours defending and going along with the human body with transformable clothes, padded fabrics, detachable parts
Giorgia Andreazza |
- the Kazakh designer Aigerim Kairat from Istituto Marangoni in Milan, relive the adventures of the father soldier of the Russian Air Force, through a meditation about the achieving of freedom and a protest against any constriction using the visual metaphore of the parachute.
Aigerim Kairat |
- always starting by the military parachuting is the work of Nicola Spinelli, from NABA in Milan, who made a reasoning about the closure of our society regarding fears and phobias using a street-style that cages the body through hoods and oversize proportions.
Nicola Spinelli |
- protected into a camp tend with controlled temperature, the bio-cultivations of Erica Curci were continuing to mature while the visual artist explained me the idea at the base of her researches, “Derma”, a membrane which contains collagen and has the same characteristics of the human skin, and “Ecdisi”, the creation of cellulose and bacteria culture starting by a study of the change of snake skin
Erica Curci |
Erica Curci |
On the other side of the room, just behind a wood wall, it opens up a whole new world made of emerging brands, SHOWCASE, the second edition of a project promoted by AltaRoma and ICE Agenzia to support and give visibility to new designers and artisanal reality of Italian fashion design.
The Dots, by the designer Ral Teofilova, that I’ve already met during the previous edition of AltaRoma in January, now presented the ss 2019 collection with three new shapes, the half-moon, the circle bag and a belt bag, with new possibilities to transform and customize through accessories like the detachable shoulders and linings or the decorations, for this season made using marbles and semi-precious stones.
Bags by The Dots at Showcase |
Gaetano Pollice speaks about love stories, just born or that sometimes can finish, leaving some memories in our heart and now also in our wardrobe. The new collection for next summer is delicious as usual, but now with a an extra touch of glamour, with the sophisticated handbags in luxury leathers in delicate colors, small treasure boxes for fashion addicted.
Bags by Gaetano Pollice at Showcase |
Irma Cipolletta, a brand born in 2014 by the homonym designer, is a new discovery very interesting for the geometrical shapes that can trasform the bag giving different configurations, based on a volumetric studio of triangular forms inspired by architecture. Beautiful are also the diamond bags, result of the collaboration with Arcadia
Bag by Irma Cipolletta at Showcase |
Present also in the A.I Re-action exhibition, the designer Flavia Grazioli with the brand Fase Factory, showcased a menswear collection influenced by the technical ski-wear and for this season influenced by Vietnam, with its contrast of pop culture and uncontaminated natural enviroments. All the clothes are transfomable and diisgned following a concept of functionality, which made this brand so new and worthy of attention.
Fase Factory by Flavia Grazioli at Showcase |
Is a minimal style with brio that of Alessandra Giannetti, a Roman designer who presented the spring/summer collection 2019 “Signature”, in which her sign on t-shirts and fabrics means the closer connection between brand and customers and a touch of unicity is given by the ancient kimono used as parts of garments. Simple and captivating is also the seasonless capsule collection “Opera” with bamboo sponge fabrics used to create versatile tops, dresses and fantastic skirts.
Alessandra Giannetti at Showcase |
Caterina Moro at Showcase |
Italo Marseglia at Showcase |
Sylvio Giardina |