Pierpaolo Piccioli is firmly committed to supporting a new wave of Italian designer who shares his values and beliefs. In the second season, he used his Instagram platform as a kind of megaphone, spreading fashion collections centered on social issues, helping newcomers expand their reach and get their message across to a wider audience.
Photo: Courtesy of Act N.1
Photo: Courtesy of Bill N.1
Marco Rambaldi’s collection hit Valentino’s Instagram stage last season; Piccioli put Act N.1’s Galib Gassanoff and Luca Lin under his wing in the spring. They were “very honoured” to have him show their work, they said backstage before the show.
Gasanov was born and raised in Georgia and later lived in Azerbaijan before coming to Italy; Lin’s parents are Chinese and he was in Born and raised in Italy. Their multicultural backgrounds are naturally intertwined in a creative practice that is visually convincing as it engages from a socially responsible perspective. A focus on women and human rights is at their core, drawn from first-hand experience of individual participation and social inequalities. In some traditional Azerbaijani communities and small villages in rural China, women are often forced into marriage at a very young age, which shapes a life of dependence and isolation. “My mother had to get married when she was fifteen and never had the chance to get an education,” Gasanov explained. That’s why a recurring theme in the Act N.1 collection is bridal gowns with delicate ruffled tulle, which are deconstructed and rebuilt as hybrids, or into protective theatrical structures reminiscent of armor, Piccioli believes “Impressive and powerful, it’s an excessive gesture that stems from the authenticity of personal experience.”
