B ICONIC Closes Its Third Edition at Milan Fashion Week: Business, Emerging Talent, and Social Impact at Officine del Volo
B ICONIC closed its third edition on 25 and 26 September 2026 at Officine del Volo in Milan, during Milan Fashion Week, strengthening its model as a platform for business, networking, image, and concrete opportunities for brands. Staged in a venue where the charm of industrial archaeology meets contemporary design, the two days brought runway shows, art, commerce, and social commitment together under one roof.
Conceived by Giulio Di Sabato, Simone Ruggeri, and Mitch Mihic and produced by Caremoli & Ruggeri, the event marked a significant evolution with the debut of the Pop-up Store & Temporary Showroom, created in collaboration with Best Showroom.
From Runway to Sales Floor: The Pop-up Store & Temporary Showroom
The new format added a commercial dimension to the collection presentation, including buyer meetings, direct sales, and order-taking. It also opened the event up to retail, with names such as Matteo Sorbellini and the Korean skincare brand Ongju.
Producer Simone Ruggeri explained that, for the first time, the event had brought buyers, fashion professionals, and the designers involved in the project together, something others have done before, he noted, but in a very different way. The Pop-up Store, he said, took the event from 600 people in previous editions to 1,500 visitors a day, while giving the designers who showed on the runway the chance to sell. “For us it represents an important step forward,” Ruggeri said. “It means you don’t just show your collection: you also have the chance to meet the public directly, show it in detail, and, finally, sell it.”
In his words, B ICONIC does not want to be merely a showcase during fashion week: the aim is to allow designers who have shown, and not only them, to engage and sell by meeting the press and the public directly.
An International Line-up and the Italy-China Dialogue
A strong international outlook and a focus on scouting were central to the edition, with designers including Kimooncho, Li Yuntao, Drycri, Sul Young Hee, Par. lune, Ludovica Milano, Golden Rabbit, Pelliot, Met Jeans, and Massimo Sabbadin. This was reinforced by the partnership with Fondazione Italia Cina and by the Future Moda project, dedicated to dialogue between Italy and China for young talent, within which Li Yuntao was selected by B ICONIC and the Foundation.
Opening Doors to the Next Generation
Great attention was paid to new generations through the B ICONIC Emerging Talent Program presented by Fondazione Fiera Milano, which allowed three talents from Marangoni, IED, and IUAD to show free of charge, with professional production and meetings with buyers and the press.
“The whole event revolves around young people,” said co-founder Giulio Di Sabato. “We offer them concrete support, standing beside them not only during the show but throughout their entire artistic growth. We guarantee them visibility and guide them through every stage, from the presentation of their collections to the final sale.”
Where Fashion Meets Art
The event confirmed its interdisciplinary vocation with a dialogue between fashion and art curated by Sofia Curci and with site-specific installations by Eros Gasparini, Jacopo Rumignani, Federico Politanò, and Alex Belli, the latter with the collection The Materials. Ruggeri also highlighted a Pop Art exhibition featuring young artists alongside some more established names, which he described as able to contribute both in terms of networking and in drawing global attention to fashion, a field that, as art and culture, brings together a link that was previously missing.
Fashion as a Vehicle for Social Change
B ICONIC reaffirmed its social commitment through Women for Women against Violence, its Official Social Impact Partner. Conceived by Donatella Gimigliano and promoted by Consorzio Umanitas, the organization is committed to fighting gender-based violence and preventing breast cancer. It brought Antonietta Tuccillo to the runway and promoted the Camomilla Fashion Award, crafted by master goldsmith Michele Affidato.
Tuccillo’s debut, with her Crochet Couture collection of one-of-a-kind, entirely handmade pieces, earned a standing ovation. Radio presenter Claudio Guerrini and Tania La Gatta, an ambassador for Women for Women, hosted the occasion and wore the “Abito Camomilla,” a dress made by Tuccillo and inspired by the flower that symbolizes the event.
“We firmly believe in social responsibility,” said Di Sabato, “and we want fashion to be a concrete vehicle for raising awareness.”
The B ICONIC Award Jury
Professor Giovanni Bozzetti, President of Fondazione Fiera Milano, chaired the B ICONIC Awards jury, represented on the first day by Cavaliere del Lavoro Mario Boselli, President of Fondazione Italia Cina, along with Giulio Di Sabato. The jury comprised:
- Francesco Boggio Ferraris, Director of Academy and Marketing, Fondazione Italia Cina
- Giulio Di Sabato, co-founder of B ICONIC and President of Camera Italiana Showroom Moda Best Showroom
- Nicola Spadafora, President of Confapi Milano
- Maura Basili, President of Camera Buyer Italia Best Shops
- Jasmine Haffadi, entrepreneur, author, and founder of StoreFit
- Angelo Argento, President of Cultura Italiae and lecturer at Brera
- Gennaro Migliore, International Manager of Cultura Italiae
- Arturo Artom, engineer, entrepreneur, and founder of the Forum della Meritocrazia and the Cenacolo Artom
The Winners
B ICONIC Award. First place went to KIMOONCHO for a contemporary reinterpretation of Eastern aesthetics and the kimono, made entirely by hand by the designer using natural silk and signature prints produced in Como. Second place went to Antonietta Tuccillo, who transforms the art of crochet into unique handmade garments, born as a journey of strength and rebirth during her cancer treatment.
B ICONIC Emerging Talent Award presented by Fondazione Fiera Milano. The award went to Giovanni Alberto Acanfora of Istituto Marangoni for the collection L’Anello Mancante (The Missing Link), in which zips, buckles, hooks, and fastenings take center stage in the construction, with oversized silhouettes and materials such as crinkled leather, washed denim, ripstop, and metallic surfaces. The program also featured Sofia Licari of IED and Benedetta Panuccio of Accademia IUAD Milano.
B ICONIC Award for Art. The award was conferred on Marzia Ratti, a visual and conceptual artist active since 2001, whose research interweaves installation, painting, matter, and light with science, bioethics, and psychology, exploring themes of identity and consciousness.
B ICONIC Award for Excellence in Vision & Leadership. Conferred unanimously by the Board of Directors and presented by Professor Bozzetti, the award went to Maura Basili for her contribution to the development of independent retail and to the promotion of Made in Italy.
B ICONIC Award Excellence in Couture & Cultural Heritage. Presented by Jasmine Haffadi, the award went to Korean designer Sul Young Hee for more than forty years of dedication to haute couture, transforming Korean tradition into a contemporary language.
B ICONIC Camomilla Fashion Award. Two recipients were honored. Maria Elena Viola, Editor of Donna Moderna, was recognized for her journalistic commitment to rights, gender-based violence, and women’s health, with the award presented by Ludmilla Voronkina Bozzetti, patron of Women for Women against Violence. Leo Mel was recognized for the courage to defend his sister and family, choosing justice without responding with violence, with the award presented by Nicolò Maja.
Partners and Patronage
The edition was made possible thanks to the support of Zurich Bank, Fondazione Italia Cina, Fondazione Fiera Milano, Revlon Professional, MKS, IUAD, Level Up Motorsport, Ratti Group – Artisans at Work, Novaretail, and McLaren Milano.
Under the patronage of the Equality Adviser of the Lombardy Region (Consigliera di Parità della Regione Lombardia), LILT, Confcommercio, Best Showroom, Confapi, and Fnar.
