MILAN – WHITE MILAN is known for its contemporary edge and its support of new talent – young designers located here in Italy and abroad. This season, the trade show that kicked off this weekend, will dedicate its WHITE STUDIO section to fashion-forward designers with an artisanal spirit. With the support of MIAC (Moda Italiana Aziende Contemporary), WHITE Studio’s showcase has been curated by Alessio de Navasques, who is the creator of Artisanal Intelligence.
BACO: What does it mean for you to show at WHITE? Do you think that it is an advantageous location for your brands to encounter top buyers? How does it compare to Altaroma?
ADN: It’s a great opportunity for young designers and artisans to meet international buyers and the press during Milan’s Fashion Week. It is important to have a space dedicated to sell in which the creatives could feel the vibes of the market, and at the same have the opportunity to test their products’ prices and to decide whether or not they have reached the right position in the market. Altaroma is an interesting platform discovering new designers from a wonderful city like Rome, but the business is in Milan. With our new association, MIAC, WHITE is doing a great job at not only promoting young designers linked with Artisanal Intelligence but also by linking with historical brands and craftsmen from the Confartigianato association
BACO: What are the goals of Artisanal Intelligence – you do many things… what is your mission?
ADN: Our goal is to promote talents in a different way, to create a habitat in which young designers can grow with a lot of different inspirations like Contemporary Art, Cinema and Photography. A.I. Artisanal Intelligence is an exhibition that is in Rome during Altaroma, but it’s a platform that creates and curates a lot of projects like the White Studio. It is a new model that promotes a new vision of cultural luxury.
We support talents by mentoring them all year round. We also promote artists and designers that we invite to Rome to create installations for the project. We try to create an inspirational world dedicated to craftsmanship.
BACO: BACO is also dedicated to artisans and artisanal fashion. We love people like you. Do you think the broader market is ready for this type of erudite fashion? What are the signs that the market is ready?
ADN: I have curated with Clara Tosi this area inside White, called White Studio. This is already a sign of great success. The market needs new and authentic stories. I did the same project some years ago with WHITE MILANO, but the market was not ready like now.
BACO: What is your background? We see you everywhere but we don’t know much about your past in fashion.
ADN: I studied Architecture in Rome, which is why I approach every idea and venture as if it is a real “project” in every sense of the word. I like fashion because it is the most immediate expression of the contemporary. I’m always around the world looking for talents. I am becoming more and more interested in contemporary art and design. I ventured into fashion about 6 years ago in Rome with Clara Tosi Pamphili. We worked with Silvia Venturini Fendi to create new projects for the Altaroma platform. Now, I do so many different things. I am a freelance journalist for I-D, Elle.it and Artribune and I also work as a curator and fashion consultant.
BACO: What are some trends that you think will be paramount for fall winter 2018?
ADN: From the latest advertising campaigns, the idea of LOVE seems to be a concept that being embraced, mostly because we live in a very strange period… I would call it a nihilist period, in which people live and love only through their phones. It’s interesting when fashion launches this kind of message and sometimes it resonates even more than art.
