Fashion, cinema, art, and culture took center stage at the ISFF (International Scledum Film Festival), which recently concluded in Schio, a small town in the Veneto region known for its textile tradition as the headquarters of the Marzotto Group and other major companies in the sector.
Over four days, from July 30 to August 2, the event—promoted by the Stanza Perfetta APS association under the artistic direction of Alessandro Carrieri and co-organized by Filippo Dorigato—featured a series of film screenings, talks, masterclasses, exhibitions, artistic performances, fashion shows, and an awards ceremony attended by distinguished guests.
This is the second year that this Italian festival—entirely dedicated to costume and fashion in cinema—has taken place, serving as an opportunity to highlight the work of costume designers and their fundamental role in shaping the narrative identity of films.
As part of the event celebrating the intersection of creativity, business, and culture, Italian actress and director Valeria Golino presented her sophisticated short film “Love Monster,” created for Fendi—further evidence of the increasingly close dialogue between cinema, fashion, and visual storytelling.
During the festival, they also presented the Special Awards for Veneto Region Excellence in the World—honors dedicated to individuals who have helped promote Venetian talent and creativity on an international level. Among the award recipients are costume designer Catherine Buyse, opera singer Katia Ricciarelli, designer Paolo Gnutti, pattern-maker and creative director Venucia De Russi, and mountaineer Tom Perry.
“The International Scledum Film Festival is not just a festival dedicated to film costumes, but a place where costumes become the key to exploring cinema from a different perspective. A costume doesn’t simply dress an actor—it accompanies their transformation and makes a character believable even before they utter a single line. Based on this idea, we’ve created a program that weaves together cinema, fashion, craftsmanship, inclusion, education, and mental health—the theme of this year’s festival,” he added, inviting attendees to the third edition in 2027.
The event was designed to foster a dialogue between cinema, costumes, craftsmanship, culture, and the promotion of the local area.
In particular, cinema and haute couture took center stage with a fashion show featuring garments created by Tramando Creazioni Sartoriali and Eliodora Barolli, and with a special appearance by the creative Venucia De Russi, a well-known industry insider, patternmaker, and collaborator with leading figures such as Renzo Rosso and Adriano Goldschmied, the recently deceased denim guru.
Paolo Gnutti presented the installation “La trama visiva – L’Ordito che veste il cinema e il teatro” (The Visual Weave – The Warp That Clothes Cinema and Theater), dedicated to examples of his avant-garde textile research in relation to visions of worlds such as cinema and theater.
Gnutti is an Italian textile innovator, materials designer, and creative director with nearly 40 years of experience in the global textile and denim industry.
His career began in combed cotton spinning mills, where he learned the secrets of fibers and yarns. He then developed comprehensive expertise across the entire production cycle—from spinning to weaving, through dyeing, finishing, garment manufacturing, and industrial washing. He acquired a solid technical foundation that blends with his creative vision, enabling him to transform technical knowledge into product innovation.
His philosophy is rooted in a vision of the future built on an understanding of the past. Each collection stems from the study of historic fabrics, artisanal techniques, and manufacturing expertise, reinterpreted through innovation to create contemporary, durable products destined to retain their value over time. For him, innovation does not mean breaking with tradition, but rather breathing new life into it.
Gnutti has collaborated with some of prominent international textile companies. He served as vice president of ITV Denim, a historic Italian denim manufacturer, and created the Paolo Gnutti Advance line for Advance Denim, and today he serves as creative director of Isko Luxury by PG.
His creative exploration has transcended the boundaries of fashion, having also collaborated with the Teatro Regio in Parma, where textiles became an integral part of the theatrical narrative.
He has received two Global Denim Awards from the Kingpins Show trade show and other accolades, such as being named to Rivet 50, the ranking that recognizes the fifty most influential professionals in the global denim industry.
Today, he continues to develop new materials, new technologies, and new visions for textiles, while maintaining a focus on heritage, innovation, and sustainability. “Fashions come and go. The value of craftsmanship remains,” Gnutti likes to say, a philosophy in line with Veneto region’s insiders ability to innovate while staying true to high craftsmanship and savoir faire.
