Altaroma to feature debut show by Antonio Marras' son

Rome's very own high fashion week, Altaroma, starts on 6th July, featuring four days of shows, performances and installations. Though one of Rome's fashion doyennes, Raffaella Curiel, has now been absent for a couple of seasons, the names of Renato Balestra, Greta Boldini and Rani Zakhem are confirmed on the schedule, as well as that of a remarkable rookie: Efisio Rocco Marras, son of Antonio Marras, who recently took the helm of the I'M Isola Marras label and will make his Rome catwalk debut on Friday.

While Altaroma's final schedule has not yet been published, the event's venue will once again be the Guido Reni District, in the Italian capital's Flaminio area. Also confirmed is the event's tripartite structure: the Fashion Hub section will focus on the scouting, training and promotion of emerging designers, Atelier will be the hub for catwalk shows and presentations by couture and neo-couture labels, boutique ateliers, bespoke tailors and artisans, and 'In Town' will host fashion-related initiatives.

Altaroma will also feature three exhibitions focusing on the way in which the narrative of fashion has changed over the years: ‘Vanitas - L'abito tra Sacro e Profano’, ‘Drops of Italian Glamour’, curated by Enrico Quinto and Paolo Tinarelli, and ‘A.I. - Prove Tecniche di Trasmissione’, the latter telling the story of how fashion broadcasting has evolved in Italy, from the TV programmes of the 1960s to Instagram.

Altaroma will open with the screening of 'Franca: Chaos and Creation' by Francesco Carrozzini, a tribute to Franca Sozzani, the Chief Editor of Vogue Italia who died on 22nd December 2016. The catwalk shows on the opening day will be by Morfosis, Moi Multiple and Greta Boldini.

One of Friday's highlights will be the thirteenth edition of 'Who Is On Next?', a fashion scouting project created by Altaroma in collaboration with Vogue Italia, focusing on emerging design talent. Twelve designers have been selected this year, while past editions and their winners will be celebrated by a screening of highlights from previous shows and of interviews with the best-known of the over 130 young designers who have taken part in the event since its inception. Among them, Marco de Vincenzo, Aquilano Rimondi, Stella Jean, Paula Cademartori, Nicholas Kirkwood and Max Kibardin.

Friday is the day for another eagerly awaited event: the panel discussion at the Coin Excelsior department store between Antonio Marras and his son Efisio Rocco Marras, with Italian writer and director Ivan Cotroneo and stand-up comedian Geppi Cucciari, followed by the first official show for the Spring/Summer 2018 collection by I'M Isola Marras, designed by Efisio Rocco Marras.

The other shows on Friday will be by Sabrina Persechino, Rani Zakhem, Filippo Laterza, Sylvio Giardina and Renato Balestra, while on Saturday it will be the turn of Erkan Coruh, Soocha, World of Fashion and of a performance by Clorofilia. On the same day, the second edition of the panel discussion 'Roman's Romance', featuring Roman fashion designer Giambattista Valli and Australian fashion journalist Dan Thawley (editor of 'A Magazine Curated By').

Emerging designers and aspiring creatives will have their chance with the fourth edition of the 'Portfolio Review' project, in which fashion academy students will be able to showcase their portfolios to Sara Sozzani Maino, Deputy Editor of Vogue Italia, and Simonetta Gianfelici, talent scout for 'Who Is On Next?'.

Still on Saturday, Antonio Grimaldi will open the doors of his new Rome atelier at Palazzo Besso.

Finally, Sunday will be showcase day for Italy's most renowned fashion academies and for two show-events focusing on emerging designers from Italy and abroad, organised by CNA Federmoda and by RMI - Ricerca Moda Innovazione.