As many Italian houses are stuck in their own past, founders Simone Rizzo and Loris Messina question reality with dashes of novelty.
What does form and function have in common? Accessibility and commercial viability, for starters, are both featured prominently in Sunnei’s new autumn-winter 2025 collection.
Founders Simone Rizzo and Loris Messina have established a cosy, tongue-in-cheek aesthetic that lots of women can relate to, but for Fall they were fashioning slightly more androgynous lines—namely the billowing toppers in bright tints.
Don’t expect skin-tight numbers or staples that hug the body, though. “It’s really hard to talk about a specific season at Sunnei, just because we really develop collections all year long, so it’s a path more than anything seasonal,” opined the founders in an interview post-show.
“Our brand is more about developing and improving the Sunnei aesthetic in general, because the thing is that our creative process is not only focused on design. It’s more about the idea that comes in our minds season after season.”
Fall was all about a creative formula that you can buy into, or that you can walk away from—the show opened with models holding the label’s shoppers and strutting with dynamic pacing, toying with the concept of materialisation.
“I think this season is centred on what’s happening right now, as everyone wants and needs to sell, you know?” Rizzo exclaimed. “The system is not really good at the moment, and that’s why we wanted to put a shop right beside the runway, in order to describe what’s happening in the world from a retail perspective.”
This season, it was all about mixing textures and volumes that didn’t feel too crafty. Baggy pants were crafted with tucks rendered in neutral shades; soft tailoring was emphasised with equally fuss-free cuts and toppers looked crisp, but felt a bit raw thanks to unravelling edges.
With signature styles that are so established and commercially successful, the big question from this Fall onward is how to move forward without losing a dedicated clientele. Less experienced designers wouldn’t have thought to sew together these see-now-buy-soon concepts, and such thinking will trustfully extend the label’s sales to flourishing grounds.
by Chidozie Obasi