AFTER stints at Prada and Versace, emerging designer Filippo Cascinelli sets his stage with a clean slate that leans on functionality-driven clothes.
Some designers chase after cool; others are content to let the insiders come to them. And come they do to the Italian label of Filippo Cascinelli. Inspired, he said, by the eclectic region of Trentino-Alto Adige—nestled in Northern Italy—he looked to its flora and fauna to provide the premium motifs for his launch offerings, comprising technical patterns, boxy toppers and streamlined outerwear.

Filippo Cascinelli
“I started my fashion journey at Istituto Marangoni Milan,” opines Cascinelli. “Then just after that, before I even graduated, I entered the style office of Prada Uomo, and worked as an assistant to the design director of the men’s department.”
The design director gave him a great chance to explore and visit everything that was behind the house’s world, becoming his first experience after a brief stint in Versace’s product department. “I think it was one of the greatest roles I’ve had over the past three years,” he reflects. Like neologisms that are part of creativity’s conversation, all of these roles have shaped Cascinelli’s canon, informing his lineup’s strongest message: modularity.
“During the first year of Marangoni when you start venturing into the fashion world, one wants to go to every fashion show and event; so in my first year I went to Pitti Uomo as a guest, just to experience everything behind its world. And I knew that one day when I would eventually become a designer, I wanted to showcase at Pitti.”

Flower Carlo Blouson Deserto

Flower Federico Softshell Antracite

Federico Softshell Arancio
In July 2024, when Cascinelli was launching his eponymous brand, he had a strong willingness to attend the fair for his collection launch. “My vision came about when I was still in Marangoni, as I knew I wanted to create something for myself, but not so quickly,” he reminisces.
“I wanted to create something after I had the chance to experience a great company, a successful business and everything that sits behind these huge realms. I didn’t know at the time that it would be Prada: starting from the study of details and everything that comes behind the construction of a product, it was the greatest school I had to hone my craft, because I really understood what it means to create a product that’s commercially-savvy.”

Flower Vittorio Parka Offwhite

Franz Sahariana Silver
Perhaps the richest offering was a sportswear jacket with detachable collar and soft shoulders. But he also added clean trims to his repertoire, using them as a baseline to epitomise his take on minimalist function. “One can tell that my clothes are not so minimal, because of these huge flower decorations,” he opines. “But when it comes to the product itself, except for the motif, everything is so clean. Half of my pieces don’t even have stitches because we use a thermo-heated procedure, which makes everything so pure.”
The parts were all there and felt cohesive, but somehow they didn’t get to firm up into a firmly buzzy whole. One gets the sense that key design boxes were being ticked off. Perhaps, as the designer settles into this new ground, he’ll discover an unexpected je ne sais quoi that could mold his label’s DNA even further. Until then, Cascinelli’s launch collection will still be able to fill the same racks it’ll occupy in Paris and Milan, but it remains to be seen if it will fly off them.
by Chidozie Obasi