Inside the Milan Fashion Week Runway Debuts of 3 Young Designers

MILAN — When fashion week approaches, the rush to secure tickets for the hottest shows in town begins. But along with witnessing the reveal of the latest efforts of established brands and buzzy designers, there are plenty of new talents to get to know.

This season, three designers who aren’t new to the Milan scene but stayed off the (fame) radar so far made their runway debuts: Francesco Murano, who was recently revealed to be one of the semifinalists of the 2025 LVMH Prize; Giuseppe di Morabito, whose namesake brand secured the financial backing of Style Capital in 2023, and Galib Gassanoff, who launched his solo project Institution after cofounding Act N.1 with Luca Lin in 2016 and exiting the brand in 2023.

They displayed three different takes on femininity and show staging. Here’s how their debuts went:

Francesco Murano

February was a milestone month for Francesco Murano.

The young Milan-based talent was revealed as one of the 18 semifinalists of this year’s LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers with a collection that he brought to the runway, his first, a few weeks later, during Milan Fashion Week.

Backstage before the show, Murano was visibly energized, but never bragging, about his accomplishments, which have also included celebrity endorsements, including that of Beyoncé back in 2020 when the designer was fresh out of school.

The fall collection was unveiled in the spare spaces of Fondazione Sozzani in Milan, its concrete, raw and white box décor allowing the audience to focus solely on the precision of Murano’s creations, drapey and voluptuous — his blueprint — when it came to evening wear, sharp and sleek in tailoring.

Their juxtaposition explored the idea of balance, as in the universal experience of finding one’s center amid clashing forces and in sync with the sculptural technique of the chiasmus championed by Polykleitos in Ancient Greece, one of Murano’s ongoing inspirations.

The use of bias cuts and draping enhanced movement on sheer and sinuous midi frocks wrapped on the body, mock-neck tops cascading on the torso and dramatic strapless jumpsuits with carrot pants and voluminous tops. Some of the models carried a steel sphere in their hands, a poetic nod to the seasonal theme. The drapey creations were juxtaposed with sleek tailoring including a leather suit cinched at the waist, corset-like, and a woolen version with squarish shoulders.

Giuseppe Di Morabito

Di Morabito didn’t hold back. For his first show he had Amelia Gray as the opening model and Ameca as guest star. Who’s Ameca? Only the most advanced humanoid robot in the world, which interacted with the cast during the show, providing one of the buzziest social media contents of the week.

In Di Morabito’s vision, Ameca is not just a gimmick but his alter ego — a solitary thinker, observing the world as chaos unfolds. As a designer, he said he’s tried to do the same, turning disorder into creation after recently experiencing a life-changing event.

But the human-tech duality was not the only one that caught one’s attention at the show. The collection itself explored the tension between strength and fragility by playing with armor-like metal shields and fluid draping, cocooning furry textures and glitzy numbers. These are sure to extend the list of celebrities who wear the brand and who already include the likes of Selena Gomez, Sabrina Carpenter, Kylie Jenner and FKA Twigs.

Even in its nods to mannish tailoring, the lineup exuded unapologetic seductiveness and glam with all its lingerie references, sculptural corsetry, and the 17^th and 18^th century-echoing crinolines. These were flanked by the sheer texture of laced pieces and the sensual draping of leather separates and the in-your-face crystal dresses the Istituto Marangoni graduate rounded off his lineup with.

Institution by Galib Gassanoff

Galib Gassanoff moved in a completely opposite direction, chasing not the glitz nor virality — just pure craftsmanship.

In a (too) slow-paced show staged in the lavish Bagatti Valsecchi museum, the designer celebrated his roots. Born in Azerbaijan but growing up on the outskirts of Tbilisi, in Georgia, Gassanoff conceived Institution as a space for personal self-expression but also as a socio-artistic organization. To be sure, his ultimate goal is to expand the project to include motion art, music, activism, collaborations and, most of all, safeguarding his country’s crafts at risk of being lost, supporting the generational handover by involving local communities of women in the making of his collections.

The local weaving technique and handmade approach are key elements of the brand, which Gassanoff launched last year and so far displayed via niche presentations.

His runway debut built on his fascination with shoelaces, one of Institution’s building blocks, which he deployed to create fringed halterneck tops or ankle-long skirts. He hand-wove them using a technique reprised from his country’s carpet-making tradition to beautifully sculpt bustiers, full skirts and the final military-green gown. 

In keeping with his borderline-couture approach, he covered other standout numbers in frayed textures, as seen in a sculpted white dress and a charming ball skirt that was paired with a simple black turtleneck for maximum impact. 

Mainly using deadstock fabrics recovered from the manufacturing process of big fashion brands, Gassanoff could also count on the support of Lineapelle to introduce some leather pieces in the range. The other main textural element was offered by checkered fabrics he turned into jackets and skirts.  

“Growing up in my little rural town, we didn’t have access to glossy magazines or fashion books. My references have been carpets, and the shawls and blankets my grandma used to cover herself with,” said the designer.