Here are the winners of the Fashion Design category of MM Award 2021, the International creative award curated by the creative consultancy agency MM Company to honour and promote the most promising talents and brands in Fashion Design, Product Design and Interior Design.
gold prize – students/creatives
Fontana Tamara with the project “I Think Therefore I Am (Somewhere Else)”
The mind as a fertile, creative, surreal refuge from the storms of life. The collection explores paracosms: imaginary scenarios that offer a break from social pressures and a way to visit an alternative reality. “I asked my friends to briefly describe their mental retreat. I then collected suggestive images that gave me the same feeling and uploaded samples of the images into a tool that uses a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN), a class of machine learning in which data is sent to an artificial intelligence. I obtained five images, each representing a paracosm.”
silver prize – students/creatives
Ciamprone Sonia with the project “Cloudy imperfection”
The collection is the result of a reflection on depressive pathology, which clouds the mind. A path in which the garments become a tool to stimulate the externalization of one’s inner world, which is often hidden and remains trapped inside each of us. The collection therefore aims at being a stimulus to express oneself, without fear of prejudice, succeeding in transforming negative moments into positive ones; to emerge from the darkness and be reborn into the light. The various tailoring techniques include piping (strips of fabric cut on the bias, with the insertion of a cord) and hand pleating.
bronze prize – students/creatives
Lyskawinski Pawel with the project “Nomadic Serendipity”
The path to a better future as a metaphor for a society evolving in an inclusive and increasingly integrated way. A fashion concept that appeals to young individuals who are open to a personality with multifaceted traits. “I inherited knowledge of the world from my ancestors who travelled to different countries to improve their lives. Travelling makes you both lose and find yourself again. You face challenges that you would never have experienced if you had never left your origins.” Fashion as a never-ending journey that offers the opportunity to improve oneself.
gold prize – professionals/freelancers
Bianco Annarita with the project “3020-Artifacts from next millennium”
A project reflecting on the Anthropocene, a geological epoch in which human beings alter the Earth’s geology and ecosystems, creating new material agglomerates that include melted plastic debris and natural sediments. The collection represents a projection into a future in which electronic waste and physical debris interfere with geological processes. “Inspired by the three main lithogenic processes, I created three different types of synthetic rocks, which include waste from usb cables.” The rocks are grafted into a silver structure to emphasise this extra-ordinary combination.
silver prize – professionals/freelancers
Soldà Giulia with the project “Maatroom Collection n.0”
Maatroom as a need for inner order, where form becomes an expression of balance. A concept that reflects a new whispered femininity, dedicated to a confident woman who faces existence with reason and feeling. Simple lines that stand out for a precise choice of stylistic taste, in which masculine and feminine, austere and docile, rigid and fluid, coexist in an original balance. Behind each garment lies a construction work of architectural shapes. Each collection is identified by name and numbering, freeing itself from temporal references. A modular wardrobe that reveals itself in superimpositions and reinterpretations.
bronze prize – professionals/freelancers
Maltinti Chiara with the project “Fit in home”
The project was born at home, during the 2020 lockdown, and consists of transforming simple pieces of furniture (bought at Ikea) into clothing. The capsule consists of three pieces. The first is a white suit, constructed by attaching the stretch fabric of the sofa cover to a base. The second is an overcoat, made from textile panels taken from 8 cushion covers. The third is a jacket and trouser suit with a bell-shaped silhouette. “I wanted to break down the wall I had created in my head by staying indoors, and that’s where I found the idea for this project.”
gold prize – companies/studios/collectives
Room
Room is a Brazilian brand born from the idea of deconstructing the concept of the home and then merging it with fashion. With the aim of building a business that values craftsmanship, quality and exclusivity, the brand revisits the concept of the great Brazilian interior designers. The most iconic product is the Pillow sandal, which was designed with a meticulous study of the proportions between straps and materials. The sandal has an original and contemporary aesthetic without compromising comfort, which is why it is called pillow. A singular object that extends the concept of architectural modernism to fashion. “Production is done by local partners and manufacturers who share the same ethical and philosophical values as the company.”
silver prize – companies/studios/collectives
Laju Slow Apparel
Laju Slow Apparel is a brand of garments designed by Laura Piasentin and illustrated by Juls Criveller. The brand is based on the concept of “zero waste”, which means not producing any more garments than the market will demand (which is why a Laju order is not processed in 24 hours but in 10 days). All garments are also cut in such a way as to waste as little fabric as possible. The collection does not follow the time of the seasons or the market, but the time of craftsmanship and tailoring.
bronze prize – companies/studios/collectives
Solferini Milano
The focus of the project is a multi-functional bag with an organiser kit that can be useful for new parents, as a bag for the birth, for a long weekend at the seaside, for the children’s daily activities (such as dance, tennis or swimming pool) or as a gym bag for mum or dad. Each bag represents a physical “post-it” to help you remember what to take with you. Each component is removable, transportable and washable. A multi-functional Made in Italy bag that changes according to the growth of the child, which each parent can build according to their own habits and needs.
special mention – “made in italy is”
Laju Slow Apparel
The “Zero Waste” philosophy promoted by Laju Slow Apparel is an essential guideline that Made in Italy companies must implement with a strong sense of responsibility. It represents a challenge, but also a unique opportunity for the high-end fashion sector, and is therefore the key to the future success of Made in Italy. Laju garments are also produced, manufactured and packaged entirely in Italy with GOTS-certified natural fabrics, the most important international standard for sustainable garment production, and textiles made from natural fibres from organic farming.
