Milano has the tendency to be celebrated as a major fashion capital, one that sets trends, impulses brands and has a lot to say in fashion. Yet, most of the major brands are stuck doing the same, there’s barely any intention of breaking the mold. Luckily enough, there are a new wave of designers, that don’t agree with this and are trying to redefine what should be understood as fashion and its relation to humanity.
In this context, I got the chance to speak with one of the most transgressive and original designers out there in Italian city: Simone Botte, founder of Simon Cracker. He is not only daring, brave, human… but also a visionary that wouldn’t like me to label him as such, but he is. We got to meet right before Milano’s Men Fashion Week SS 2027, to talk a bit about his most personal collection to date (FW 2026/27), his vision and his new collection. Collection that as of right now we have witnessed and it not only delivered but made a real commentary on what summer is and how it relates (Ironically) to society.
Without further a due, I invite you to take a glimpse into the mind of a visionary:
OSCAR: Simone, first of all, how have you been? The last time we saw each other was during the February show, and since then it feels like everything has happened at once.
SIMONE: It’s been strange, actually. It was the first time I’d done two shows so close together, two stories that had to be told almost back-to-back. I felt like I’d said so much that afterwards I had a kind of emotional backlash. I felt completely emptied out.
But at the same time, it didn’t take long before I started filling up again with new ideas. It was a catharsis, really. I had a lot to say, I said it, and then suddenly I found myself carrying a whole new set of stories for June and September.
OSCAR: Speaking of things that have changed, upcycling is everywhere now. But when you started doing it, nobody was talking about it the way they do today.
SIMONE: No, not at all. For me it wasn’t even about sustainability at the beginning. It was necessity. Back in 2010 I didn’t have the resources to buy materials. So I used to go around factories in Cesena and literally ask what they were throwing away. They’d give me damaged fabrics, discarded materials, things that nobody wanted.
And what fascinated me was that they were throwing those things away because of the defect. For me, the defect was the interesting part. If there was one hole, I’d make ten holes. At that point it wasn’t a defect anymore. It became intentional. The original flaw disappeared and turned into something new.
OSCAR: There are actually two things you just said that really struck me. The first is exactly that. You saw opportunity where everyone else saw a defect. For me it almost becomes philosophical because, in the end, we all have flaws.
SIMONE: Exactly. We’re not perfect. So what should we do? Throw everything away? That’s why I’ve always been fascinated by imperfections. People were rejecting those materials because they weren’t perfect, and I was attracted to them for exactly the same reason.
OSCAR: And the second thing that struck me is freedom. When I think about Simon Cracker, freedom feels like it’s built into the DNA of the brand.
SIMONE: Maybe that’s why I don’t really do castings. People always ask me about that. But I don’t cast people. My friends wear the clothes. The people who already wear Simon Cracker in real life wear the clothes. I’ve never liked the idea of selecting people according to standards. Bodies should be embraced, not selected.
OSCAR: That’s actually one of the things I’ve always loved about the brand. I never looked at it and thought, “He’s trying to be different.” I looked at it and thought, “This is how people actually wear clothes.”
SIMONE: That’s exactly it. I never tell people to model. I tell them to walk. I ask them, “If you were wearing these clothes on the street, how would you move?” Then that’s how they move.The looks are decided together. If somebody doesn’t feel comfortable in something, we change it. Fashion should never force someone into a role.
OSCAR: Listening to you talk about all of this, the word that keeps coming to mind is intimacy.
SIMONE: Exactly.
OSCAR: It’s intimate.
SIMONE:It is.
OSCAR: And honestly, I think intimacy should be one of the most important things in fashion.
SIMONE: It’s human. Fashion has become very cold. Very systematic. And we forget that, beyond everything else, we’re people. That’s why I’ve started doing more workshops, more talks, more conversations. I love meeting the people who actually wear the clothes. I love hearing their stories.
OSCAR: One thing you’ve said that really stayed with me is that the story doesn’t end when a garment leaves your hands.
