Antiques, Modernism, Historic Design, and Fashion depicted amidst trends and sustainability at Wake Up! by Milan Polytechnic’s students. A two-day festival featuring panels and talks.

(Parma, December 18, 2023) – The timeless splendor and charm of jewelry. The new fashion trends, with a “youthful” and international perspective on sustainable production. Kinetic tension, performances, and gazes, with Uli Weber’s shots reviving the atmosphere of Goodwood Revival. All this is Mercanteinfiera, the antique, modernism, and vintage collecting Fair for memory hunters, returning to Fiere di Parma from March 2 to 10, 2024.

The pavilions will not only be places for treasure and object hunting, design and stories, vintage and beauty, but will also host three collateral exhibitions. Jewelry returns to the forefront of the event with the exhibition “Masculine Jewelry: from 18th-century splendor to gender-fluid glamour” (Hall 4), curated by jewelry historian Mara Cappelletti. An exhibition that allows immersion into the world of masculine jewelry. A surprising exploration aiming to narrate not only their material value but also, and above all, the abstract one, from representations of traditional social roles to eternal and ancestral universal emblems. The exhibition analyzes precisely this communicative dimension of jewelry and how trends, styles, and fashions have evolved from the 18th century to the present day. The journey begins with the sumptuous 18th-century ornaments, continues with those of the 19th century inspired by ancient cultures, and reaches the numerous 20th-century trends, such as the Deco style, the gentlemen’s style of the 1950s, up to the 2000s when jewelry becomes fluid and the question arises: are there still jewelry for women and men? Or simply jewelry and those who choose to wear them?

The second scheduled exhibition is Wake Up! Design Matchmaking, coordinated by Politecnico di Milano School of Design by professors Arturo dell’Acqua and Eugenia Chiara and for Wake Up! by Giulia Brighenti and Francesca Rossi, in collaboration with Chinese Universities, Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, and Jingyan. The collateral will feature a selection of 15 projects created by students of the “Lifestyle and Fashion” course from 16 different countries, in collaboration with 15 emerging brands belonging to the new Made in Italy. Particular attention will be devoted to sustainability, understood as a new approach to production and design. The themes of new craftsmanship and heritage are also at the core of the new Made in Italy expressed through the actions of small independent producers capable of devising complex strategies to address global markets. The collateral will follow the trends of the fashion and design world, in perfect harmony with the soul of Mercanteinfiera, which has always had a keen eye for fashion. The exhibition will be a real two-day festival (March 2-3, 2024) with exhibition stands, panels, talks, and workshops.

The third and final exhibition titled Revival: Goodwood VS Maranello, will be a collection of shots where German artist Uli Weber portrays the famous vintage car race Goodwood Revival, organized in West Sussex by the Duke of Richmond. Speed, energy, kinetic tension, performances, and gazes, many gazes: these are the ingredients of Uli Weber’s works. Between the 1930s and the mid-1960s, Goodwood Estate was the temple of sports races, which are now remembered through a series of vintage car and dress events. With these shots, Weber aims to narrate the charm of motor racing and the prestige of those times that always renew excitement, suspense, and audacity, with a hint of nostalgia for an era of sophisticated elegance.

Mercanteinfiera remains the reference Salon for antiques, historic design, modernism, and vintage collecting. A salon for memory hunters. In its spaces, you’ll find modernism as well as designer pieces, furniture, and home accessories ranging from the post-war period to the 1980s signed by universally recognized “masters” such as Gio Ponti, Gaetano Pesce, Franco Albini, just to name a few. Parade through the four pavilions of the exhibition center, ancient jewelry, the great names in collectible watchmaking (Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe, Hublot), and all the seductive arsenal of elegant and sustainable vintage fashion.

For more information, visit www.mercanteinfiera.it

Organizational Information

When: March 2-10, 2024
Where: Fiere di Parma Viale delle Esposizioni 393/A
Hours: from 10:00 to 19:00
Price: 15 Euros (at the ticket office); 12 Euros (online); free for children up to 14 years old
Fiere di Parma Switchboard tel. 0521-9961

Mercanteinfiera Press Office | Mirandola Communication

Antonella Maia – mobile 349.4757783 – antonella.maia@mirandola.net
Erika Alberici – mobile 329.4858838 – erika.alberici@mirandola.net