by MILAN – Clothes that telegraph a sense of protection and refuge, expressing a simple yet conscious contemporary lifestyle and transcending gender and seasonality – these are the core values of the three emerging Italian brands as they make their official calendar debut Milan Fashion Week during Men’s Fashion Week. Here, take a closer look at the new names in town.
Domenico’s office
Streetwear, sportswear and tailoring come together in the hybrid world of Naples-born designer Domenico Orefice.
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A graduate of Polimoda, he launched his namesake brand in 2022, presenting his first efforts during Pitti Uomo last June and Dubai Fashion Week in October.
At the start of Men’s Fashion Week in Milan, Orefice will unveil another non-gendered and non-seasonal collection, cryptically called “A1 R1 25” as a nod to mountaineering and the scales of difficulty and risk in climbing.
He said these references informed the line, which he envisioned adapting to different climates and latitudes while focusing on protective gear. In truth, with its oversized and baggy proportions, its disturbing effects and its raw attitude, the dark line-up focuses more on a post-apocalyptic situation rather than recalling wanderings.
“The garments are supposed to be a kind of shell, which represents a sense of protection and refuge: they are with us in the world like armor but at the same time allow us to explore nature,” explained Orifice .
The designer offers the new parka A1 as a main piece, which is available in two different types of nylon developed by the Italian company Gruppo Cinque and which combines high performance with waterproof properties. An R1 sweater with a padded lining, extra-long vests full of pockets and cargo pants in different lengths add to the range, which also plays with layering and matte and shiny finishes.
As an emerging designer, Orefice admitted that the main challenges he is trying to navigate are developing all the samples in-house – which allows him to have complete control over his collection and ensuring his creative freedom – and keeping up with the fast pace of the industry. .
“That’s why I believe in annual collections and in a slower way based on pre-orders, to occasionally develop capsule lines with fabrics left to drop throughout the year,” he said. Retailing between 160 euros and 3,000 euros, the Domenico Orefice pieces are available at the brand’s online store.
The designer hopes that his first show in Milan will bring visibility to the label, which he believes does not have a typical Italian aesthetic, but is confident that it can carve out its own space in the domestic market. The presentation that will take place at Fondazione Sozzani on Friday is set to showcase the collection through a special installation that will highlight the contrasts between high-altitude nature, urban landscapes and digital interventions.
Noscra
Serendipity was at play when Andrea Lonigro formally introduced in 2020 his men’s streetwear brand, but unisex-leaning, Noskra.
Moving to Milan from the southern Italian town of Bari to study visual merchandising at the IED fashion school amidst the frustration of struggling to chart his own path in his hometown, Lonigro discovered a penchant for creating fashion rather than to style it.
Through his professor, Bav Tailor, a fashion sustainability advocate who runs his own brand, he joined StudioPuntoZero, a Milan-based company specializing in creative consultancy, prototyping and manufacturing for fashion brands.
The experiment was part of the daily work and Lonigro continued, feeling a growing desire to have his own voice.
“I’ve always loved clothes. I started teasing and releasing some garments in 2020 and we got positive feedback, which encouraged us to really do it,” said the founder of the brand. The move landed Noskra – a name that combines the Italian word for, “nostra,” and the Russian expression for guiding light, “kenaz” – a few big international steps – the first full post-pandemic edition of Pitti Uomo in January. 2022 and Gunnán in Copenhagen.
Hinging on the key ropes of streetwear with a functional bend, such as in parkas and cargo pants, parka jackets and jumpers, Noskra strives to elevate casual clothing through high-end and sustainable fabrics, almost always certified for their eco- bent.
“The main concept is sartorial streetwear. I was very lucky to work at the [StudioPuntoZero] better and train my manufacturing skills and abilities,” said Lonigro. Therefore, it became easier to translate his comprehensive vision of streetwear through which the same garment can be recreated in different ways and sported by both men and women. Cue Noskra sold item: side-zippered pant that can be styled into a skirt.
