“Altaroma’s priority was to ensure the continuity of our support for young designers, independent brands, small enterprises and students of the fashion academies,” Silvia Venturini Fendi responded when asked about the ultimate goal of this fashion week. In a calendar where presentations follow one another at a dizzying pace and in which fashion weeks overlap each other, it is essential to know what you want to communicate and what the ultimate purpose of each platform is. “Thanks to the intense and hard work of recent years, they now have a dedicated space in Rome where they can benefit – without unsustainable economic efforts – from services and tools that are indispensable to their training and growth.”

If you look at cities that have become world epicentres of fashion – let's take the example of Milan, the city of Italian fashion par excellence-, you’ll realize that the big brands and world –renowned Maisons have already found their favourite places to present their collections. Although these big labels dare with new locations on a few occasions, taking the international press to see their collections on other continents or breaking with the rules established by the official calendar of presentations, we continue to miss capitals that position themselves as nerve centres in the promotion of young talent and independent brands. And Rome seems to want to occupy that niche on the global map.

In addition to offering a restrained calendar of presentations taking place in the Renaissance palaces of the centre and the industrial area of the PratiBus District, featuring fashion shows by Casa Preti, Mokoo, Saman Loira, Setchu, Çanaku, Lucia Chain and Simone Tessadori, what is truly remarkable about Altaroma is its commitment to fashion that goes beyond the catwalk. We cannot avoid talking about Rome Is My Runway, the format specifically aimed at emerging brands with which to discover new profiles that can later be included in the official calendar. Divided into two groups of five, a total of ten young brands presented their new works within this format that encourages interest in the creativity of young fashion promises: Armonï Studio, Francesca Marchisio, Gentile Milano, Maragno, Yekaterina Ivankova, _DENNJ_, Annagiulia Firenze, Giuliet Françoismarie, Marinella Piccino and Simone Missano.

Among the brands that unveiled their collections on the runway, there is one that particularly caught our attention: Mokoo. A profile that, even if it’s still not very well known, we were already able to discover the last time we attended Altaroma. Specifically, in Who Is On Next? 2022, promoted by Vogue Italia to recognise the work of some of the most promising creatives. In our Altaroma Spring/Summer 2023 review, which you can read here, we talked about the talent shown by this brand, which was awarded a cash prize and future visibility on Vogue Italia. And now they had the opportunity to present their collection on the runway.

Showing a balance between experimental elements and basic silhouettes, their new collection Descendent of Warrior's Fall/Winter 2024 consolidated the identity that the brand already let us glimpse a few months ago. Featuring an S-shape silhouette, a wave silhouette, a fabric effect covered with new skin and a signature visible biomorphic air-gel and magnet disc, Mokoo starred in one of the highlights of this edition. And we strongly recommend you have a look at them.

But let's go beyond the catwalk itself. We also toured the Showcase, one of the fundamental pillars of Altaroma, in which around sixty emerging talents of Italian fashion will present their collections every day. Among our discoveries, we must mention HG / LF, a project with a sustainable philosophy that explores the fluid world of genderless and matching classic sartorial elements with chaotically deconstructed cuts. Or the fantastic bags by Arrhe Studio, made in vegetable-tanned leather expressed through pure forms. It is important to note that they produce in Fano, Italy, generating value in the region and with very good quality.

If we dive into the world of jewellery, we have to talk about Maria Patrizia Marra Jewels. The brand founded by a woman originally from Salento who moved to Rome when she was 25 years old, offers handmade jewellery with a multitude of details in bronze and silver inspired by her hometown, the sea or the countryside. We must highlight the importance that the Showcase has in this fashion week, as it allows us to learn more about the reality of the brands, talk to the creatives behind them and find out more about their inspirations and development processes.

Altaroma continues to bet on education with projects by the local fashion academies, such as Maiani Accademia Moda (MAM), Accademia Costume & Moda, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti (NABA), Accademia Koefia. Rome University of Fine Arts (RUFA), which hosted a workshop by Alessandra Donato, founder of Tangoli. Also with Roma Young Talents, the project led by CNA Roma in collaboration with Daydream Studio, which hosted the second edition of its fashion contest for designers and aspiring fashion entrepreneurs a few days ago.

“The city has an enormous potential, which would allow it to further strengthen its position as a strategic hub integrated with the other national fashion institutions. Supporting young talent is a difficult mission that cannot be accomplished without the strong and continuous support of the institutions,” explained Silvia Venturini Fendi about an edition of Altaroma that brought together journalists and guests from Portugal, Spain, France, Israel and Romania, among many other countries.