BACO’s fashion editor Valentina Accardo brings you the best from the WHITE Trade Show and Milan’s Fashion Hub Market (Camera Nazionale della Moda).
WHITE
This edition of White Trade Show was full of new artisanal brands. While we met many new brands, we also saw some old friends like Angelosergio Santoni, in the WHITE SELECT section (read our story about Angelosergio Santoni here) with his peculiar folk – inspired style. Here are some of our top picks:
ZAAFAR
Zaafar is an amazing handmade production created by a team of designers and master craftsmen. The pieces are made in Pakistan but the company is based in Berlin and New York. “It is sustainable art wear,” explains Patrick Trickler, a representative of Zaafar.com. “You buy one piece and you have it for your whole life, and it’s a one-of-a-kind piece.”
They use materials such as brass chains, rubies, emeralds, and rudraksha seed mixed with cotton threads. These materials are assembled by sewing chains and fabric together using a “secret technique.”
WHERE: Pakistan, Berlin, New York RETAIL PRICE: 200 to 4000 euro WHERE TO BUY: Stefania Mode, Trapani, Italy. www.zaafar.com
YOUKHANGA
Italian and African life come together in Veruscha Rossi’s and Benedetta Capri’s fashion-charity project. After falling in love with the African prints (known as khanga) of Malindi, Kenya, Rossi teamed-up with her friend Capri, a stylist and designer, to create a pair of shoes. Together, they founded YouKHANGA.
“I lived in Africa,” Rossi told BACO. ” I fell in love with these fabrics. When I came back, I decided to combine Khanga with Made-in-Italy. First, we thought about shoes, then bags too. Now, we’ve developed a small clothing collection.” The prints are always different, so everything they make is unique.
Because their brand helps African people, the designers are proud of their success. “We donate part of our earnings to a charity we know. They are dedicated to an orphanage in Malindi.”
RETAIL PRICE: Average 170 euro WHERE TO BUY: Excelsior and WaitandSee, Milan and
BONOMEA
A handbag collection dedicated to strong-minded women, Bonomea combines innovative designs with traditional craftsmanship. “We have master artisans working with us to create these bags that are like sculptures,” explains Cinzia Grottoli, head of Bonomea’s marketing team, noting that Bonomea’s designs are made with calfskin and lambskin leather and metals like brass. “Bonomea is a name that recalls an image of grace and aristocracy. We think about a woman who is very determined, a little androgynous, who knows what she wants. The brand was born for women, but it has a femininity that spread into the men world. In the future we’ll create cross-gender situations, we’re sliding through this gender overlapping.”
LOCATION: Italy RETAIL PRICE: from 800 to 1500 euro WHERE TO BUY:
MILIA-M
An artistic collaboration, Lebanese designer Milia Maroun chooses to work with artists outside of the fashion world for her apparel. The latest artist, Jumana Murad, is a London-based artist who applied a special watercolor technique to the silk foulards and cocktail dresses in the spring summer collection. LOCATION: Production- India and Lebanon; Headquarters- Beirut. RETAIL PRICE: from 180 to 350 euro. WHERE TO BUY:
BACO’S PICKS FROM THE FASHION HUB
The Camera Nazionale della Moda showcased new emerging talent in Milan’s futuristic Porta Nuova enclave. Here are some of our top picks:
LISELORE FROWIJN
The starting point for Netherlands-based designer Liselore Frowijn’s, who showcased her spring summer collection at Milan’s Fashion Hub Market was the conceptual artwork of Sol LeWitt. “I take inspiration from the art exhibitions I see around the world. Sometimes a new collage of images comes into to my head,” she said, adding that the silk screening for her “comfortable luxury line” is produced in Como, while the embroidery is done in India.
RETAIL PRICE: 400-600 euro WHERE TO BUY: www.liselorefrowijn.com
TWINSFLORENCE
Also at Milan’s Fashion Hub Market, the Italian designer Linda Calugi of TWINS FLORENCE created this collection with a contemporary, essential and oversized style. The whole project is about recycling and remaking old and vintage pieces, like shearling or fur coats, giving a new life and a more contemporary shape for one-of-a-kind pieces for women and men. They start from the rough leather and they apply particular treatments. They dye or work the pieces with techniques that involve sandpapering or acid (all processes are done by hand made and environmentally friendly). RETAIL PRICE: 1200 average for the outerwear WHERE TO BUY: twinsflorence.com
