After a few editions repositioning itself as a scouting platform to discover, mentor and help young talents and emerging designers – for example, with the Who’s On Next? contest in collaboration with Vogue Italia –, Altaroma is finding a path to stick to. And it seems pretty successful so far. “Today, Altaroma acts in fact as an incubator, creating through its projects a virtuous circle aimed at the discovery and promotion of new talents of Made in Italy”, states Silvia Venturini Fendi.
“We are more and more perceived as a reference point and as a concrete opportunity of visibility for many young designers and, in many cases, we represent a door of access to the world of work and the market, especially for young creatives coming from centre-south Italy”, she continues. “In the last three years Altaroma, refining its role, has also managed to give more effectively its contribution, introducing new lymph in the Italian fashion system, optimizing the synergies with Florence and Milan”, Ms Fendi concludes.
There are indeed interesting talents to discover at Altaroma. The Showcase section, which has presented a total of fifty-six designers and brands ranging from ready-to-wear to shoes, to eyewear, bags and jewellery, had some brands worth highlighting. Like Vanadio23, founded by Andrea Semeghini. The chemistry-inspired brand – it’s named after vanadium, a chemical element with the atomic number 23 – is strong on prints, which Andrea prints digitally from his hand-made watercolour paintings, often depicting orgies or large groups of naked people. The Fall/Winter 2020 collection he was presenting now was inspired by the Garden of Eden and included prints of lustrous flowers, coiled up snakes and even child-like drawings of penises. Playful and irreverent, but also beautiful and wearable.
However, it was the fashion shows that stood out the most. From last edition’s Who’s On Next? contest, we saw some of their finalists – and winner, of course –: Federico Cina, Jing Yu, Hibourama, Iuri, Maiorano, Nahiot Hernandez and Twins Florence. Federico Cina, whom we
interviewed a couple of years ago and already presented him as a ‘one to watch’, presented his collection after winning, last July, the renowned prize that has helped previous winners like Nicholas Kirkwood or Massimo Giorgetti (from MSGM) become international household names.
Cina has presented
I bei tempi (translated as ‘beautiful times’), inspired by his home region, the Romagna, as well as Vittorio Tonelli, a master and writer specialized in the Italian area. Backstage, he explained that the collection speaks about his traditions and past times, like the 1950s, when his grandparents were growing up. “They didn’t have social media, internet or money, but they were very happy. Now, we have everything, but we’re never happy.”