Who to Watch: Dolce & Gabbana Pick Designers for Spiga2

by Made-in-Italy.com

Dolce & Gabbana are looking beyond their own designs to further their vision of what Italian luxury means. And so they created Spiga2, a special space where emerging designers have an opportunity to show off their creations in the duo’s first multi-brand store. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana personally select which emerging designers will show at Spiga2, and here are some of the collections, currently exhibited alongside Dolce & Gabbana accessories in the retail space.

Andrea Incontri

Andrea Incontri stood out on the catwalk for his SS13 collection of head-to-toe silk dresses with floral splashes of bright cranberry and cherry. He employed charcoal colored floral prints and soft pastel monochromes for some very easy to wear looks. Critics and designers including Dolce & Gabbana say to watch for Incontri blossoming even brighter for upcoming collections.

It is all soft monochromes for the fresh summer Incontri looks which are not florals. © Andrea Incontri.

While Andrea Incontri is known in Italy first for his leather goods, he took nicely to traditional Italian tailoring in a well-executed collection in Milan’s RTW Fall 2013 show. For women’s, silk tops paired with romantic rose-patterned and mostly knee length skirts graced the runway. The show’s sentiment was a cross between ladylike and schoolgirl. Offering visions of layered luxury, Incontri worked nicely with “lightweight wool fabrics with a gauze effect and floral metallic micro-jacquard” materials, as WWD notes.

Caterina Gatta

Caterina Gatta has been called Rome’s new vintage print princess. Gatta’s unique take is in the materials. Always on the hunt for remnant and vintage meters of fabrics from houses like Versace, Valentino, and Lancetti, Gatta creates her dresses and hats with couture’s “leftovers.” Want to know if the fabric is authentic? Look to the selvage for an original signature. Gatta’s concept is yet another example of extreme Italian innovation resulting in some very pleasing looks.

Caterina Gatta was featured recently in l’Officiel and Grazia magazine. In her SS13 collection she features vintage florals that align with her trademark poetic optimism. She released a limited-edition collection of little vintage print dresses and last year was asked to present her work at London’s Italian Cultural Institute. The Roman designer is also getting attention from Vogue fashion editor Anna Dello Russo, and fans include Suki Waterhouse (British model) and Alli Hilfiger (Tommy’s daughter).

Fausto Puglisi

Fausto Puglisi describes his brand identity as being informed by a mixture of heroic Sicily, modern architecture, Italian neo-realism movies, costumes of Roman gladiators, American star-making mores (particularly of the LA scene) and the richness of Mediterranean Baroque. If that sounds like alot, it is.

After Messina-born designer Fausto Puglisi moved to New York when he was eighteen and collaborated with renown stylists for several years he launched his own line. Because of his fascination for high culture mixed with pop elements, he incorporates unusual geometry, color contrasting and embroidery, as you can see here. Beyonce and others have donned his wear, and now Dolce & Gabbana support his unique vision at Spiga2.

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Italian Fashion Sets the Trends

In fashion there is one simple rule: what's hot is what's Italian. Italy is the trendsetter for the world in luxury fashion, and luxury of course sets the pace for trends in fast-fashion and mid-markets. Why is this? Italy has some strong fashion peers, France and England among them, but no other country besides Italy has such a long-enduring and widespread tradition of making beautiful designs with the utmost attention to craftsmanship. Secret techniques have been passed down from artisan to artisan over many generations in Italy. Italian designers are immersed in this craftsman culture and it informs their designs and shapes their careers. It is important to understand that it is this craftsman's history alive today on the Italian runways when you see a breathtaking innovative couture collection in Milan. Also, it is important to remember that Italian fashion designers, from the day they are born, are surrounded by some of the most beautifully accomplished art and architecture in the Western world. For example, in one afternoon a Roman designer can take a walk and experience the architecture of the Pantheon and Coliseum, the sculptures of Bernini in the piazzas, and the paintings of Caravaggio in the churches and museums. A Florentine designer can similarly enjoy the works of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It is no accident that Valentino and Bulgari produce bold beautiful designs in true Roman fashion and that Ferragamo translates the elegance of Florence in every shoe it makes. This "culture of art" without question inspires and influences designs in Italian fashion; no other country can compare to Italy in offering such an abundance of creative cultural artifact. In fact, of all countries Italy is home to the greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and this small nation is also home to more than half of the entire Western world’s great art treasures. If you are curious about how Italy is interpreting and reinventing its rich culture of art and artisan history today, you need look no further than the fashion runways.