{"id":36191,"date":"2021-09-24T18:26:41","date_gmt":"2021-09-24T18:26:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=36191"},"modified":"2021-09-24T19:52:17","modified_gmt":"2021-09-24T19:52:17","slug":"milan-fashion-week-spring-summer-2022-emerging-designers","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/milan-fashion-week-spring-summer-2022-emerging-designers\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Milan\u2019s Emerging Designers Coining a New Definition for “Made in Italy”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Emerging
Photo From Quira SS22 collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Made in Italy. A term synonymous with heritage, luxury, and style is now adding newness to its list. For what seems like the first time in decades, the Italian fashion capital is experiencing a renaissance of diverse talent heading for the spotlight — but not without its challenges. Stunted by mega hitters like heritage luxury fashion houses\u00a0and hierarchical culture, it has traditionally been difficult for young designers to take off compared to New York<\/a>, London, and even Paris. However, times are changing. Emerging designers are cutting through Italian traditionalism and pulling up a seat to the table. The National Chamber of Italian Fashion (Milan’s equivalent to the CFDA<\/a>) has in recent years given new designers a platform to show their collections to the world. They’ve gone a step further to also partner with organizations like Afro Fashion Association to give African-Italian and other marginalized groups space among the masses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sleeping on Italy’s emerging talent is no longer an option when Milan Fashion Week comes around. Ahead, meet the inspiring class of Milan’s new talent coming to the forefront.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Joy Meribe\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Emerging
Photo from Joy Meribe SS22 Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nigerian-born designer Joy Meribe opened Milan Fashion Week with her SS22 collection following her inaugural collection which made headlines last year. In a short time, the eponymous label has perfectly combined tradition with innovation, creating timeless luxury garments while bringing a fresh and modern aesthetic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where do you pull inspiration from?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

My inspiration comes from my African origins and the Italian sartorial excellence, which I found fascinating even before fashion school. My style is a fusion of these two worlds.<\/span><\/p>\n

How do you think Milan fashion week has changed in recent years?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Milan Fashion Week has changed for the better. It has become more inclusive by giving diversity a chance. I’m a product of that change which was championed by Michelle Ngonmo (president of Afro Fashion Association), Edward Buchanan (activist and owner of Sansovino6), and Stella Jean (famous Italian designer and owner of the Stella Jean) through the project Black Lives Matter in Italian fashion — we are made in Italy.<\/span><\/p>\n

How would you describe your brand’s aesthetic?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I describe my brand’s aesthetic as ‘Afropolitan chic.’ I create a fusion of Afro and Western. In every collection, I like to enrich my garments with appliques, embroideries, or fabric manipulation, which lends credence to the artisanal and hand-made quality of my work. I work with respectable Italian artisans to achieve this.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where do you see your brand in five years?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s usually hard for me to answer this question. I’m human, and I don’t know what the future holds, but one thing that I’m certain of is that I will continue to work hard, and improve my knowledge to rank as one of the best fashion designers in the next coming years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Quira<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Emerging
Photo From SS22 collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Based in Rome, Quira is designer Veronica Leoni’s first solo endeavor, named after her seamstress grandmother, Quirina. Leoni, who is also currently the creative director of womenswear at 2 Moncler 1952, also held positions as head designer of knitwear at Jil Sander, under Sander herself, and head of pre-collection Celine under Phoebe Philo. Now the young designer is bringing her own thoughtfully raw and direct approach to fashion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where do you pull inspiration from?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Inspiration could be everywhere. And sensibility changes season by season. I try to always stay extremely open-minded to external input, such as my very personal fantasies. I love to put myself in a sort of creative discomfort every season by challenging design and pushing unpredictable results.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How do you think Milan fashion week has changed in recent years?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Milan Fashion Week has evolved tremendously in the past seasons. With its digital evolution, creativity has achieved new frontiers, becoming in some cases, pure entertainment. The National Chamber of Italian Fashion has been very active in supporting new brands and creating communication around relevant issues such as sustainability and inclusivity. There is a renewed, exciting electricity in town which we were all missing! I think it’s going to be a great season!<\/span><\/p>\n

How would you describe your brand’s aesthetic?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Pure and raw, audacious and spontaneous.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where do you see your brand in five years?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

As an independent brand my team is extra tiny, which it may seem a challenge but in the end I felt it was a real opportunity! A sort of primeval chance to come back to the root of the system and avoid the over-structured dispersive scheme we are now all so used to. Ultimately, I wish Quira to be a new object of desire to preserve this same lightness and freedom of its beginning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vitelli<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Emerging
Photo from Vitelli SS22 collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Founded in 2016 as an artistic project by Mauro Simionato, Vitelli aims to represent the Italian youth culture through contemporary knitwear design, strongly focused on collaboration with Veneto independent knitters and sustainable production processes. Eventually, Vitelli became a conscious knitwear laboratory which debuted its first runway for the SS22 season.<\/span><\/p>\n

