Istituto Secoli selects the new talents for Designers to Watch 2027 Hands and proportions at the heart of the eight designers' collections

The new edition of Designer to Watch was held at the Secoli Fashion Show 2026 — the project created by Istituto Secoli that since 2018 has been identifying and supporting the most promising talents among its graduates. Established with the goal of offering young designers concrete opportunities for visibility and growth, the programme selects the best thesis projects each year, transforming them into a creative and design development journey that culminates in the creation of a capsule collection.

For the 2027 edition, the selection was entrusted to a panel of experts comprising Sara Sozzani Maino, Sabato De Sarno, Simone Marchetti and Walter D'Aprile, alongside the Institute's internal committee. The evaluation identified eight new talents, who will now have one year to develop their capsule collections with the support and mentorship of Istituto Secoli, ahead of the presentation of their work.

The selected talents

The eight Designer to Watch 2027 are Gaia Caminotto, Teresa De Giuli, Valentina Greco, Matilde Nasolini, Letizia Pozzi, Giulia Vitolo, Jack Peian Zhan and Yanyan Zou. Eight different creative journeys, united by the opportunity to transform the research developed during their studies into a structured and personal collection project.

Like the designers from the previous edition — Andrea Bartoletti, Anna Mignolli, Cinzia Carecchio, Edoardo Fabbri, Lorenzo Erbetta, Maria Scaglione, Patricia Gorbatovschi and Valeria Rongaroli — the newly selected designers will also have the opportunity to present their capsule collections at the opening of the Secoli Fashion Show 2027 and Fashion Graduate Italia 2027.

The project also offers opportunities to take part in national and international contests and competitions, encouraging engagement with the fashion system and broadening the visibility of young designers. A journey that has already yielded tangible results in the 2026 edition: Lorenzo Erbetta was a finalist at Milano Moda Graduate 2026, the competition promoted by Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, while Anna Mignolli was a finalist at Mittelmoda 2026, where she won the Menswear & Womenswear Award.

Hands and proportions

The relationship between body, form and construction was a defining feature of the projects presented by the Designer to Watch 2026, who took centre stage at this year's shows. Among the elements that emerged, the exploration of hands and proportions stood out as a central component of the design research, with volumes, balances, tensions and constructions that demonstrated how fashion cannot exist without a deep understanding of form.

The photographs and projects featured in this section relate to the previous edition's selection, which was entrusted to a panel comprising Elisa Pervinca Bellini, Fashion News Director & Sustainability Editor at Vogue Italia, and Tobias Bayer, Chief Correspondent International at TextilWirtschaft, alongside the Institute's internal committee, coordinated by Academic Director Enrico Leonardo Fagone.

The Designer to Watch journey finds in the presentation of the capsule collections two important opportunities for engagement with the industry: the Secoli Fashion Show, Istituto Secoli's annual runway event dedicated to the collections of students and selected designers, and Fashion Graduate Italia, the event promoted by Piattaforma Sistema Formativo Moda ETS that brings together Italy's leading schools and academies through runway shows, exhibitions, talks and workshops.

At a time when creativity risks being increasingly equated with image-making and digital communication, the project reaffirms the importance of research, craftsmanship, the use of hands and pattern-making. A journey that accompanies young designers beyond their training, equipping them with the tools to engage with the complexity of the fashion system and build their own professional identity.