The creative directors of Sunnei, Loris Messina and Simone Rizzo, announce their departure

A double surprise in Sunnei. First, a program that was not a show. Then an unexpected announcement two hours later. In a statement issued Friday night, Loris Messina and Simone Rizzo explained that they are leaving their clothing label for men and women's clothing.

“After ten years, we feel an urgent need to change the form, but not direction. We will continue working in the field of creativity, with even greater freedom, radicalism and a desire to experiment,” they declared in a brief note.

A few hours before, the duo behind Sunnei had taken the freedom to show no look at a room full of guests. Instead of a traditional parade, they organized a larger auction than life in the mid -fashion week, in collaboration with Christie's, a finely veiled complaint of the commercialization of creativity.

Once everyone had sat in what seemed to be an auditorium, with an old wooden car with the name of Christie's in large gold letters in the center of the stage, a voice announced that what was about to develop was not a fashionable parade but “an urgent act.” Then, the attendees delivered what seemed like a catalog that lists the lots for sale, complete with estimated descriptions and prices.

The first surprise was that the only two lots presented were two huge wooden boxes. The first lot was described as “a testimony made in Italy, imbued with creativity and a bold aesthetic”, while the second “is sold as a couple.”

“Work is characterized by a continuous dialogue between digital and physical reality, which extends to multidisciplinary projects that blur the boundaries between fashion, design and aesthetic exploration.”

At this point, the models entered the room and took positions behind two huge balustrades on both sides, simulating the bidders, phones pressed towards their ears, while the auctioneer took his place in the lectern and launched the offer. The first box contained the Sunnei brand, founded in 2014 and known for its colorful and relaxed fashion with highly graphic sensitivity. The offer intensified rapidly, and the initial price, established at 6 million fashion dollars “, rose to 112 million.

The second box was carefully taken to the stage by engines with white gloves equipped with electric screwdrivers. When they removed the lid, the two designers appeared: Cloris perched on Simone's shoulders. The initial offer was 17 dollars fashionable. The lot was 95 million to resounding applause. Once the sale ended, the models slid behind the stage.

Only Messina and Rizzo could have imagined such a scenario to say goodbye to their brand, bringing their manifestation to their logical conclusion at a time when marketing and narration of stories prevail over the product, and a commercial society dominates. As his statement of intention said, “fashion is finance, creativity is on sale.”

“More than ever, today's industry is driven by a hidden but powerful dynamic. This action is not a direct criticism, but a hyperbolic theatrical metaphor for this mechanism. The Sunnei auction is intended as a disruptive artistic act and a conceptual statement, a visual account and on the system of the system, where the symbolic defends the concrete and where it is called itself, they say.

The image of the designers who sell the best bidder is revealing and suitable in the current context, where large luxury groups seem more and more voracious and omnipresent in the global market, while young designers and small independent labels are increasingly difficult for them to survive.

This is not the first time that Sunnei challenged the fashion world. Two years ago, the label invited the public to qualify their show. Over the years, his presentations have become a cult, every time he attracts a connoisseurs, combining immersive experiences with artistic performances.

The two designers were the first to organize a show on the Pirelli skyscrapers, under the Ring of Milan of Milan repination white for the occasion, and at the bottom of a drained pool. Sometimes they made their models run in a head run, throwing them into the crowd in a retiree glide in the air. More recently, they marked Sunnei's tenth anniversary with a senior cast.