Sunnei Founders Sell Themselves and Brand in Dramatic Fashion Week Exit

A significant shift has occurred at Sunnei, marked by a double surprise that has resonated throughout the fashion world. The first was an avant-garde event during fashion week that defied traditional runway expectations; the second, an unexpected announcement just hours later. Founders Loris Messina and Simone Rizzo declared their departure from the ready-to-wear label they established a decade ago. Their statement conveyed an "urgent need to change form, but not direction," expressing a desire to continue working in creativity with "even greater freedom, radicalism and a desire to experiment."

The prelude to this announcement was an extraordinary spectacle where the duo chose to present no actual looks. Instead, they orchestrated a larger-than-life auction in collaboration with Christie's, transforming a packed auditorium into a stage for a thinly veiled denunciation of creativity's commodification. Guests were handed a catalogue listing "lots for sale," setting the tone for an event described not as a fashion show, but an "urgent act."

The auction commenced with the presentation of two enormous wooden crates as the sole lots. The first was described as "a testament to Made in Italy, imbued with creativity and a bold aesthetic," highlighting its "continuous dialogue between digital and physical reality." Models, simulating bidders with phones to their ears, engaged in a rapidly escalating auction. This first crate symbolically contained the Sunnei brand itself, founded in 2014 and renowned for its distinctive, colourful, and graphic fashion. Bidding quickly soared from 6 million to a staggering 112 million "fashion dollars."

The second lot was then carefully brought onto the stage, revealing its unexpected contents: the two designers themselves, Loris Messina perched on Simone Rizzo’s shoulders, once the lid was removed. This deeply symbolic lot, starting at a mere 17 "fashion dollars," reached 95 million amidst resounding applause, cementing the performance's dramatic and poignant conclusion. The act of "selling" themselves and their brand served as a powerful theatrical metaphor for the current state of the industry.

Messina and Rizzo articulated the profound message behind their unconventional farewell, stating, "Fashion is finance, creativity is for sale." They explained that the performance was "not a direct critique, but a hyperbolic theatrical metaphor" for the powerful, often hidden dynamics driving the modern industry. This "disruptive artistic act" aimed to be a conceptual statement, a "visual, contradictory staging of the system, where the symbolic defies the concrete and where desire itself is called into question."

The imagery of designers selling themselves to the highest bidder is particularly resonant in an era where colossal luxury groups wield increasing global influence, often eclipsing the viability of young designers and smaller independent labels. This poignant visual encapsulates the struggle for survival and creative autonomy within a fiercely mercantile landscape.

This audacious "non-show" was not Sunnei’s first foray into challenging conventional fashion norms. Over the years, the brand has built a reputation for its cult-status presentations, drawing connoisseurs with immersive experiences and artistic performances. Sunnei was an innovator in staging shows in extraordinary locations, from atop the Pirelli skyscraper to a drained swimming pool. They’ve featured models sprinting, launched into the crowd, and, more recently, celebrated their tenth anniversary with an all-senior cast, consistently pushing boundaries and engaging their audience in unique ways.

Through their final, powerful statement and the preceding auction, Messina and Rizzo have reinforced their legacy as designers who constantly questioned and redefined the parameters of fashion presentation. Their departure, driven by a quest for "even greater freedom, radicalism and a desire to experiment," signals a continued commitment to creative exploration beyond the confines of a traditional label.