Maria Calderara Channels Piero Manzoni at Milan Fashion Week 2024

Italian designer Maria Calderara presented her Spring/Summer 2025 collection #TOUCH at Milan Fashion Week 2024, inspired by the late conceptual artist Piero Manzoni (1933–1963). The collection, developed in collaboration with the Fondazione Piero Manzoni, translates Manzoni's radical artistic philosophy—summed up in his 1960 statement 'There is nothing to say: there is only to be, only to live'—into garments and jewelry. Highlights include an Achrome-inspired parachute-canvas dress with crisp creases and a shirt with white-on-white polystyrene appliqués, echoing Manzoni's monochrome, colorless surfaces. Fingerprint motifs, hand-stamped on fabrics and bijoux, reference Manzoni's 1960 performance 'Consumption of Art,' where he stamped hard-boiled eggs with his thumbprint. An accompanying exhibition at SPAZIO Maria Calderara in Milan pairs the collection with original works by Manzoni, creating an immersive dialogue. Calderara, who previously collaborated with artists Antonio Scaccabarozzi and Eugenio Tibaldi, described the project as initially 'impossible' but realized through close work with Fondazione director Rosalia Pasqualino di Marineo. The collection emphasizes artisanal craftsmanship and unique, unrepeatable pieces, mirroring the irreproducibility of art.