From the A of Armani to the Z of Zegna: from 18 to 19 May the secret places of Italian fashion open their doors to the public
Ateliers, high craftsmanship laboratories, historic buildings and even some production sites: Apritimoda – Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 May – is a unique opportunity to discover the hidden places, often inaccessible to the most important fashion studios, symbol of the identity of the Made in Italy. After the success of the first in Milan in 2017 and the second in Florence in 2018, the third edition returns this year in the Lombard capital, even though some fashion houses have also organized an out-of-town trip to visit factories and operational headquarters of the group .There are twelve companies that open their doors to the public and organize a special welcome for the event, conceived by Cinzia Sasso. And, among other things, the involvement of Milanese school fashion students is very interesting: in fact, over 300 young people have joined the project, through the Fashion Training System Platform, to become the official guides of the event. We see in detail the program of the two days, maison for maison:
ALBERTA FERRETTI opens the doors of Palazzo Donizetti, located in the historic center of Milan, where the showrooms and communication office of Alberta Ferretti and some of the brands of the Aeffe Group are located. The halls of the noble floor, which have often been the setting for fashion shows, will be set up with a selection of evening dresses and a room will be reserved for the latest “Love Me” collection, created to stimulate reflection on the urgency that has assumed the global ecological problem.
Palazzo Donizetti, via Donizetti 48 – Guided tour with free admission Saturday 18 May from 11 to 19
AGNONA, the Milanese headquarters is located in Via Tortona 37, in what was the closest industrial district to the city center, home to large steelworks and mechanical and transformed by the architect Matteo Thun into a multifunctional complex. In these spaces a museum part will be recreated to tell the brand from its inception to today and an interactive part to show the fabric processing up to the finished product with a display of iconic garments.
Agnona, via Tortona 37 – Interactive guided tour with free admission Saturday 18 May and Sunday 19 May from 11 to 19
ANTONIO MARRAS opens the headquarters of the Circolo Marras, born on the ashes of a mechanical workshop not far from the former Ansaldo, where inside at number 8 of via Cola di Rienzo there is also an incredible garden. A real explosion of trees, flowers, colors, lights, ceramics and old and precious furniture. Upon reservation, it will be possible to create, with the materials made available, a very personal t-shirt at the Antonio Marras, which may be purchased by the workshop participants. Circolo Marras, via Cola di Rienzo 8 – Guided tour with free admission to the workshop on Saturday 18th May and Sunday, May 19 from 11am to 7pm. Workshop on reservation with 10 people per shift Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19, 11-14-17
BRUNELLO CUCINELLI, the fashion house specializing in cashmere and founded by the Umbrian entrepreneur of the same name, will open the doors of the spaces in via Montello 16, the historical Milanese headquarters of the brand, where, thanks to the use of natural materials such as wood, ceramics and original Umbrian artefacts, in an old Milan style courtyard, one breathes the atmosphere of Solomeo, the medieval village at doors of Perugia, completely restored in a path that has been over 30 years long by Brunello Cucinelli as the center and realization of an ethical and humanist idea of work.Brunello Cucinelli, v iale Montello 16 – Free admission visit on Saturday 18 May and Sunday 19 May from 11 to 19
CURIEL the historic haute-couture maison will open to the public with free admission visits the atelier in via Montenapoleone 13 in the heart of the fashion district in a nineteenth-century building . The multifaceted space houses two main salons and a tailor’s workshop where the clothes and the paper archive are kept, as well as the offices of Raffaella and Gigliola Curiel. The renovations have brought to light, under an old boiserie, magnificent frescoes.
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Curiel, via Montenapoleone 13 – Free guided tour on Saturday 18 May and Sunday 19 May from 11 to 18
ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA: meeting on Saturday 18 May in Via Savona 56, headquarters of the Milan headquarters to start discovering the place where Zegna was born and produces: the Trivero factory, near Biella. Travel by bus, visit to the factory, visit to the Zegna home and to the exhibition of Michelangelo and Ettore Pistoletto, then dive in the Oasi Zegna and lunch with local specialties, all organized exclusively for this special occasion.
Ermenegildo Zegna, via Savona 56 for meeting – Visit to Ermenegildo Zegna’s headquarters in Trivero (BI) on Saturday 18 May with bus departure at 9 am and return to Milan scheduled for 5 pm. The bus has a maximum capacity of 50 seats . A reservation is required for the visit and a contribution of 20 euros.
FOUNDATION GIANFRANCO FERRÉ opens its headquarters in the Tortona area, inside the former industrial area completely redesigned by Matteo Thun and then transformed into a complex of five buildings, in the heart of Milan of creativity. Within the headquarters of the Gianfranco Ferré Foundation, established in 2008, through free access guided tours it will be possible to view the creative and cultural heritage built over the years by the stylist Gianfranco Ferré. A journey through original drawings, personal and ethnic objects collected during his travels and an iconic selection of clothes that have made the history of the fashion house.
