The Secoli Fashion Show, now in its 34th edition, will return on June 15, 2017, to Alcatraz in Milan. It is much more than a fashion show; it is the annual event of the Milanese fashion school Istituto Secoli, the most anticipated by students, and represents a significant milestone in their educational and creative journey. More than 100 outfits will be showcased on the runway, with 75 designers involved who have conceived and created all the garments. The event is sponsored by, among others, the Lombardy Region, the Municipality of Milan, CNMI Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, and SMI Sistema Moda Italia.
IM-PERFETTO is the concept of SFS 2017. This year, designers attending the Master’s programs and the final year of the three-year courses in Men’s and Women’s Fashion Design challenged themselves with the concept of “Imperfection.” Conceptual inspirations are drawn from the Japanese world of Wabi-sabi, or imperfect beauty; artistic influences range from the contemporary art of Mimmo Rotella and his décollages to the evocative works of Polish sculptor Igor Mitoraj and the conceptual visions of designer Rei Kawakubo. By valuing imperfection, subverting rules, and breaking boundaries—sometimes taking elements outside established canons to the extreme—the designers have created collections that attempt to redefine a new contemporary aesthetic.
IM-PERFETTO is the voice of a new meaning, a different way of feeling.
The vision proposed by Istituto Secoli thus rediscovers the value of uniqueness, moving away from stereotyped and mass-produced models. This new concept of beauty is expressed in eight collections: Decomposition-Recomposition, Absence-Lack, Defect, Illusion, Kaos Cupro by Asahi Kasei, Other Beauty, Gigantism, Distortion.
Istituto Secoli has collaborated with prestigious partners to stage the event.
Among the special projects, we highlight the collaboration with Lectra, a world leader in integrated technological solutions. In addition to designing prototype patterns using Lectra’s Modaris® software, Men’s Master’s designers were able to experience firsthand the potential of Vector® iX Fashion automatic cutting directly at the multinational’s Milan headquarters: the result of this collaboration can be admired in the “Absence-Lack” collection.
Two students will be awarded Lectra’s Modaris® and Diamino® software licenses, plus a training session with a Lectra expert. Furthermore, thanks to Lectra’s long-standing relationship with its client G.A. Operations S.p.a. of the Giorgio Armani Group, one of them will be granted an internship in the collection development department at the Trento industrial hub.
The “Kaos Cupro by Asahi Kasei” collection marks the collaboration with ASAHI KASEI FIBERS ITALIA, the manufacturer of the special Cupro yarn used by students for their creations. This year, the company once again launched the “Cupro Contest” for students in the second year of the Women’s Fashion Design course.
Third-year students in the Men’s Fashion Design course collaborated with SHIMA SEIKI ITALIA, a Japanese company present in Italy with its own brand of software and computerized flat knitting machines. The company produced several knitted panels that will be featured in the “Distortion” collection and will reward the most deserving student with a two-week training session to learn how to use SHIMA SEIKI’s PGM software.
Finally, Akira Minagawa, designer and founder of the prestigious fashion brand minä perhonen, will offer a three-month internship in Japan to a third-year Women’s Fashion Design student.
“Fashion, like art, expresses humanity in its needs and nature, and a garment only acquires true meaning when worn on a body; on this occasion, we will have the pleasure of receiving as a gift the dreams of our students, realized with the all-Italian ‘Saper Fare’ learned at Istituto Secoli,” states Stefano Secoli, President of the Institute.
This year, the Institute is once again launching the SECOLI FASHION CONTEST. All looks can be voted for on the dedicated platform www.secolifashioncontest.com. The three most-voted designers will win a scholarship worth €1,500 toward enrollment in one of Istituto Secoli’s training courses.