Simon Cracker Women Spring/Summer 2027 at Milan Fashion Week

Simon Cracker Women Spring/Summer 2027 / SS27 at Milan Fashion Week entitled “VIA FRANCIA”

If you can’t afford it, make it at home. The new generation refuses to give up on fashion, yet it finds itself increasingly priced out by today’s economy. There is an absurd gap between the runways and everyday people. I have always integrated wearable upcycled pieces into my shows, specifically because I loved seeing my community replicate them at home—rescuing something old and tagging Simon Cracker. To me, that is the most “Cracker” thing possible, far more meaningful than high sales revenue. People didn’t just spend money on an impulse; they invested time, studied, and repurposed something that would have otherwise ended up in the trash. This has been my true vision for the brand since 2010, long before upcycling became a buzzword. For Simon Cracker SS27 / Spring/Summer 2027, I envisioned a “playroom-wardrobe”: ready-to-wear garments that invite you to play and experiment with shifting shapes. I want it to be clear that we set the rules for our own bodies—we are free to show, hide, or reveal them to whomever we want, whenever we choose.

Thinking about the Do-It-Yourself ethos, my mind drifted back to a summer in the countryside when I was eight years old, in my grandparents’ fields in Romagna. Refusing to go to the beach, our sanctuary was among the cherry trees. Every single day, my cousin Nicoletta and I worked on a variety show we put on in July for the neighbors on Via Francia—the street that gives this collection its name. Our stage costumes were made from massive, everyday items retrieved from our great-grandparents’ trunks: granny skirts, tablecloths, and curtains that, in our childhood eyes, felt like luxury fabrics. We layered patterns that clashed horribly—like oversized underwear over floral tunics—yet to our innocent eyes, the final patchwork curtain sewn by Aunt Alberta felt remarkably elegant.

As we grow up, we lose this instinct, becoming conditioned by our surroundings until we forget what truly attracts us. For this second chapter of SS27, I wanted to empty my mind and recapture that pure childhood spark, exploring how a single look transforms depending entirely on the eyes of the beholder. Everyone judges differently, and honestly, who cares what they think. I have a confession, and I want to be entirely transparent: my head is so full of ideas it keeps me awake at night. Anxious that life won’t give me enough time to create everything, my collections always risk becoming overloaded with too many perspectives. The hardest challenge for me this time was staying hyper-focused on the few stories I wanted to deeply explore. I suffered through the intense heat while making this collection, but that discomfort was necessary to bring raw honesty to what we staged.

With “Via Francia,” I am sharing my take on Grunge, fusing it with signature Simon Cracker codes while introducing new ones: promotional t-shirts paired with elegant gowns, patchwork or plastic-coated leather, lunchboxes repurposed as bags, and nods to 18th-century silhouettes reinterpreted through deadstock fabrics.

Special thanks to my crew and everyone supporting this new generation currently struggling to get by: Lineapelle and Fulvia—who for years have been a second family, providing support that goes way beyond work—Alessandra Siena for guiding me through the highs and lows of this rollercoaster, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana for ensuring our voice is always amplified, Fayer Communication, WNLAB, Garage Showroom, my mom Susi, my partner Nicholas, and Aunt Alberta for providing the 90s archive videos that inspired the mood of this collection.

Simon Cracker SS27 / Spring/Summer 2027 Collection Focus on Poor Couture: paisley/granny patterns and 18th-century silhouettes reimagined from deadstock fabrics. Zero-Energy Garments: entirely hand-assembled without the use of electricity. Modularity: transformable garments featuring hooks that allow modules to shift shapes. The Curtain: dresses and tops inspired by the childhood stage curtain, made from a patchwork of different fabric scraps sewn together. Ice Cream Leather: leather garments paired and color-blocked like ice cream flavors. The Promo T-Shirt: the classic printed promotional t-shirt that transfers and merges onto other garments. Dr. Martens Co-Op: Dr. Martens footwear and bags customized and hand-painted. Details & Accessories: hand-painted leather, 3D-printed object bags made from recycled filaments, and earrings crafted from plastic bottle caps salvaged from beaches.