Massimo Giorgetti took over the Fondazione ICA for his fall, turning the space into a sort of art-meets-fashion playground. The background came courtesy of Brazilian artist Marina Rengantz, whose abstract, memory-soaked paintings—thought to be a more sentimental younger cousin of Jackson Pollock—clearly struck Giorgetti on the mood board.
His ties to the art world are long-standing, and you can tell. Giorgetti has an uncanny knack for weaving references into his work, which sounds like he’s quoting art gallery wall text. Nothing feels didactic. It is an appreciation of art with respect. The plot thickened during the Venice weekend, where an exhibition dedicated to Leonor Finney at the Tommaso Calabro Gallery was obsessively about cats. Naturally, Giorgetti ran away with it.
Enter MSGM’s feline era: a Bengal strutting around in an eco-fur maxi coat, and a duchess in a satin shirt with a black and white kitty that was quite terrifying. Cats may be the label’s unofficial mascots, yet they share the designer’s love equally with his two beloved terriers, Pan and Koda.
The collection played out like a game of memory, though Giorgetti would gently wave your hand away from calling it a revisited archive. His preferred framing was “new memories” and “revisited memories,” which actually sounds lighter, fresher, and paradoxically less mothballed. It was all a flirtation between masculine and feminine codes, a familiar circle game in MSGM. Even the soundtrack leans in: a recorded interview with Fini comes from the speakers, in which she observes that everyone has to be a little androgynous and that true style tends to overlap somewhere.
On the runway, this philosophy translated into rhythmic contrasts. A polished cocktail look will emerge, only to be instantly undercut by the washed denim combo. A practical XXL parka with eco-fur softened things up when followed by a whisper-thin tank tied with a tiny rose and flouncy duchess satin skirt. These weren’t fights so much as playful plot twists. Giorgetti has no interest in settling adversaries. He would much rather watch them flirt.
He dipped back into the MSGM color vault and pulled out the brand’s biggest hits—lime green, high-voltage orange, and punchy fuchsia—then smartly cooled the whole thing down with grays, blacks, and sensible neutrals. The balancing act was masterful: expressive enough to read artistically, but never veering into trying territory.
MSGM’s museum introduces itself practically — think of the art world you see regularly at the Frieze art fair or Art Basel, the woman dressed with zero dread and possibly one eye closed. “She’ll happily hit a color or two,” Giorgetti said. “She may make stylistic mistakes, her reach is crass, yet she walks into a room radiating a rare combination of freedom and wit.” After all, perfection is forgettable, but a great mistake? This is what makes you memorable.
