Polimoda Talent also awards a digital runway casting solution platform

Luigi Simonetti and Syncroni by Hatem Ben Hassine are the winners of Polimoda's Talent 2025. This is the programme that transforms the innovative ideas of the school's students and alumni, guiding them through a journey of entrepreneurial growth and experimentation in the fashion sector.

After six months of development, mentorship and design support, the two selected concepts were presented in Florence on Thursday, October 30. This was before the programme's external jury and an audience of industry insiders, students and professionals. The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss and evaluate the progress of the projects. They embody two different sides of contemporary fashion: one rooted in artisanal culture and material experimentation, the other focused on technological and digital innovation. Both express the vision of a new generation that envisions a more conscious fashion, capable of valuing people and traditions.

Specifically, Luigi Simonetti's project originates from “a borderland between Campania and Molise,” where tradition and daily gestures become a contemporary language. Within the Polimoda Talent programme, Simonetti has developed research that intertwines craftsmanship, regional identity and material experimentation. This has shaped a creative path where the cultural heritage of Southern Italy is translated into a visual narrative.

His is a fashion that weaves together memory and material, where the artisan's touch becomes a form of innovation. The work explores ancient and precious techniques such as bobbin lace and traditional weaving. It involves a community of local craftswomen, the last guardians of time-honoured skills. These techniques are reinterpreted through the use of innovative and experimental materials, including fibres derived from marble, lotus flower and spider silk. The result is a living material that combines the avant-garde with memory, where manual craftsmanship becomes a poetic gesture and a means of contemporary investigation.

“Simonetti's poetics speak of emotional luxury and cultural sustainability, combining the archaic charm of Southern Italy's landscapes with the transformative power of future materials. The project redefines fashion as a human ritual, where luxury is shared memory and the territory becomes a universal language,” reads a note from Polimoda. Simonetti was born in Rome to a family of Campanian origin. He attended the master's in Creative Direction at Polimoda before being selected for the Talent 2025 project.

Created by Hatem Ben Hassine, Syncroni is a digital runway casting solution platform. It is designed to simplify and streamline the complexity of backstage operations in fashion production. The project aims to replace manual workflows with a single cloud environment. Here, casting directors, producers and creative teams can manage the entire process from model selection to fittings and approvals, right up to the final line-up, in a coordinated, secure and real-time manner.

Syncroni envisions a backstage without paper, chaos or waste: a new digital standard for global fashion. The project was created with the aim of making backstage operations more efficient and sustainable. By eliminating fragmented tools and redundant documentation, Syncroni reduces downtime, printing waste and energy consumption. It creates a transparent and traceable system for every stage of production. The system is also democratic, accessible and mindful of protecting people.

“After an initial prototyping phase, Syncroni 0.1 was tested during Milan Fashion Week spring/summer 2026 in three official shows and presentations, involving casting, styling and agency departments. Currently in the validation phase, Syncroni is continuing its development towards an international pilot model. The goal is to define a new operational standard for backstage management in the world of fashion and creative production,” states the note from Polimoda.

Hatem Ben Hassine was born in Moknine, Tunisia. He attended the master's in Sustainable Fashion at Polimoda and subsequently secured a place in the Talent 2025 programme. His research explores the connection between creativity, technology and sustainability, aiming to make fashion processes more efficient, inclusive and responsible.

Designed to nurture the entrepreneurial talent of students and alumni, Polimoda Talent is a business development programme. It offers winners a path of mentorship, strategic consulting, co-working spaces on campus and a financial contribution of 10,000 euros for their project's development. This positions it as one of the few institutions to invest financially in its talents.

The winner of the previous edition is Domenico Orefice, ceo and creative director of the eponymous brand. He was a finalist for the CNMI Fashion Trust and is among the most interesting emerging designers presented at Milan Fashion Week.