The First Exhibition
18 April 2023 — 4 February 2024
An extraordinary opportunity to explore rare early creations by some of the most talented fashion, accessory and jewellery designers of the last two decades.
The First Exhibition - 20 Years of Contemporary Fashion Evolution is a journey into the untold history of contemporary fashion over the past two decades and a glimpse into our future. Guest curator is Olivier Saillard, renowned fashion historian and former Director of the Palais Galliera in Paris.
ITS Arcademy's inaugural exhibition explores the early creative genius of some of the most exciting fashion, accessories and jewellery designers on the international scene, many of which are now well known within the industry - like Balenciaga's Demna, Bottega Veneta's Matthieu Blazy or trailblazer Richard Quinn, - recipient of the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Award for Design.
The rarity and artistic value of the artworks on display derive from the fact that these creations - gathered in the course of two decades by Barbara Franchin through international talent competition ITS Contest - offer a glimpse into creative beginnings, pre-dating commercial activity. Presented in the crates that usually transport and protect fragile travelling art from one exhibition to another, they are raw, unbridled and charged with creative energy, a representation of the Art that Fashion constitutes a legitimate part of.
The exhibition is organised into six sections, each representing a universal artistic theme or current that transcends the designs' geographical origin of or year of creation: Expressionists, Neo Futurists, Lyrical Abstractions, Art Brut, Free Figuration, and Self-Portrait.
