昇華 (SHO-KA): GRADUATION SHOW 2024

A journey through the creative metamorphosis of Polimoda's young talents

昇華 (SHO-KA): GRADUATION SHOW 2024

A journey through the creative metamorphosis of Polimoda's young talents

Polimoda promotes the creative vision of its students with 昇華 (SHO-KA): Graduation Show 2024 on Wednesday 12 June at Villa Palmieri. The event features the collections of the students of the fashion design courses and is the result of the creativity and passion of young talents who are making their official debut in the world of fashion, elaborating their identity through a process of research and experimentation.

Polimoda’s Graduation Show reflects the cultural heritage of the school under the guidance of Massimiliano Giornetti, who is always careful to enhance the uniqueness and expressive freedom of his students.

Metamorphosis is one of nature’s most fascinating processes, symbolizing the transformation from one form or substance to another, giving rise to new life or expression,’ Giornetti explains. “This vital and universal cycle is evident in all human and natural processes. Transformation, an essential element of the creative journey, has always inspired designers, artists, philosophers and thinkers. Polimoda’s Graduation Show 2024, through the students‘ collections and the title 昇華 (SHO-KA) – a Japanese term meaning “transformation for the better” – embodies this creative evolution”.

The collections adopt this concept as their foundation, showing evolution, transformation and metamorphosis as the pinnacle of creativity, reflecting the academic design experience at Polimoda and presenting the world with a preview of the future of fashion and its pioneers.

Transformation, an essential element of the creative journey, has always inspired designers, artists, philosophers and thinkers.
Massimiliano Giornetti

The Collections

On the catwalk there are 18 collections for a total of about 100 looks, manifestos of the talent and identity of emerging designers from all over the world. Final year students from the Fashion Design and Fashion Design Management courses and the Masters in Collection Design and Fashion Design participated in the show, selected by the school’s faculty together with Director Massimiliano Giornetti and fashion editor Dan Thawley, mentor of the Fashion Design course.

Thirteen different nationalities are reflected in the garments in a synthesis of the school’s founding values, a cosmopolitan reality made up of positive and intercultural influences: internationality, inclusiveness and diversity.

The protagonists of 昇華 (SHO-KA) are Gabriela Marie Blake (Ecuador), Anna and Silvia Cristofolini (Italy), Olivia Petra Luciana Doose (Canada), Noè Falchi (Switzerland), Marianna Guerini (Italy), Jimena Guzman (Dominican Republic), Utsav Killa (India), Irène Latoudis (Belgium), Erin Lewis (UK), Verdino Jiquan Liu (China), Ian Morris McDonald (USA), Takuya Nishibori (Japan), Taiyo Okada (Japan), Luca Polonio (Brazil), Alberto Giovanni Repetti (Italy), Maiken Stella Roslund (Sweden/Spain), Soichi Takeda (Japan) and Vinxi Xiaofan Tian (China).

For the realization of the collections, the designers collaborated with the students of the Fashion Accessories Design course for shoes and accessories and with those of Atelier Design for the development of the garments.

Collaboration with Silhouette

This year, the event hosts a special collaboration with Silhouette, the world leader in high-end rimless eyewear. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the iconic Titan Minimal Art (TMA), 4th year Fashion Design students reinterpreted the TMA in harmony with the Austrian brand’s visionary aesthetic. The almost weightless design of the glasses, just 2 grams, is the starting point for their creative journey. Tasked with paying homage to the iconic model, the students designed an evolution of it, without screws or hinges. The prototypes created, in perfect balance between tradition and innovation, are unveiled on the catwalk together with the collections of Gabriela Marie Blake, Ian Morris McDonald and Luca Polonio.

The Jury

A jury of excellence made up of Stefano Pilati (Creative Director and Founder of Random Identities), Gaia Repossi (Creative Director of Repossi), Giuseppe Angiolini (Founder of Sugar), David Koma (Creative Director of the brand of the same name) and Marc Goehring (Stylist and Art Director) is called upon to evaluate the collections and vote for The Best Collection for 2024, which will be announced in the coming days.

Polimoda Graduation Show 2024 Jury, ph Serena Gallorini

The VENUE

The fashion show is held in the evocative garden of Villa Palmieri in the Florentine hills, transformed for the occasion by a play of mirrors and distortions. Large monoliths placed among the vegetation create reflections that alter the natural vision of the garden, mirroring architectures that offer viewers a distorted perspective of the surrounding natural elements, where the orderly nature of the Italian garden reclaims the spaces that have been taken away from it. An ‘Ultra Nature’ that recalls the metamorphosis of the human body in the collections on the catwalk.

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