The fall collection follows the same rulebook with oversized proportions for parks, wide leg pants, mixed media, utilitarian bomber jackets with detachable sleeves and voluminous cargo pants with 3D pockets.
“It’s probably the most mature collection to date,” Lonigro said. “We never want to align with trends, we prefer to push our own identity and ideas.”
Minimalism is usually the highest standard in streetwear, and the collection includes a print section, in black and white, inspired by brutalist architecture, echoed by swirling brushstrokes. Lonigro’s brother Gianluca develops graphics in-house. They can be seen on shirts and cargo pants, as well as zip jackets.
The brand is making its debut as part of the official Milan Fashion Week schedule this season, hosting a presentation on Monday. It will include a digital installation by Mariano Franzetti and Nicola Pantano. A party will follow led by musical performances including Onoe Caponoe, a musician based in London.
Noskra is available at the brand’s e-commerce, as well as the 2Face Concept Store in Barcelona, Spain, with prices ranging from 120 euros for logoed T-shirts and 1,300 euros for parkas.
Three Piave33
The ideas of the brothers Alessandro and Francesca Spaggiari differ from Elisa Bettella, ViaPiave33 defined. Based in Milan, the multidisciplinary project launched last year includes garments, accessories as well as body care and home decoration, all designed with the mission of promoting a simple but conscious contemporary lifestyle based on a healthy relationship between nature and technology.
“We come from a more artistic background. We didn’t study fashion design and for this reason we had to learn a lot from the people we started working with,” said Francesca Spaggiari. “But we had a clear vision from the start and that helped us know exactly what we wanted to say. We have always been very interested in well-made products and objects, so we found a platform in fashion that allows us to express a 360-degree vision of life and distill it into a product, styling or image.”
For fall 2024, the trio looked to wintry landscapes and cold temperatures to explore a sense of intimacy and protection through a collection of casual, gender-appropriate pieces. These are an evolution of previous efforts as the founders don’t believe in embracing seasonal trends but instead build on wardrobe archetypes made from dead stock organic fabrics, updating their clean aesthetic with a few tweaks.
Puffy, comfy sizes of outerwear and hoodies sit next to slim leisurewear items and underwear-inspired pieces, while the novelties include hand-made knits made from mohair wool yarns and worked in an airy weave, which which Bettella considers adds “a sense of intimacy to a piece. made from a fabric that was originally meant to cover you and keep you warm.”
The brand’s color palette, which has been limited to black and white tones until now, has been expanded to a light green shade obtained from a natural dyeing process, which increases the sense of warmth and coziness that the trio wanted to focus on.
“As an emerging brand, challenges are our bread and butter,” Betella said of the entire creative process. “It’s not easy to put everything together and do it in an interesting way. We live in a very fast-paced digitized world, so managing all the elements a contemporary brand needs is a big challenge. We are trying to do it our own way, trying to maintain the pace but slow down a little at the same time to focus on what is most important. We strive to find meaningful, intelligent solutions and offer them in a beautiful way.”
The collection will be presented with an immersive installation at Fondazione Sozzani on Sunday. Alessandro Spaggiari suggested that the format was “natural and simple: it will talk about nature and technology, offering a moment of distraction from the accelerated world in which we all live.”
The design of the series will show a domestic space full of minimal furniture and simple elements, such as padded cotton, aluminum, moss and soil, among other things. The collection will be shaped by a handful of staff and family members and a live performance by a chef will complement the exhibition.
Alessandro Spaggiari expressed that staging a physical experience for the first time and within the context of Milan Fashion Week is a great opportunity for the brand to engage with a wider and more international audience.
“Our long-term goal is to grow and structure our company in a healthy, organic way… keeping design, art, humanity and craftsmanship at the heart of our business” and “also finding the right partners and collaborations that allow us to grow while maintaining our nature we preserve,” said the co-founder.
Currently available exclusively at its online store, the ViaPiave33 retails for between 100 euros and 900 euros and also includes candle holders, tech gadgets and “purification kits” that include water, an organic soap bar, a face towel and instructions to “reconnect with the head. inside,” especially after excessive use of social media.
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