In Milan, there is a design district that is attracting increasing attention. It is the Porta Venezia Design District, a neighborhood in central Milan that has been hosting a growing number of initiatives and projects since 2023 for Milan. Design Week. In 2025, it drew 80,000 visitors and is preparing to host approximately 60 events and 350 designers for the event’s 2026 edition.
Among the many events in the area, the Piscina Cozzi will host a project created by Sabato De Sarno for Vanity Fair—Archivio Italia. Spazio Maiocchi will attract foodie fans of IKEA, along with other projects such as Yoox Camerino, and immersive installations created with AI will transform the entire district into a creative hub worth exploring in its entirety.
To make the most of the time spent in this vibrant neighborhood, the Milanese fashion school Istituto Secoli launched a competition among its students to design the uniform that the staff of the Porta Venezia District—where Istituto Secoli is based—will wear during Milan Design Week.
The designers at Istituto Secoli, guided by the creative direction of Austrian designer Arthur Arbesser, participated in a competition to design this functional and recognizable uniform that would represent the neighborhood’s dual identity—historic and monumental, yet at the same time rebellious and contemporary.
“Designing and creating a uniform—specifically, a jacket for the staff of the Porta Venezia Design District—has allowed our young creatives, guided by Arthur Arbesser and the in-house faculty team, to engage with the various stages of garment development, interpreting the project with the rigor, originality, and playful spirit that define the District’s identity,” said Enrico Fagone, academic director, Istituto Secoli.
The project began with a call for proposals and a packed work schedule, starting with the presentation of the project with Arthur Arbesser in the fall of 2025, followed by the collection of applications from current and former students of the Institute, a creative call, the submission of concepts, and the selection of ideas, leading up to the development of prototypes and the finalization of graphic assets.
Arbesser is the creative director of the pret-à-porter brand that bears his name and he is known for his work with color and patterns and for his cross-disciplinary collaborations between fashion, art, and design.
Under his direction and with the coordination of the Institute’s teaching team, the young designers developed proposals for uniforms and graphic design, focusing on gender-neutral fit, durability, comfort, practicality, consistency with the District’s identity, and clarity of storytelling.
“It was a great pleasure to accompany and guide the students of the Istituto Secoli in this project. I was impressed by the quality, professionalism, and enthusiasm with which they interpreted this very unique briefing. It was wonderful to see how each student was able to express their own innovative and personal vision of this special jacket, making each design profoundly different from the others,” said Arbesser.
The chosen uniform was designed by Andrea Bartoletti, winner of the project and Designer to Watch 2026. This victory was further reinforced by the choice of materials—fabrics supplied by Zerow, a B2B marketplace specializing in textile deadstock—highlighting a commitment to supply chain responsibility and the quality of processes.