“Made in Italy” is a broad umbrella concept under which innumerable smaller bottegas (workshops) sit—from tailors to textile makers, and specialists who work with leather, raffia, and other materials. It would seem, then, that differences of scale on the production end are a given, so why are so few piccolo-sized brands on or adjacent to the Fashion Week schedule? They do exist. One of them is ATXV, a three-year-old unisex line founded by Antonio Tarantini, a man with decades of experience working alongside industry giants like John Galliano, Domenico Dolce, and Donatella Versace.
The designer, who drapes by hand, has a great sensitivity to materials, especially when it comes to their transparencies, weights, and luster. One of his see-through lurex numbers was worn by the Italian singer and fashion leader Mahmood, as well as in Dua Lipa’s “Illusion” music video. Twisting and draping are Tarantini’s signature techniques, and they were well displayed when Paloma Elsesser appeared on the cover of M: Le Monde in one of his neo-Grecian dresses.
“I am not a fan of clothes that constrict your body,” said the designer on a call. “Maybe because I worked so much with those kinds of clothes I now prefer to work with effortless shapes.” Madame Grès, fashion’s classicist nonpareil, is, and has been, having a moment.
Models are floating down runways in gathered jersey dresses with fluid movement left and right. Tarantini’s take on the ancient world is a bit sex.