Fashion loves Venice: haute couture chooses the art, craftsmanship, nature, and history of Venice to create unique fashion shows in the lagoon, as Venice becomes the World Capital of Sustainability.
Enlivened by the spirit of major events such as the Venice Biennale, the foundation of Venice as the World Capital of Sustainability, and the G20 Finance, high fashion arrives in the lagoon. Saint Laurent, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana, Alberta Ferretti, and Rick Owens are showing in Venice, inspired by its craftsmanship, art, and the vision of the future that the city represents.
Venice’s Fashion Summer
Leading the way is American designer Rick Owens, described as the “champion of brutal chic,” with a fashion show on the beach of the Hotel Excelsior at the Venice Lido. That same evening, in the hotel’s Sala degli Stucchi, the Fine Craftsmanship Club, the summer edition of Venice Fashion Week, kicks off.
Saint Laurent with Doug Aitken
On July 14 on the island of Certosa, the French fashion house Saint Laurent presents the Spring Summer 2022 Men’s collection with an unforgettable show designed to touch the hearts of millions online. Creative director Anthony Vaccarello chose contemporary art to speak about Venice and the environment, commissioning the great artist Doug Aitken for a site-specific project: Green Lens is a massive kaleidoscope of mirrors that dialogues with the island, nature, water, and the sky.
The most Instagrammable work of art in recent times can be visited every day until the end of July from 10 AM to 10 PM, thanks in part to a free shuttle service from San Marco.
Valentino Des Ateliers with La Biennale
On Thursday, July 15, Pierpaolo Piccioli presents the Valentino Des Ateliers Haute Couture Fall Winter 2021-22 collection in Venice within the incredible spaces of the Gaggiandre. Built at the end of the 16th century and attributed to Jacopo Sansovino, these aquatic spaces for sheltering Venetian galleys are part of the Venice Biennale exhibition route and now host The Listener, a tree by artist Giuseppe Penone, a work dedicated to generous listening in response to the question from the Architecture Biennale curator Hashim Sarkis: “How will we live together?”
“I challenged myself to orchestrate a symphony of different souls, minds, and creative inputs. And all these energies brought my vision to Venice. This city authentically and spontaneously generates vibrations concerning art, music, architecture, cinema, and everything related to creativity.”
The show will be available via live stream starting at 7:30 PM on the Valentino.com website, on Instagram, and on L’Officiel Italia.
Venice Fashion Week Presents Venice’s Fine Craftsmanship
On Friday, July 16, at 6:30 PM, the first of two Venice Fashion Week shows at the Hotel Excelsior on the Venice Lido presents historic names in Venetian tailoring alongside young designers, blending sustainability and fine craftsmanship.
The new artisanal luxury takes the stage in the Sala degli Stucchi of the Hotel Excelsior, where the talent and mastery of seven Venetian artisan brands tell the story of Venice in a show of tailored garments, painted silks and velvets, lace and jewelry, precious accessories, and unique pieces.
An important opportunity to discover in person: Franco Puppato, the Venetian tailor celebrated by Arbiter as the best tailor in Italy; the French and Venetian artist Hélène Kuhn Ferruzzi, who creates mermaid dresses painted like canvases; Micromega, the inventors of titanium eyewear weighing less than a gram; Salvadori Diamond Atelier, a jewelry brand dedicated to Venice created by designer Marzia Pendini; Norma Marzà with her brand Teo d’Amar, featuring beach towels, kimonos, bags, and accessories; Fritz Unützer, a brand of handmade footwear from the Riviera del Brenta with a workshop in Campo Santa Margherita in Venice; and BVL Venezia, Giulia Bevilacqua’s brand that connects the centuries-old history of her family’s weaving mill, Tessitura Bevilacqua, with contemporary and innovative design.
The second Venice Fashion Week show will be on Thursday, July 29, also at the Hotel Excelsior. The soundscape for both evenings is curated by Enrico Coniglio, a Venetian composer and sound artist. The make-up is by Crisam Make-up Academy. The shows are broadcast digitally on the Instagram channels of @veneziadavivere and @venicefashionweek.
Dolce Gabbana Collaborates with Venice’s Artisans
The Dolce Gabbana event from August 28 to 30 pays tribute to Venice’s artistic heritage and manufacturing, presenting the Alta Moda, Alta Sartoria, Alta Gioielleria, Alta Orologeria collections, and the new Casa project in Piazza San Marco and various other Venetian locations.
Venice was a fundamental stop on the Grand Tour of Italy taken by artists and intellectuals. Dolce Gabbana are bringing a collection dedicated to Venice to the lagoon, along with collections featuring collaborations with many Venetian artisans.
Alberta Ferretti Chooses Venetian Museums
During the Film Festival, on September 4, Alberta Ferretti is creating an event celebrating Venice’s 1600th anniversary in collaboration with the Fondazione Musei Civici.
Venice: A Creative Hub for the World
As early as 2010, Karl Lagerfeld with Maison Chanel believed in fashion shows in Venice and presented the Chanel Cruise 2010 collection.
The next Art Biennale, from April 23 to November 27, 2022, will be led by one of the most influential women in the art world, Cecilia Alemani, with the theme The Milk of Dreams. Institutions, companies, creatives from around the world, and artists of the caliber of Anish Kapoor—who is restoring Palazzo Manfrin for his Foundation—have chosen to contribute to the life of Venice, sometimes even moving here. Venice’s Renaissance has just begun, stay tuned!
This article is by Lucia Pecoraro with Laura Scarpa.
Photographs of YSL, Valentino, and Dolce Gabbana are courtesy of the fashion houses; photographs of the Venetian artisans are by Settimo Cannatella, Marta Formentello, Octavian Micleusanu, Igor Serdyukov, Rossana Viola, Andrea Antoni, Marco Paris, and Laura Scarpa for Venezia da Vivere.
