Hed Mayner, guest designer of Pitti Uomo 109, joined students, faculty and the general public, at Polimoda’s Manifattura campus, for the conversation The Moving Silhouette: Fashion as a Living Form, moderated by Maria Stanchieri of nss magazine, in collaboration with Pitti Imagine. Journal contributor and Fashion Business student Julie Nunes reports.
Echoing the fair’s theme Movement, Hed Mayner believes that tailoring is not a tool to discipline the body but a medium through which movement becomes visible. In his work, movement isn’t decorative. It is conceptual and emotional. He believes that garments fully exist only when worn and walked in.
In this sense, Mayner’s tailoring does not shape the body, it invents a body language. Through tailoring, he presents new silhouettes by rethinking garment structure to create a new shapes of the body. At Polimoda he mentioned, “it’s about the classics, it’s about injecting memories and shifting it to a possible new reality around the item, by removing elements or playing with the heritage and making.”
Hed Mayner insists on continuity. He does not erase past work but instead extends it. When asked about changes in silhouette compared to previous collections, he declares that these shifts come from observation and the intuition he feels in the moment. Each collection evolves from a previous one, “I start designing a collection with tests I had in mind that didn’t get to do the previous season.”
The collection was shown the day before the talk, at the Palazzina Reale of Santa Maria Novella. Anchoring movement beyond the garment itself, the sleek marble monolithic palace adjacent to the train station reinforced the idea that the garments exist in relation to space and sound as much as to the body. The soundtrack moved through distinct emotional registers, from the voice of artist Agnes Martin speaking about beauty and perfection, to electronic music reminiscent of the 70s, before transitioning into romance and kitsch. These shifts were layered rather than abrupt, mirroring the different types of characters that coexist within the collection, a way for the designer to present us with society’s contradictory personalities, manipulating and transforming their stereotypes.
For Hed Mayner, craftsmanship is neither a stylistic signature nor a nostalgic return to tradition. It is a way of thinking, working, and relating to others. During the talk, a question arose from the audience: “How do you incorporate circularity in your designs? Is there any advice you can give to students on how to implement sustainability while not obstructing their creative process?” Hed Mayner’s sustainability is people and relationship focused, “I focus a lot on relationships with people and how we treat each other. When I started we produced very few pieces and we worked with deadstock fabrics. The question is more on how you decide to evolve. Today I try to visit all the factories, to see how people are looking, if they seem healthy, and how they work.” His understanding of craftsmanship as ethical practice reinforces the integrity of his work, aligning with his belief that fashion must remain connected to real lives, both of those who make the clothes and those who wear them.
Another student asked for advice on where to start after graduating. He spoke with clarity that cut through the often intimidating discourse surrounding the fashion industry. His advice consistently returned to the idea of personality. According to Mayner, the foundation of a designer’s work should never be compromise. There should be no conflict between creative integrity and the market. One must create something because it feels right, because it carries personal conviction, and trust that others will eventually recognise its value. Fashion, he reminded students, is ultimately about people wanting to dress, to feel beautiful, and to reinvent themselves.
However, this insistence on staying true to one’s universe does not imply isolation. On the contrary, collaboration emerged as a central pillar of his practice. He emphasised that fashion is built through relationships and team members who help translate ideas into reality. The strength of a team lies not in individual perfection but in complementarity. Working with people who challenge your ideas, who bring different perspectives and are willing to speak honestly, creates a dialogue that strengthens the final result.
Hed Mayner’s visit did not offer a formula for success, nor did it present fashion as a sequence of strategic decisions. Instead, it revealed a practice rooted in intuition, observation, and trust. What resonated most strongly in his discourse was the idea that impact is neither immediate nor absolute. It begins quietly, with a small group of people who recognise themselves in the work. Fashion does not impose identity but enables it, offering frameworks through which individuals can reinvent themselves.
For students, this encounter was less about learning how to “make it” and more about understanding how to remain present within their own practice. Mayner’s approach suggests that integrity, collaboration, and patience are not obstacles to creativity but its conditions. Fashion, when grounded in sincerity and care, becomes a space for shared meaning, one that continues to grow long after the runway lights fade.
CREDITS
Written by:
- Julie Nunes, Undergraduate in Fashion Business student
Cover image:
- Hed Mayner backstage Fashion Show Pitti Uomo 109. Photo courtesy of Pitti Uomo.