SIMONE: Because I only do half of the work. The other half is done by the person who buys it. The best compliment I’ve ever received wasn’t someone telling me that a garment was beautiful. It was a girl who told me she had worn one of my tops so much that eventually it completely fell apart. Instead of throwing it away, she repaired it and turned it into a bag. I told her: “You understood Simon Cracker better than anyone.” That’s the point. I don’t want clothes to stay perfect forever. I want them to live. I want them to age, to be altered, to be repaired, to collect memories. Simon Cracker isn’t just what I make. It’s also what people do with the things I make.
OSCAR: Let’s talk about the February collection, because it felt incredibly personal. Even before the show started, with the voice recordings, there was already this emotional atmosphere in the room.
SIMONE: That collection came from a very personal place. I was coming out of a difficult period and I felt the need to open a treasure chest of things that are precious to me. The voices you heard were my aunts.
Even though I live in Milan and they live back in Romagna, their voices still comfort me. They’re part of my world. They’re part of who I am. And I wanted to bring that into the collection.The show wasn’t really about nostalgia. It was about affection. It was about those women and the way they approach getting dressed. Not to impress anyone. Not to be fashionable. Simply because it feels right to them. I took all those different personalities and translated them into a new generation.
OSCAR: I remember everyone around me reacting to those voice notes. People kept saying how beautiful they were.
SIMONE: That makes me really happy. Because honestly, it was a vulnerable thing to do. Whenever you put something that personal into your work, there’s always a risk. But I was proud of it. And my family was even more excited than I was. For me, that collection brought back something I’d been missing for a while: joy. It made me smile again. And I think fashion needs more of that.
OSCAR: Earlier you mentioned catharsis and liberation. Do you think you’ve become more free creatively?
SIMONE: Completely. I’ve removed the filters. For a long time I thought I needed to make things clearer, more understandable, maybe even more commercial. Then I realised that I’d rather speak deeply to a few people than superficially to everyone. Not everybody has to understand what I do. And honestly, that’s liberating. Now I just want to say exactly what I want to say, in my own language.
OSCAR: And what are you trying to say next? You’ve already hinted at the June collection and what comes after.
SIMONE: Right now? Annoyance. Summer annoyance. I’ve never liked summer. Everyone loves it and I’ve never understood why. So the next collection is built around that feeling.
All the things people usually associate with summer – lightness, holidays, beaches, happiness – I’m looking at them through a different filter. A slightly ironic filter. Maybe even an uncomfortable one. There will definitely be tulle. There will be elements inspired by mosquito nets.
There will be lightweight dresses and everything people associate with summer, but twisted somehow. I don’t want to celebrate summer. I want to have a conversation with it. Maybe even argue with it a little.
OSCAR: That sounds very Simone Cracker.
SIMONE: Probably. But that’s the only way I know how to work. If something bothers me, fascinates me, or makes me laugh, it eventually becomes a collection.
OSCAR: Last question. What would you like people to understand about Simon Cracker?
SIMONE: That there’s another way of doing fashion. You can produce less. You can work differently. You can build things more slowly. Maybe one day I’ll find a way to bring what I’m doing on a small scale into a larger system without losing its soul.
Maybe that’s the real challenge. But as long as there’s even one person willing to listen, I’ll keep making noise. I’ll keep telling stories.
In article featured pictures from the exclusive editorial “Cracker Therapy”.
Brand: @simoncracker Designer: @simon.botte Creative Director&Producer : @illianaad Executive Producer&Editor in Chief: @tantanstolyarova Communication: @kibywonderland @fayercommunication Lead photographer: @glazamirz Photographer assistent: @katepodar Production assistent/ grooming: @katepodar Videographer&BTS Content Creators: @bubilda_ @illianaad Post-production @kibyswonderland Fashion Editor @oscarmunozaa Stylig&Set design: HCNInsider team Casting: @illianaad @tantanstolyarova Models: @ibamodel_ @vidahossa