Energy, business and new ideas: these could be the three words that summarise the ethos behind Milan’s fashion salon WHITE. Founded in 2000 by Massimiliano Bizzi – “Max” as he is affectionately known among friends, professionals and fashionistas – the salon turned in less than ten years into an important window on the ever changing world of fashion both on a national and international level. With its new exhibition spaces, a no-profit association promoting new designers and events dedicated to men and womenswear held twice a year, WHITE has emerged as one of the most exciting spaces championing creativity, innovation and eco-sustainability.

Dazed Digital: Despite winds of crisis sweeping over the world, the recent fashion week in London brought a cheerful atmosphere. What’s Milan like during these days?
Max Bizzi: There’s an amazing optimistic atmosphere hanging in the air here, also thanks to the great job we’ve done around Milan. WHITE has opened two new locations and has turned into one of the main events of the Milan Fashion Week, with its own fashion shows. The only difference with London maybe is the fact that here this difficult period of time has also brought a strong reaction from the fashion system. Industries around here are very busy working on new and affordable commercial products, so they are cleverly reacting to the crisis.  

DD: What is the Tortona Fashion District?
MB: It’s an area around Via Tortona in Milan where the main fashion industries are based and where we developed our two exhibition spaces connected by a bar and located around little streets such as Via Forcella and Via Bugatti. These two spaces offer the chance of seeing products by around 100 exhibitors. All of them have been carefully selected and we are proud to offer the buyers who visit us both commercial products that follow the new trends and more exclusive products.

DD: Can you give us an insight into the event that will take place from 25th to 28th September 2008?
MB: We are going to have a new area dedicated to childrenswear, an important part of the fashion scene. Then we have our catwalk shows with an excellent line-up featuring Jean Pierre Braganza, Klavers Van Engelen, Sandrina Fasoli and Christian Weber among the others. We are also focusing on ecowear, presenting the first completely eco-compatible brand in the world, monEcouture. We have been promoting ecowear for almost two years now, so also our fittings and furniture are eco-friendly, recyclable and conceived in accordance with sustainable criteria.

DD: Is there a designer you would like to bring to Milan’s WHITE in future?
MB: Well, my dream was to bring Jean Pierre Braganza here and I managed to, so I’m very happy at the moment. But I must admit that my list of designers I would like to see one day here is long. At the moment I can only reveal that it features a lot of young designers, many of them from London. So far we have always managed to bring to Milan great fashion shows by talented up-and-coming designers such as Kristian Aadvenik. We need more new and interesting designers, young people with fresh ideas who have the power of shaking the market.

DD: You recently launched another successful venture, the WHITE Club, a non-profit association that supports emerging designers and offers them more visibility. How do you select the designers who become part of it?
MB: I select the designers together with the association’s vice-president, Andreina Longhi, and a board of fashion experts. We are also supported by Vogue Italia editor’s Franca Sozzani who is an amazing researcher and a great source of ideas for us. We usually travel a lot, then we compare what we see in other countries and try to understand which designers can bring a real added value to the WHITE salon.

DD: The next edition of another successful event you organised – White Homme – will take place in January. In which direction would you like to see menswear developing?
MB: I see menswear as still too conservative and traditional. For our latest edition of White Homme we opted for Tsumori Chisato, Kosmetique Label and the Dutch Foundation’s Francisco van Benthum, Hans Ubbink and Sjaak Hullekes. I think these are the sort of young designers we should look up to as they are able to offer us new and fresh ideas. For next January we hope to continue working along this line.

DD: What has changed at the WHITE salon since you founded it?
MB: The truth is that, in essence, it has stayed the same. It grew up and developed, but, though we have a broad selection of brands and designers, they are still very carefully chosen and we are still coherent to the early principles of the salon. Maybe what has really changed is that now we have a bigger responsibility as we are internationally renowned. In a way, we feel the burden of such an increasing responsibility, but, at the same time, we are happy and proud about what we built throughout the years.

DD: What is the main reason that attracts the buyers to the WHITE salon?
MB: Definitely our selection of up-and-coming designers. Our space is a continuous discovery and a surprise for all the people who come and visit us.

DD: Which is WHITE’s main strength?
MB: We always knew when and how we had to renew ourselves, so we managed to successfully transform the WHITE into a ‘salon-cum-fashion show-cum project on new designers’. This is something that does not exist in any other country. In fact I think the WHITE is not just a salon, it’s a proper fashion movement, a gathering of like-minded people.