A new PLĀS Collective capsule taking over Fondazione Sozzani

The spaces of Fondazione Sozzani, from the courtyard to the exhibition room glimpsed beyond a wall of metal flowers, are submerged by the installations of PLĀS Collective, the collaborative project dedicated to knitwear and launched in 2021 by Uruguayan designer Nathalie Danten. Tonight, May 9th, the new exhibition COUNTERCULTURE will be inaugurated, celebrating the union between practices and sectors distant from each other in the world of arts by creating collaborations with realities external to the classic ones of fashion. Let's discover PLĀS's new proposals together with its founder, as she tells us about the unique common thread that will provide the background and influence for the present installations, “Deconstruct to Reconstruct”. The starting point is one of the brand's sweaters that serves as a thematic starting point and creative inspiration; subsequently, Clinica Botanica, Fosbury Architecture, Simone Crestani, and Anonima/Luci have created installations inspired by the materials present in the sweater itself: recycled nylon, chosen by Anonima/Luci for the way it reflects the rays of their creations, and mohair, used by Clinica Botanica to weave the support for a cascade of large plant leaves, and by Simone Crestani for a large crystal tree hanging on four mohair cords. In collaboration with the curator and set designer of the collective Francesco Pizzorusso, Fosbury Architecture has created an installation inspired by the stitching of the sweater, creating a real knitted thread that was stretched between one mannequin and another. Even the buffet, Danten anticipates, copies the wool weave, reflecting the yarn on some of the desserts offered.

«PLĀS was born as a platform to showcase different creative realities,» Danten tells us. «Every year we create a capsule collection around a concept, and then we choose different artists to create works that tell its story." In just three years, PLĀS has become a platform where vastly different creative minds come together to confront and express something about themselves, even though, as the founder emphasizes, it's not a community. «It's a beautiful word but I think it's overused,» she adds. «The word 'community' dilutes things a bit, whereas here strong personalities contribute to the project and challenge each other.» With the subtitle "Deconstruct to Reconstruct", COUNTERCULTURE aims not to create a sort of exclusive club of artists for its own sake, but rather a complex creative fabric where each element contributes to strengthening the overall structure as something unique. Not surprisingly, Danten's career in fashion began in knitwear design.

«At first, I was inspired by star designers,» Danten tells us, recalling her passion for Galliano and her early years at Parsons in New York. Between one project and another, she says, she learned the importance of collaboration, an observation that quickly motivated her to abandon the idea of "making it by herself" to instead launch PLĀS, «a big plaza, an open call for different realities.» Like all independent initiatives, the collective had to work hard to break into the industry, but the ongoing support of institutions like Fondazione Sozzani, which often hosts exhibitions organized by Danten and her colleagues, is evidence of its success. «It's a balance between commercial and creative,» the founder says regarding the challenges she is still facing to steer PLĀS towards its predefined goals. «You have to keep pushing because no one will come to help you, you have to be stubborn: the real challenge is not giving up.» Thanks to the collective, Danten is never bored, but she tells us that glamour and glitter have nothing to do with her work. «I wouldn't stay in fashion if I didn't believe there are really talented people, but it's a greedy industry, it's tough,» she adds. «It's moving boxes, it's calling people, it's being annoying, but there's a reason why people keep working in the industry.» Moving from dreaming of becoming a celebrity designer to building a collective where everyone is on the same creative level, Danten's efforts for PLĀS seem to have already borne fruit, demonstrating how even in a selfish world like fashion, the most innovative projects don't bear just one signature.