An 'Old-Fashioned Future' in Milan
Fashion

An 'Old-Fashioned Future' in Milan

Art direction and styling by Rujana Cantoni / Photography by Lera Polivanova / Makeup by Claudia Malavasi / Hair by Marco Minnuno

With Milan Fashion Week well underway to showcase brand new styles and the next biggest trends, stylist Rujana Cantoni and photographer Lera Polivanovawant to to highlight the great potential of vintage, second-hand and rental clothes. Old-Fashioned Future, their editorial for PAPER, frees these spaces from the widespread belief that they only represent an aesthetic taste towards the past or, in the case of rental, a subset of popular fashion to look down on. Why can't these three categories represent what's fashionable? The answer is: yes, they can.

Nowadays, buying or renting vintage and second-hand clothing is not only an ethical and sustainable choice, but also a style statement that allows you to draw on more resources and inspirations to escape from the anonymity and monotony of fast-fashion. Rental clothes also allow you to avoid waste (how many times can we buy clothes for special occasions and never wear them again?) and wear garments otherwise accessible only to a few people.

Rather than being mutually exclusive, vintage, second-hand and rental are three paths that can develop in parallel — a co-existence that inspired Cantoni to develop Old-Fashioned Future. How? By always keeping one eye on social issues and the other one on the desire to experiment and play with style, leading brands and new discoveries.

Cavalli e Nastri Vintage Shop

Therefore, Cantoni decided to adopt a "hybrid" and ironically "deceptive" perspective for the realization of her photoshoots: the overall style and communication strategy are the same of high-fashion, but the precious fashion show items are substituted by a collection of vintage, second-hand and rental clothes.

Even the locations chosen for Old-Fashioned Future reflect, or rather, embody this perspective. Cavalli e Nastri is one of the most popular vintage clothing stores in Milan, while Lariulà is a rental costume shop that's been active since 1996.

Cantoni did all this for three reasons: To demonstrate that the impact of vintage, second-hand and rental clothes can be the same as that of high-fashion, when these categories use its tone of voice; to eradicate the concepts of used and vintage from the notion of "outdated" and, instead, project them into the present (or, why not, the future) as a valid alternative on a par with fast-fashion and high-fashion; and to make the latter affordable for everyone.

Lariulà Rental Shop

Art direction and styling: Rujana Cantoni
Photography: Lera Polivanova
Makeup: Claudia Malavasi (Aura Photo Agency Milan)
Hair: Marco Minnuno (Blend Management)

Set design: Veronica Ferrari
Casting direction: Marcello Junior Dino
Models: Dominika Pikula (Next Models Milan) and Margot Hubac (The Lab Models Milano)
Styling assistant: Alessandra Pistolesi
Light assistant: Luca Baldini and Jacopo Peloso
Makeup assistant: Martina Ginisi
Hair assistant: Gabriele Marozzi
Set design assistant: Margherita Piazza
Locations: Cavalli e Nastri Vintage and Lariulà

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