Couture shows end as Rome takes new role in fashion

AltaRoma is the place for the up-and-coming, as Rome was the birthplace of such Italian greats as Fendi and Valentino

Rome's haute couture week wrapped up Wednesday with the shows of prominent fashion academies, a befitting end for this summer edition of the capital's bi-annual shows which officially sanctioned AltaRoma as the talent scouting force in Italian fashion.
AltaRoma's chairman Silvia Venturini Fendi of the Fendi fashion house announced Wednesday that Rome will host the next International Herald Tribune (IHT) Luxury conference in November while Vogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani, the co-organiser of the "Who is on next?" talent competition in Rome, said AltaRoma had finally succeeded in changing its image in the fashion world. The IHT conference curated by the paper's prominent fashion editor Suzy Menkes, a juror at this edition of the "Who is on next competition?" always attracts an impressive lineup of members of the international fashion industry.
"AltaRoma has won in changing the perception of a city which was going backwards in the world of fashion and has risen to become a centre of international scouting," wrote Sozzani in her blog.
"Rome's role in the world of fashion is now to promote what is new and young along with the craftsmanship which has always befitted haute couture, but in this case applied to contemporary clothes at affordable prices," she also said.
The role of Rome as the heart of Italian haute couture until the 1960s and 1970s had progressively faded with the city becoming a symbol of past glories. The birthplace of legendary fashion houses including Atelier Fontana, Roberto Capucci, Valentino and Fendi, the city has been vying in the past two years to rival Milan's dominance in the Italian fashion circuit under Venturini Fendi's AltaRoma chairmanship. The efforts of Venturini Fendi, the designer of fashion's most prominent It-bag, the iconic Fendi 'Baguette', have received great impulse from Sozzani, a powerful force in Italian fashion, who also brought the high profile Vogue Fashion Night Out event to Rome for the first time last September.
This edition of fashion week saw three of Rome's historic ateliers - Fausto Sarli, Raffaella Curiel and Renato Balestra - show their autumn-winter 2013 collections along with rising stars Nino Lettieri, Luigi Borbone, Giada Curti and Gianni Molaro and three debutants - Delfrance Ribeiro, Antonella Rossi and the Atelier Persichino.
But AltaRoma's calendar also gave top priority to two key events created by Venturini Fendi, scheduled over the weekend, designed to showcase promising new talents along with the "Who is on next?" competition which was scheduled Saturday and won by edgy label Marcobologna.
The Limited-Unlimited exhibit inaugurated on Friday night showcased a number of unique pieces made for the event on the "sculptural" theme which paid homage to Rome's artistic heritage, placing the creations of historic maisons such as Valentino and Fendi alongside up and coming talents including Aquilano Rimondi, Sylvio Giardina and Marco De Vincenzo.
The other prominent event was Room Service, first launched during AltaRoma's fashion week in January and created to give selected niche brands visibility with the press and buyers. Designed to re-enact the long lost tradition of ateliers to welcome their clientele in elegant hotels, Room Service held at an hotel on Via Veneto showcased this time fifteen extremely interesting labels.
Among them were bag designers Giancarlo Petriglia, who won second place at the "Who is on next?" competition and Zanchetti, creators of precious bags inspired by Shakespearean characters; young Roman designer Caterina Gatta, who transforms vintage fabrics by top fashion houses into unique, contemporary pieces; jewellery designer Lucia Odescalchi who morphs poor metals into fascinating statement pieces; Rosa Clandestino, which turns art into one-of-a-kind coats and dresses; and the edgy approach to couture of Rossorame.
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