Milan is known for producing some of most established and prestigious designers in the world, but the influential fashion city is increasingly leaning into discovering and highlighting emerging talent. This sentiment was showcased at the September Milan Fashion Week with the Fashion Hub.
Here, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana presented the newest edition of The Fashion Hub – a meeting place and incubator of innovative projects that leveraged CNMI’s fundamental values of experimentation, innovation, craftsmanship, sustainability, inclusion and education. The project was supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and Italian Trade Agency (ICE), both of which have long reinforced innovative start-ups and emerging brands.
Related Articles
Staged in the prestigious Palazzo Giureconsulti in the heart of Milan, the Fashion Hub’s series of initiatives and activities allowed attendees to experience both established and emerging brands and meet the designers and key players behind the labels.
Projects in the spotlight at this edition of the Fashion Hub include Designers for the Planet, Resonance: Voices of Seoul, MFW Forward, MFW New Wave, Regione Puglia Land of Fashion, Latin American Fashion Awards Winners Exhibition, Educational Talks and Cross-Cultural Business Conversations.
Designers for the Planet
A main highlight of the event was Designers for the Planet. As the fashion industry and the consumer are increasingly focused on sustainability, The Fashion Hub once again turned its attention to emerging brands and designers who put environmental and social sustainability as well as the principles of a circular economy at the core of their business.
The Fashion Hub’s Designers for the Planet project began with an open call that drew a wide range of applicants. The initiative then selected nine emerging brands – Chez Nous, Hikari Noyami, Maragno, Meriisi, Oh Carla, Pecoranera, Plās Collective, Reclothing Bank and Susan Wagner – focusing on various sustainability factors and brands that had been in business for less than 10 years. The designers were selected by a technical panel chaired by Carlo Capasa, CNMI chairman; with Michela Giocchini, head of sustainability and corporate social responsibility, Tod’s Group; Maria Vittoria Ronchi, accademia manager, Valentino; Rina Tollio, creatives talent acquisition, OTB S.p.A.; and Veronica Tonini, ESG & sustainability strategy advisor.
The Fashion Hub also looked to Korea to highlight special talent. For this year’s Resonance: Voices of Seoul edition, the Seoul Metropolitan Government worked with Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana to facilitate global K-brand promotion and attract interest from international buyers and media channels. A selection of emerging K-fashion brands presented collections at the Fashion Hub, promoting the value of K-fashion on the global and European market and laid the groundwork for entering foreign markets.
The five brands – Bonbom, EENK, July Column, MMAM and Youser – were selected by a panel including Valentina Abate, fashion news associate; Tobia Beretta, vice president, Antonioli Group; Boyoung Lee, chief brand officer, Shinsegae; Tommaso Palazzi, caposervizio, MFFashion, Orietta Pelizzari, global cross cultural business advisor in fashion and luxury consumer goods; Sabrina Scarpellini, co-founder and fashion director, Massimo Bonini; Eun Hyuk Yim, professor at SungKyunKwan University; and Paola Arosio, head of sustainability and new brands, CNMI.
During the same period, CNMI also presented the first edition of its Milan Fashion Week New Wave project, providing visibility to other brands and projects. The brands San Andres Milano, Rose Society Atelier and Trashy Clothing took turns presenting their collections in the open gallery outside Palazzo Giureconsulti. Additionally, partner Fashion Zoo, a leading Chinese youth culture magazine and platform of fashion, art and creativity, presented its selection of emerging Chinese designers including Shang Xia, Feng Chen Wang, Moution x Bihan Lin, Louis Shengtao Chen, Heyun Pan, Qiqi Yuan, Liwen Liang, Christine Xu, 022397Bluff, Ruiyu Zheng and Amazing Panda. Rounding out the event were Educational Talks, a program where foundations, companies and associations explored sustainability issues, new business models, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, media and entertainment, craftsmanship and cultural change.
The Educational Talks program was accompanied by Cross Cultural Business Conversations, a tutorship project for Fashion Hub designers that involved numerous conversations and private discussions with industry professionals, including buyers, retailers and managers from Italy, Korea, China, the U.S., South Africa, Kazakhstan and the Middle East. The project offered the designers the chance to learn more about the Italian fashion industry, and main themes covered included fashion trends, international markets and the needs of today’s consumers.
Alongside the cross-cultural push, the Fashion Hub naturally concentrated on Italy. In the framework of the Fashion Hub, Regione Puglia Land of Fashion – Department for the Promotion of Trade, Craftsmanship and Business Internationalization, in partnership with Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, developed a promotion and communication project to showcase manufacturing excellence in Puglia, Italy. The main focus of the initiative was on issues of sustainability, emerging creativity, education and training and young designers.
For more information: www.cameramoda.it