Music that includes: Festivals and cultural identities

There is a very specific reason why we associate festivals, concerts and various musical events with culture and collective identities, and this reason lies in the ability of art to attract heterogeneous people and groups of people, i.e. people who are different in many ways. If we put ourselves in the scientists' shoes and widened our view with a lens focused on each of the participants, the details of each protagonist would form a kind of kaleidoscope of personalities. And yet we would notice how each of our characters manages to feel connected to others, almost as if they were actual members of a community. And indeed they are, we are. But what makes such a level of connection and identification possible? Art, of course, but above all what art represents at its best: beauty.

Again, there is a precise reason why we can support this hypothesis: we experience the unifying power of beauty every day in our work, and every person who takes part in the life of the Group experiences the inspiring fascination of art, just as a music fan does when he hears his favourite melody.

In music, beauty has at least one other quality of unimaginable fascination: harmony. It is an attraction, it is a fascination, and it is such a natural experience that it is part of everyone's life.

There is a moment in Italy when this feeling of being a 'musical community' becomes particularly concrete and evident. It happens every year, more or less in the first half of February. I am referring to the Sanremo Festival, of course, but if you take a look at the rest of the world, you will find the same feeling at the Glastonbury Festival, the iconic music and performing arts festival that takes place in Pilton, England, every June.

And this leads us to add another element to our experiment: time. The two music festivals have more in common than you might think: they both have millions and millions of fans all over the world; they both make music a unifying and welcoming flag; they both tell the story of the present by becoming a symbol of what we live in our time, expressing values, trends, events that come from the world around us; and finally, they both last for a long time, a very long time in which, come what may, we find ourselves waiting for "that" moment of the year to experience beauty that is fascinating, unpredictable and harmonious at the same time.

Let us leave our scientific clothes for a moment and enter into our memories: how many of them are linked to a certain song, a certain artist, a certain melody. The feeling of connection that the beauty of art creates is also made up of affection, of unique circumstances that happen to each of us and that we wear like a dress that makes us feel more ourselves. Like a familiar sound.

Music knows this and reminds us of it every time. Music encounters us by breaking down every barrier, no matter where we are, no matter what language we speak, it will reach us in every possible way and we will always be ready to follow it.

But there is more.

Glastonbury, Sanremo, are experiences of beauty, but above all they are experiences of collective beauty, in which everyone speaks the same language. The identity that binds us to such an iconic moment is universal and creates bonds, turning everyone's diversity into a creative tool for unexpected encounters. Together, nuanced, because we belong. That's what we're trying to create and convey with what we work on and what we create every day. Fashion is our universal language, our instrument of beauty, where diversity becomes the key to each garment, and each collection is our attempt at harmony, our savoir-faire, our tribute to an asset as precious as music.

Music as an expression of beauty is part of our identity, even if we have chosen to express it in our own language. But we know that these are worlds made to meet, we see it all the time: when, during the Sanremo week, the outfits of the artists communicate with the lyrics of their songs, when they make small revolutions, inviting the listener to always look a little further.

The Music Festival stages have often been transformed into catwalks for international artists and designers who have wanted to combine their messages of inclusion and change with music, highlighting the link between fashion and art, between fashion and its ability to generate feelings and emotions, just like the music we love. The Ariston Theatre itself has often been the scene of unforgettable moments that, in some way, have marked the history of fashion as much as music. Among the most famous are the outfits worn by Anna Oxa, who over the years has amazed with her interpretation of femininity, or the outfits worn on stage by Achille Lauro, which have been considered real shows.

The year of Mäneskin's victory marked a small rock revolution for the Kermesse, also thanks to the outfits worn by the band, who sang about the impossibility of silencing art with bold and daring looks.

And when we go from the stage to our everyday life, we also choose a song with the same desire as we choose a dress: to tell us, to represent us, to transform us, to embody a moment or a feeling.

The fashion we love, like music, tells a story that is different and yet similar for each of us. A feature that is part of who we are, that leads us to affirm our work is fuelled by the same passion for art that leads a singer or musician to challenge themselves and their desires, to shout out their story, their identity. Our outfits, through our collections, express the path that has led us to consider ourselves today as a group in which each signature represents a nuance. Just as a song is made up of chords, verses and meaningful words, the life of our group is made up of diversity, talents, creativity and, above all, faces, each of which contributes to the creation of harmony. 

From Glastonbury to Sanremo, embracing a unifying cultural approach is our way of saying yes to art as an invitation to enjoy beauty together.