Maze Festival: Torino's First Street Culture Event

Torino will host its first street culture festival, Maze, from September 8 to 11, 2017, spanning hip hop, street dance, breakdance, skateboarding, street basketball, street art, and street photography. The event aims to explore street culture's roots before commercialization, according to organizer Jennifer Caodaglio of Multiethnic Media, an intercultural association founded in Torino in 2007. It is produced in collaboration with STUDIO2fashion Events, a fashion industry veteran of nearly 30 years. Caodaglio, a hip hop dancer and teacher, chose Torino for its street culture history. The festival's heart will be at Piazzale Valdo Fusi, a historic skater hub, with additional venues at the former Borsa Valori. Activities include sports contests, dance battles, live painting by local writers, and musical performances by Dutch Nazari. Fashion is a cross-cutting theme, with shows and participation from brands like Vans, Fila, Fred Perry, Kappa, Superga, K-Way, New Era, If Bags, Bad Deal, Dena lab, Nilox, and Overdrive. Cultural talks feature Domenico Romeo, street artist and creative director of Off White, in conversation with Mattia Ruffolo of I-D Vice Italia on streetwear evolution; a lecture by Franco Pagetti, war photographer and Vogue Italia fashion photographer, co-presented with Istituto Europeo di Design, on photography ethics in fashion; and a conversation with Carlo Rivetti, president of Stone Island, on contemporary fashion vision.