When did you first show during Milan Fashion Week?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This is going to be the debut show, and we’re like on another planet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where do you pull inspiration from?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The ’80s original Italian Cosmic club scene and today’s global Cosmic Youth. This collection, in particular, takes on the mythology of the “Overland,” the legendary “hippie trail” traveled from the ’50s until the late ’70s, the route between Istanbul and Goa via Katmandu.<\/span><\/p>\n

How do you think Milan fashion week has changed in recent years?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

There is more attention for emerging brands and more confidence about taking part in the current discourse, particularly on inclusivity and responsibility.<\/span><\/p>\n

How would you describe your brand’s aesthetic?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Italian Cosmic trip.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where do you see your brand in five years?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

All the same but five times bigger.<\/span><\/p>\n

Frida Kiza<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Emerging
Photo From Frida-Kiza FW21 collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Burundi-born, Marche-based designer Fabiola Manirakiza of Frida-Kiza started her career trained as a doctor when she began to create clothes for herself and friends after studying fashion abroad. With style rooted in the culture and art of Italy came the birth of Frida-Kiza. The brand authentically represents “Made in Italy” from the top quality of its fabrics, the refinement of manufacture, and the perfect synthesis between Italian tradition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where do you pull inspiration from?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I find inspiration for my collections in my culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

How do you think Milan Fashion Week has changed in recent years?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

While before it was exclusive to traditional brands, today there has been a change with an opening towards Italian Afro-descendants thanks to Afro Fashion Milano.<\/span><\/p>\n

How would you describe your brand’s aesthetic?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I define my brand by the term “bon ton” which means it’s easy to wear regardless of age and is always in step with changes<\/span><\/p>\n

Where do you see your brand in five years?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I see Frida-Kiza as an international brand, seen all around the world.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29043,"featured_media":36198,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[17,15,16,95],"yoast_head":"\nMeet the Emerging Designers Coming Out of Milan Fashion Week - Grazia USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For what seems like the first time in decades, the Italian fashion capital is experiencing a renaissance of diverse talent heading for the spotlight.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/milan-fashion-week-spring-summer-2022-emerging-designers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet Milan\u2019s Emerging Designers Coining a New Definition for "Made in Italy"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For what seems like the first time in decades, the Italian fashion capital is experiencing a renaissance of diverse talent heading for the spotlight.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/milan-fashion-week-spring-summer-2022-emerging-designers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Grazia USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-09-24T19:52:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/06.jpg?fit=1280%2C720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/milan-fashion-week-spring-summer-2022-emerging-designers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/milan-fashion-week-spring-summer-2022-emerging-designers\/\",\"name\":\"Meet the Emerging Designers Coming Out of Milan Fashion Week - Grazia USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-24T18:26:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-09-24T19:52:17+00:00\",\"description\":\"For what seems like the first time in decades, the Italian fashion capital is experiencing a renaissance of diverse talent heading for the spotlight.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/milan-fashion-week-spring-summer-2022-emerging-designers\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/milan-fashion-week-spring-summer-2022-emerging-designers\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/milan-fashion-week-spring-summer-2022-emerging-designers\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Meet Milan\u2019s Emerging Designers Coining a New Definition for “Made in Italy”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/\",\"name\":\"Grazia USA\",\"description\":\"Driving tastemakers in Fashion, Beauty and Culture\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Meet the Emerging Designers Coming Out of Milan Fashion Week - Grazia USA","description":"For what seems like the first time in decades, the Italian fashion capital is experiencing a renaissance of diverse talent heading for the spotlight.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/milan-fashion-week-spring-summer-2022-emerging-designers\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Meet Milan\u2019s Emerging Designers Coining a New Definition for \"Made in Italy\"","og_description":"For what seems like the first time in decades, the Italian fashion capital is experiencing a renaissance of diverse talent heading for the spotlight.","og_url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/milan-fashion-week-spring-summer-2022-emerging-designers\/","og_site_name":"Grazia USA","article_modified_time":"2021-09-24T19:52:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/06.jpg?fit=1280%2C720","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/milan-fashion-week-spring-summer-2022-emerging-designers\/","url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/milan-fashion-week-spring-summer-2022-emerging-designers\/","name":"Meet the Emerging Designers Coming Out of Milan Fashion Week - Grazia USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-09-24T18:26:41+00:00","dateModified":"2021-09-24T19:52:17+00:00","description":"For what seems like the first time in decades, the Italian fashion capital is experiencing a renaissance of diverse talent heading for the spotlight.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/milan-fashion-week-spring-summer-2022-emerging-designers\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/milan-fashion-week-spring-summer-2022-emerging-designers\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/milan-fashion-week-spring-summer-2022-emerging-designers\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Meet Milan\u2019s Emerging Designers Coining a New Definition for “Made in Italy”"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website","url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/","name":"Grazia USA","description":"Driving tastemakers in Fashion, Beauty and Culture","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Grazia USA","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/36191"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}