Fashionlands – Clothes Beyond Borders
This international exhibition explores fashion's role in transcending traditional boundaries.
Curated by Olivier Saillard and Emanuele Coccia
Thursday 27 March 2025 — Sunday 4 January 2026
The exhibition Fashionlands – Clothes Beyond Borders challenges traditional notions of fashion, revealing its shifting boundaries and examining its impact on culture and society. It is curated by Olivier Saillard, one of the world’s foremost fashion historians, and Emanuele Coccia, a philosopher and author, on their second collaboration for ITS Arcademy.
On the left side of the gallery, discover pieces from the ITS Arcademy Collection — a celebration of two decades of creativity. These works, created by 23 talented emerging designers from all over the world, redefine the limits of clothing design through their poetic, imaginative and daring visions.
Across from them, Gabriele Rosati’s photography series captures the enduring essence of everyday wear. Simple, timeless garments like white shirts, black suits, jeans, and t-shirts have remained largely unchanged for decades, resisting the rapid turnover of seasonal trends. These images explore the archeology of ordinary attire, offering a stark contrast to the experimental and extraordinary pieces on display.
By juxtaposing these two perspectives — utopian creations and the universal language of everyday garments — Fashionlands – Clothes Beyond Borders invites visitors to reflect on the fluidity of fashion’s borders and to rethink what defines style itself, and what we say through our clothes.
On display works by: Mert Serbest (Turkish), Mata Durikovic (Slovak), Tatjana Haupt (German), Yudai & Anna Tanaka (Japanese), Eva Heugenhauser (Austrian), Asato Kitamura (Japanese), Adam Elyassé (British), Mohammed El Marnissi (Belgian), Olivia Rubens (Canadian), Eda Sriprom (Thai), Flora Miranda (Austrian), Rafael Kouto (Swiss), Sara Michal Workeneh (Israeli), Jimin Kim (South Korean), Ek Thongprasert (Thai), Triinu Pungits (Estonian), Tomohiro Shibuki (Japanese), Justin Smith (British), Ruby Mellish (British), Clara Chu (Portugal), Bingqing Yi (Chinese), Anna Gammelgaard (Danish), Corrina Goutos (American).
About the Curators
Olivier Saillard
Curator and Fashion Historian
Olivier Saillard, an art historian and one of the world’s foremost fashion curators, directs the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation and previously led Palais Galliera in Paris. His exhibitions and shows redefine convention, offering a fresh perspective on design while bridging the gap between fashion and artistic performance.
He wrote several books and curated major exhibitions, such as “Yohji Yamamoto. Juste des vêtements” and “Christian Lacroix. Histoire de vêtements” at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs; “Azzedine Alaïa” and “Jeanne Lanvin” at the Palais Galliera; “Madame Grès. La couture à l'œuvre,” and “Balenciaga, l'œuvre au noir" at the Musée Bourdelle; and more recently, “Le musée éphémère de la mode” at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence.
Emanuele Coccia
Philosopher
Emanuele Coccia is the author of The Life of Plants (2018), Metamorphosis (2021) and Philosophy of the Home (2024). He recently published a photo-theory book with Dutch photographer Viviane Sassen (Modern Alchemy 2022), a philosophical epistolary on light with photographer Paolo Roversi (Lettres sur la lumières, 2024) and a book on the relationship between fashion and philosophy with Valentino's creative director Alessandro Michele (The Life of forms. Philosophy or Re-enchantment, 2024).
Together with Olivier Saillard he curated the exhibition "The Many Lives of a Garment" at ITS Arcademy, and together with Yuko Hasegawa an exhibition on Art and Ecology (Dancing with All) at the Museum for 21st Century in Kanazawa (Japan). He is currently developing (once again with Olivier Saillard) the next exhibition at ITS Arcademy that will open in March 2025.
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