4 designers to keep an eye on during the next Milan Fashion Week

The four designers chosen by nss magazine are young, international entrepreneurs who are deeply linked to their origins. They have already made their debut in the world of fashion, having gained recognition and appreciation from buyers, stylists and editors. They are united by a contemporary and trendy aesthetic, and we look forward to them showing during the next fashion week in Milan for SS20-21.

Angel Chen

Bio

Angela born in Shenzen, China, and trained in London, graduated in womenswear. In 2014 she founded her brand and in the same year the i-D UK magazine included her among the "5 best graduate designers of the year", and in 2016, she appeared on the Forbes "30 Under 30" list. Her training continues as an intern with Marchesa and Vera Wang and through these experiences the elements of her brand take shape: fabrics, textures, embroidery, bold colors, eccentricity, and free spirit.

Inspirations

Her source of inspiration is a mix and match of different cultures, such as Chinese culture, as well as the constant search for African prints, their colours and traditional ceremonies. She has a playful and colourful approach to fashion and blends Eastern and Western aesthetics together.

The debut collection

Her graduation collection, "Les Noces" has attracted great attention from professionals and the media thanks to the theatrical way of presenting an LGBT wedding.

Production

The key to Angela Cheng's creative process is a mix of different styles and fabrics. The preferred techniques are weaving and embroidery mixed with materials such as polyester, silk, cotton, plastic and metals. Production is done in China.

Salvatore Vignola

Bio

Salvatore is 29 years old and is originally from Basilicata, but has lived in Milan for almost ten years. He graduated from NABA with a degree in Fashion Design that allows him to both an artistic and design edge.

Inspirations

Faithful to his origins and his personal history, the designer juggles a dramatic romanticism, military-chic sobriety, and a strong theatricality. One of the main references is Basilicata. Traditions, customs, and traditions are a constant and spontaneous source of inspiration. His main references are Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Elsa Schiaparelli, and John Galliano. In art, on the other hand, he takes a lot of inspiration from Alejandro Jodorowsky, because he finds in his creativity the same slightly childish approach that also transpires in his works.

The debut collection

The collection, presented at fw19-20, Brigantessa 2.0, made him well-known. Composed by different layers and levels, the Salvatore Vignola collection conceals a remarkable depth and research that show the study and passion of the young Italian designer towards his own land and the theatrical aspect of life, perhaps inheriting that culture of the 'mask' psychological that made the Italian twentieth-century of Pirandello and Svevo famous throughout the world.

Production

The production is totally made in Italy.

Ssheena

Bio

Sabrina Mandelli graduated in fashion design from the Marangoni Institute in Milan in 2008. She worked for Dolce & Gabbana, dealing with demi-couture and special pieces, and today she holds the role of womenswear head designer and style coordinator at Off-White. In 2015, she founded Ssheena, and fulfilled her desire to create female characters who interpret the world from her personal point of view.

Inspirations

SSHEENA is an Italian brand that blends sportswear, street influences, and workwear. The mission of the brand is to give a voice to the women whom Sabrina admires: "incurable paranoids constantly out of trend". The favorite place of research is the Bricocenter: workwear is useful and not fashion, to mix these details with fashion, because they make it fresher and more unusual. She imagined a heroine who defends humanity from an imminent sci-fi attack, a kind of contemporary retrofuturist warrior. The reference imagery comes from Spazio 1999, a science fiction series from the early 1970s: futuristic, heroic but not melodramatic attitude.

The debut collection

On an exceptional catwalk, Ssheena and her creations moved on an Urban Catwalk, with a fashion show open to the public and landed from the Sala delle Cariatidi of Palazzo Reale in Piazza Duomo.

Production

The production of the garments is careful research on strictly made in Italy processes and fabrics: in Veneto, Lombardy and some accessories in Emilia.

Shuting Qiu

Bio

Shuting Qiu was born in China and graduated in Fashion from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Her namesake brand was founded in 2017, offering a distinctive sense of femininity that characterizes a modern and romantic woman. The ideal of Shuting woman dares to express herself with asymmetry and experimentation in silhouette, often rendered in rich contrasting colors of silk jacquard, intricate embroidery, and floral prints.

Inspirations

Her BA collection, entitled "Lives in a Wonderland", was inspired by a journey on the road from Marrakech to the Sahara desert. She was touched by the suggestive scenery of nature and was immediately reminded of the landscape depicted under the lens of Wim Wenders, in the film The Desert Flower. An inspiration that comes from a trip by the designer to Mumbai. The strong colors of India come alive on floral prints and embroidered textures, combined with men's Scottish fabrics, English reference, and colorful bead embroidery.

The debut collection

Her s.s. 2020, in fact, conveys an ethos, which Woolf itself would have carried out, through particular attention to the sustainability and environmental impact of fashion. Qiu brings a hymn to creativity on stage and does not leave out any detail. The accessories are interesting and coherent. Her choice of rich Indian colors and beaded embroidery patterns have been strangely mixed with English men's tailoring, including Scottish fabrics combined with rich floral prints, to show a fluid gender collection.

Production

Qiu brings 100% recycled materials on the catwalk, made with polyester from plastic bottles. Production is done in China.