W:  Maximiliano Dubois

Ettore Poli emerged as a definitive breakout star of this year’s Graduate Collections, staging a visceral return to the Dionysian spirit. His work reimagines the dress not merely as a garment, but as a ritual instrument designed to harmonize human pleasure with the raw pulse of the natural world. By skilfully blending the architectural silhouettes of European folk costumes with the principles of biomimicry, Poli crafts an aesthetic that feels both ancient and prophetic. It is a collection that rejects the sterile in favour of the sacred, positioning fashion as a medium for transcendental connection.

The technical execution of this vision is nothing short of masterly, utilizing a tactile palette of recycled furs and "animalistic" textiles that challenge our perception of luxury. Poli finds beauty in the unconventional, translating the irregular textures of bark, rock, and fungi into intricate crumpled and pleated workmanship. Most striking is the use of mold and mycelium photography to create haunting, organic patterns, accented by handcrafted fabric collages of fig and ivy leaves. This is sustainable couture with an edge—a sophisticated tribute to the cycles of decay and rebirth.