Sunnei shows under a motorway, Palm Angels in the metro

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Jun 17, 2019

Following Falck, the disused steel works on the outskirts of Milan taken over by Ermenegildo Zegna on Friday night, Milanese designers continued to take fashion out to some of the most unexpected venues that the Lombard capital had to offer this weekend. Sunnei, for example, unveiled a hyper graphic collection in a park among the giant pillars holding up Milan's ring road – the tangenziale – while Palm Angels opted to host its show in the Porta Venezia metro station. 

Fans of Sunnei's Loris Messina and Simone Rizzo have long been accustomed to unusual venues, such as the top floor of the Pirelli Tower or the repositories of the Nilufar Design Gallery. For their brand's Spring/Summer 2020 runway show, the duo followed the Via Caduti di Marcinelle up to the city's Northeast boundary. Here, in a park on the banks of the Lambro, which just so happens to be bissected by an elevated motorway, the label launched its "Bianco Sunnei" project. 

The initiative involves the transformation of this 4,000-square-metre space beneath a motorway bridge into a cultural venue. Newly painted in white, the open-air gallery, which is completely open to the public and was conceived in collaboration with the Altrove artists collective, will host performances and installations. 

"It's a new start. We're kicking off this new adventure with a multidisciplinary approach," explained Simone Rizzo. The immaculate white space was inaugurated by the Sunnei show on Sunday, which presented a series of men's and womenswear pieces that combined hyper graphic design with XXL cuts, shifting from a palette of white and washed-out mint green to more intense shades. 

Some models sported long waterproofs that grazed the tops of their sneakers, while others were zipped into playsuits. Elsewhere, maxi-gilet smocks were worn over tops and coupled with cotton pants with large pockets, and 3D knits were woven with technical fibres that looked like tulle. Perched on enormous platforms, the women also played with layering, piling up slit skirts, dresses and jackets, one on top of the other. The designers, whose clothes are currently distributed in some 100 multibrand stores, particularly in Asia, further complemented this season's offering with a full jewellery collection. 

In sharp contrast to Sunnei's breezy outdoor venue, Palm Angels chose the darkness of Milan's metro, covering a corridor leading to one of the exits of Porta Venezia station with a refreshing plant wall. It was here that the brand presented a streetwear collection that showed signs of leaning increasingly towards tailored pieces. 

Black workwear boiler suits were worn with light golden raincoats, floral shirts were endowed with detachable leather pockets and macramé collars brought a touch of grace to all-over white looks. Large tropical flowers decorated trousers, while multicoloured butterflies fluttered across shirts or came to rest delicately here and there, on t-shirts and coats.