Emerging Adaptive Brand Materia to Make Milan Fashion Week Debut

MILAN — Francesco Saverio Matera is not just any designer.

Pragmatic and utterly straightforward despite his young age, the founder of adaptive brand Materia has joined the local fashion scene quietly, but his innovative approach and razor-sharp vision are already shaping up to set him apart, especially in an Italian fashion landscape, which has oftentimes seen the meteoric light of emerging brands dim in just a few years.

His inclusive brand Materia is making its Milan Fashion Week debut on Sunday after recently scooping up one of the three annual grants of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana and securing 70,000 euros in funding.

Staged at Fondazione Sozzani, the brand’s presentation will display a redux of Matera’s most emblematic designs created so far, replete with an immersive installation developed in collaboration with artist Riccardo Ricca, a nod to the founder’s hometown in Matera and its renowned rock-cut urban core.

Born 25 years ago in the Southern Italian town, the designer poured his personal experiences into the label, which aims to simplify the act of dressing, transforming designs into tools for autonomy by reducing friction in daily gestures and overcoming physical and cultural barriers.

“I have a quadriplegic brother who’s in a wheelchair, so I’ve always had this kind of attention in my family, watching my parents’ difficulties in dressing him,” Matera told WWD. As for himself, Matera was a professional soccer player traveling across Italy, before earning a scholarship at Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan. “Those were the COVID-19 years, I got some injuries and I moved to Milan — so soccer was put aside,” he said.

The designer graduated from IED with a dissertation that presented a fashion brand centered on the needs of people with disabilities or motor impairments. “My past as a soccer player also influenced it,” Matera said. “I think it helped me develop an ability to listen to my body, as I was a very demanding athlete and I used to cut my shoes or modify my clothing just to improve my performances a little.”

The project gained immediate attention, securing 55,000 euros in funding and different accolades, including winning the first prize and innovation award at the Woolmark Performance Challenge in 2021.

The Materia brand was officially launched in 2023, when the designer was also called to design footwear at Moncler. After two years he joined Stone Island, where he oversaw footwear development — including the collaboration with New Balance — but also contributed to apparel. He exited the company two months ago to focus on his personal project, although he keeps consulting for other brands.

The corporate experiences further sharpened his vision, as Matera stressed how he learned “the method” behind building a collection. His curious nature also secured him a seat in marketing meetings, which helped him to better understand commercial demands.

These learnings proved to be instrumental in arranging his ideas and concepts in an assortment pragmatically built across key pillars and clusters.

Merging aesthetics with accessible design, the Materia collections focus on shapes, materials and details that offer solutions both for people with disabilities or motor impairments as well as to support personal autonomy when dressing.

Collaborating also with Paralympic athletes to better understand their needs, Matera puts design at the service of functionality, playing with transformable silhouettes and textiles that ease movement and transpiration; trading stitching with heat sealings for extra elasticity and lightness; integrating reflective surfaces for enhanced visibility, as well as incorporating details such as zippers, ring pullers and magnetic closures optimizing the use and versatility of the pieces. All clothing also comes with Braille labeling and tags for accessible branding.

“If there’s a certain detail, it’s not just because I like it there but it actually solves a problem and facilitates wearability,” said Matera, whose collections are also communicated online via videos in sign language.

Designs are conceived with three pillars in mind: circularity, durability and an attention to waste-less production. 

Prioritizing sustainable practices, the brand uses regenerated wool from traceable supply chains, including by the Tuscan wool mill Manteco. Pieces are crafted using seamless circular machines and flat-knit technologies, minimizing waste and optimizing volumes to eliminate unnecessary cuts. Strategic partnerships with brands such as Italian textile innovator Majotech additionally enable the integration of technical, military-linked materials resistant to wind, water and daily wear, ensuring longevity. 

“And then there’s the third pillar I would like to implement the most in the future, which is all about introducing innovation without waste,” Matera said about already incorporating 3D printing in his creative process. 

“There are not so many adaptive brands globally,” the designer said. “The key is that they represent dignified [options] for those who will wear these clothes, so to merge all these studies and translate them into an aesthetically appealing product that a neurotypical person can be attracted to, as well — that’s what I mean about being a brand for everyone.” 

So far, Materia has displayed a heightened streetwear imprinting, with different takes on hoodies and windbreakers, but he plans to further tap into different product categories — from tailored wool coats to sportswear — to address a variety of occasions and embrace a wider target.

Design- and positioning-wise, collections are grouped in clusters. The higher-end offering Vision includes pieces available in limited quantities that express all the R&D processes and innovation Matera is trying to implement at the brand. 

These include the Théon windproof and waterproof shirt, priced at 430 euros, with a facilitated back opening featuring quick magnetic closures that can be worn also frontally via a central zipper. Crafted from a lightweight, high-performance waxed fabric, the piece also comes with breathable mesh openings to enhance freedom of movement and ventilation, as well as elevated side pockets ensuring reachability even while seated.

Prints and the rocky textures of Matera’s hometown are frequently evoked in the range, creating camouflage-like effects, as seen in the Dimidia rounded down vest, 500 euros, with side openings allowing facilitated arm entry and exit, and in the Marna padded jacket, 750 euros, that opens completely from under the arms to the side panels, ideal for wheelchair users.

The Essential line trickles down these studies and functionalities into a more approachable and commercial range, including T-shirts and recycled cotton hoodies averagely priced between 60 euros and 170 euros.

Accessories including hands-free functional bags, wraparound eyewear and ergonomic shoes with zippers or Velcro closures and Vibram soles ensuring extra grip.

Flanking these lines, Matera additionally offers a tailor-made service online and is working on developing a range specifically targeting hospitals, bringing the research behind Vision to medical operators.

So far the brand is mainly available at its online store but Matera said the visibility brought by the CNMI Fashion Trust win attracted the interest of both showrooms and investors.

“Every brand says it wants to stay independent and many of those receiving grants like this just focus on doing a super cool collection next,” he said. “I want to build a company and get known for my ideas, and I can’t do it alone. I lost my father 10 years ago, my mother takes care of my brother and I really can’t understand how you can stay independent at 25. You can’t scale up alone, you have to share this [journey] with others who believe in the project.”

The founder acknowledged the market of adaptive fashion is “empty,” as he cited only sporadic projects by the likes of Nike, Adidas and Lululemon, mostly timed to major sports events. “Maybe they’re not understanding the market or are not willing to take too many risks, but I don’t get why they don’t focus on this [segment], also because we’re talking about millions of people and much more in terms of potential sales,” Matera said.

Not afraid of competition, the designer has his sights set on his ultimate goal. “I like to think that in the next two years, maybe by the Olympics and Paralympics in Los Angeles, this has become a global reference point when it comes to adaptive design,” he concluded.