Gianfranco Ferré Foundation, via Tortona 37 – Free guided tour on Saturday 18 May and Sunday 19 May from 11 to 18 with the volunteers of Apritimoda and Fai.
GIORGIO ARMANI will open the doors of the Armani / Teatro in via Bergognone 59, the space designed by architect Tadao Ando. On this occasion, some precious clothes worn by great actresses will be exhibited in the theater, including Sharon Stone, Jodie Foster and Angelina Jolie, and belonging to the ‘Stars’ permanent section of the Armani / Silos. Inside the space will also be screened the video of the Giorgio Armani fashion show for the coming autumn winter.Giorgio Armani, via Bergognone 59 – Guided tour with free admission Saturday 18 May and Sunday 19 May from 11 to 18
HERNO The appointment is on the way Solari 37 in the post-industrial building where the company has its Milanese headquarters. From here, you will reach Lesa, the village of Lake Maggiore which houses the historic headquarters of the company: a factory with a classic nineteenth-century structure, framed within a new entrance that integrates the factory with the use of wood, stone and vertical greenery in the surrounding environment. Inside you will be able to see the most modern machinery and a collection of works of art, together with the old boards of the cutting room.
Opera by Lee Jaeyho
Herno, via Solari 37 – Guided tour of the Lesa (NO) site on Saturday 18 May and Sunday 19 May with departure by bus at 9.30am and 3.00pm and return to Milan at 2.30pm and 7.30pm. The bus has a maximum capacity of 50 seats. Booking is required for the visit.
THEATERS OF THE SCALA THEATER will open the spaces in Via Bergognone 34 where the work of those who deal with every aspect behind the theater scene, away from the spotlight, costume designers, set designers, will be exceptionally revealed to the public. carpenters and sculptors: an enormous cultural heritage that from 1911 to today is composed of 60 000 costumes, belonging on average to 280 set-ups. Workshops at the Scala Theater, via Bergognone 34 – Guided tour with free admission with the volunteers of Apritimoda and Fai Saturday 18 May and Sunday 19 May from 11 to 17
MONCLER opens its headquarters in Milan in via Solari 33, offering visitors the opportunity to visit the place where everything originates. Here lies the nucleus where the creativity of the brand takes life and where its uniqueness is spread all over the world through a product, the down jacket, which over the years has become an icon in its many forms and variations.
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Moncler, via Solari 33 – Guided tours by appointment Saturday 18 May
PRADA will open the doors of the Milan headquarters, a complex of former industrial buildings that extends over 10,000 square meters between Via Bergamo and Via Fogazzaro. For the occasion, Prada proposes the Prada Invites project – a series of collaborations with architects and designers on the iconic nylon universe – with an original set-up in the multi-functional space open to different communication languages, venue for fashion shows and other Group events Prada. The visit also includes a 3D virtual reality experience linked to the Prada Invites.Prada initiative, via Bergamo 21 – Guided tour with free admission Saturday 18 May
TRUSSARDI will open Trussardi alla Scala, a nineteenth-century palace on the corner of the square and in front of the Theater , transformed into a multi-purpose space that houses the flagship store, the Café & the Restaurant and the showrooms. The fifth floor will be set up with materials from the Archive + Now project. A contemporary look at the history of the brand where the archival items, the most iconographic images, the lifestyle products come to life through images and videos made by some of the most interesting and young Italian creative realities.Trussardi, Piazza della Scala 5 – Guided tour free admission subject to availability on Saturday 18 May and Sunday 19 May from 11 to 18
VERSACE In via Gesù, the most discreet and elegant of the streets of the Quadrilateral, in a suggestive noble palace the studio-house where Gianni Versace lived will be open to the visit. he worked. Here, in the ancient halls with stucco on the ceiling and in the garden characterized by the iconic mosaic of the Bourbon, you can feel the soul of the iconic brand of Medusa.Versace, via Gesù 12 – Guided tours by appointment on Saturday 18 May and Sunday 19 May
GRASSO RICAMI opens the artisan workshop where precious embroideries are born for the clothes of the most important brands of high fashion. You will be able to visit the laboratory and the archive where it will be possible to understand how the art of embroidery was born, able to transform Swarovski crystals, corals, sequins, wood, plastic, seeds, terracotta into unique and precious decorations. Pine Grasso Embroidery, via Simone d’Orsenigo 25 – 27 – Free guided tours but with reservation only on Saturday 18 May from 10 to 18. Groups time: 10-12-14-16. The event is organized under the patronage of the Ministry for Goods and Activities Cultural (MIBAC), of the Municipality of Milan, of Confcommercio Milan, of the Altagamma Foundation, of the FAI – Fondo Ambiente Italiano and of Confindustria Moda, support of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion, of the Cologni Foundation of the Craft Professions and the collaboration of the Fashion Training System Platform.
