The fashion of the future takes shape at the intersection of tradition, sustainability, and technology. Polimoda presents the winners of Talent 2025, the program that transforms the innovative ideas of the school’s students and alumni, guiding them through a journey of growth and entrepreneurial experimentation in the fashion industry.
After six months of development, mentorship, and design support, the two selected concepts – Luigi Simonetti and Syncroni by Hatem Ben Hassine – are presented to an external jury and an audience of industry professionals, students, and insiders. The event marks a key moment of dialogue and evaluation, showcasing two distinct approaches to contemporary fashion: one rooted in craftsmanship and material research, the other focused on digital and technological innovation. Both express the vision of a new generation that imagines a more conscious fashion, capable of valuing people and traditions.
Luigi Simonetti
Luigi Simonetti’s project originates “from a borderland between Campania and Molise,” where tradition and everyday gestures become a contemporary language. Within the Polimoda Talent program, Simonetti developed a research that intertwines craftsmanship, local identity, and material experimentation, creating a visual narrative inspired by the cultural heritage of Southern Italy.
His vision embodies a fashion that intertwines memory and matter, where the artisanal gesture itself becomes an act of innovation.
His work revisits ancient artisanal techniques such as bobbin lace and traditional weaving, involving a community of local craftswomen – the last custodians of centuries-old knowledge – and reinterpreting their skills through innovative materials, including fibers derived from marble, lotus flower, and spider silk. The result is a living matter that merges avant-garde and memory, where handcraft becomes a poetic act and a form of contemporary inquiry.
Simonetti’s aesthetic speaks of emotional luxury and cultural sustainability, blending the archaic charm of Southern landscapes with the transformative power of future materials. His project redefines fashion as a human ritual, where luxury is shared memory and territory becomes universal language.
The goal is to create a limited-edition collection for those who embrace the message before the product itself, while preserving and passing on artisanal knowledge that embodies the identity of a region at risk of disappearing.
Biography
Luigi Simonetti was born in Rome to a family with Campanian roots. He completed the Master in Creative Direction at Polimoda before being selected for Talent 2025. His research reflects his connection to Southern Italy, exploring the intersection of craftsmanship, identity, and innovation. His work transforms familial and cultural memory into a contemporary visual language.
Syncroni
Founded by Hatem Ben Hassine, Syncroni is a digital runway casting solution designed to simplify and streamline the backstage workflow in fashion production. The project replaces manual processes with a single cloud-based environment where casting directors, producers, and creative teams can manage the entire process – from model selection to fittings, approvals, and final lineup – in a coordinated, secure, and real-time system.
Syncroni envisions a backstage without paper, chaos, or waste: a new digital standard for global fashion.
The goal is to make backstage operations more efficient, sustainable, and human-centered. By eliminating fragmented tools and redundant documentation, Syncroni minimizes downtime, printing waste, and energy consumption, while creating a transparent, traceable, and democratic system that safeguards people and promotes accessibility.
The platform integrates ESG principles directly into its design: promoting fairer working conditions, reducing environmental impact, and ensuring data security and privacy through a privacy-by-design architecture.
Following its prototype phase, Syncroni 0.1 was tested during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2026 across three official shows and presentations, involving casting, styling departments, and agencies. Currently in validation, Syncroni continues its development toward an international pilot model, aiming to establish a new operational standard for backstage management in fashion and creative production.
Biography
Hatem Ben Hassine was born in Moknine, Tunisia. He attended the Master in Sustainable Fashion at Polimoda and was later selected for Talent 2025. His research explores the connection between creativity, technology, and sustainability, aiming to make fashion processes more efficient, inclusive, and responsible.
Polimoda Talent: a laboratory for turning ideas into projects
Created to foster the entrepreneurial potential of students and alumni, Polimoda Talent is a business development program offering winners mentorship, strategic consulting, co-working spaces on campus, and a €10,000 grant to develop their project—making it one of the few programs investing directly in its own talents.
The previous edition’s winner, Domenico Orefice, CEO & Creative Director of his namesake brand, was a finalist for the CNMI Fashion Trust and is among the most promising emerging designers presented at Milan Fashion Week.
The 2025 Talent winners were chosen by an external jury of experts including Paola Arosio (Head of Sustainability and New Brands, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana), Andrew Heffernan (Entrepreneurial Finance and Retail Specialist), Matteo Levi (Director of Acceleration Southern Europe, Startup Bootcamp), Sara Sozzani Maino (Creative Director, Fondazione Sozzani; International New Talent and Brands Ambassador, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana), and Marco Vianello (Vice President of Sales & Business Development, Tomorrow).
With this edition, Talent reaffirms Polimoda’s role as an incubator of creative ideas and enterprises, generating value for Tuscany and the international fashion system. The program is part of a long-term commitment to promoting new forms of entrepreneurship that combine craftsmanship, culture, and innovation.
