«I don't consider myself a designer, nor have I ever claimed to be one. I'm not a stylist or a creative, I don't think I am any of that»: this response alone might deepen our understanding of Luca Santeramo, the founder of Fivefourfive (545). Among the Italian emerging brands, it is the one that has most effectively made the complex transition from "creator-brand" to an actual brand, or, in Sante's words, «a lifestyle, because beyond selling a product, I want to sell an ecosystem of things, not just a T-shirt but the idea of belonging to a family». The 545 family is quite large, as evidenced by the achievements in just a few years or by the response seen observing the multitude of young people wearing the brand's College Jacket on the downtown streets of big cities on Saturday afternoons. The same family that camps out during gatherings or outside pop-ups, a tangible emblem of the importance of community in contemporary fashion, the greatest legacy of streetwear culture for the entire industry.

«I have always tried to project a certain image of myself. I have never promoted smoking or alcohol, and I tend to avoid swearing... small things that have made the 2000 people camped from 8 PM the day before the opening of our Milan pop-up to always be orderly and composed. It is the desire to communicate a sort of “behavioral code”, because those who buy clothing are also buying a story», Sante says, who has built his entire image around the idea of education and the transmission of positive values. There is no trace of the desire for rebellion seen in Corteiz, nor the pirate spirit of early Supreme or the naive spirit of Nude Projects (the only brand with which 545 has collaborated to date). There are people who recognize themselves in the lifestyle promoted by a 27-year-old Italian guy who makes normality his strength, as much as he shuns the classic fashion clichés, as well as the canonical idea of a brand: «I created a reality that never had big money or investments behind it. I started with a budget for 100 caps and 100 T-shirts and then everything evolved quickly, without me even noticing. Now we are considering opening a physical space, a meeting place for the community. Not a place where you go to buy a T-shirt and go home».

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

FUORIMODA REVIEWS – The first online platform to review fashion shows

The power of a community: interview with Luca Santeramo

Story of 545 and of an 'ordinary' boy