Francesco Murano, My Style Bags and Acbc were among the winners of the ninth edition of the Young Businesses awards by Italian luxury industry association Altagamma.
The 2025 edition’s winners
Two emerging labels were recognised in the Fashion category. The first was Francesco Murano, founded in 2020 by the eponymous designer, an award winner with CNMI, Altaroma and LVMH. Francesco Murano has been a regular at Milan Fashion Week since February. The second was My Style Bags, a brand founded in 2008 in Milan by Giuseppe Bellora, Lorenza Bellora and Stefano Donadel Campbell, specialised in travel bags and accessories made with fine fabrics.
The award for the Innovation category went to green solutions specialist Acbc, founded in 2017 and now a partner of over 150 international names, including Corneliani, Gucci Watch, Kering Eyewear, Max Mara, Missoni and Versace. Acbc helps them develop green strategies and design sustainable products and environmentally friendly collections.
The other prize-winners were Slalom for object design, Pola Grande Gioielli for jewellery, Portrait Milano for the hotel business, Lávika for wellness and beauty, Ice Yachts for the nautical design and automotive category, and Molino Pasini for food.
The awards, introduced by Altagamma in 2015 in collaboration with Borsa Italiana, Elite-Gruppo Euronext and SDA Bocconi, recognise emerging brands within Italy’s luxury sectors. The winning companies join Altagamma for a year, and will be able to take part in exclusive training and networking sessions, focusing on business strategy and consultancy.
“In the last nine years, Altagamma has created and pursued with dedication this project set up with Franca Sozzani, aimed at spotlighting the stars of the future, the emerging companies that will be the new protagonists of Italian luxury,” said Stefania Lazzaroni, managing director of Altagamma. “These brands have all it takes to become paradigms of Italian excellence in seven different sectors. Since 2015, 64 companies have been recognised by the awards. Many have become established, some have joined Altagamma, and they have all been part of our community for some time,” concluded Lazzaroni.
Acne Studios has opened its first standalone store in Thailand, opting for the Asian nation’s capital, Bangkok, to make its debut.
Inside the new Acne Studios Bangkok store – Courtesy
Located inside the city’s Siam Paragon shopping mall, nestled in the Siam shopping district, the new Acne Studios Bangkok store was conceived by the Swedish luxury fashion brand’s creative director Jonny Johansson and Swedish architecture studio, Halleroed.
Washed in the Stockholm-based brand’s signature light pink hue, the new store’s facade features pink granite, which extends to the interior flooring and a series of monolithic pillars, with matte plaster walls.
The minimalist space is punctuated by furnishings and fixtures by longtime collaborators, including seating by British furniture designer MaxLamb, alongside geometric stainless steel, including a metal payment desk, and strip lighting by the French artist, Benoit Lalloz.
Inside the new Acne Studios Bangkok – Courtesy
“Together, this dialogue between materials, furnishings and lighting reaches what Johansson and Halleroed call an ‘unexpected harmony’ – a reflection of Acne Studios’ collections, which are rooted in ideas of juxtaposition, creativity and play,” said the brand in a press release.
Inside, local shoppers will find Acne Studios Fall/Winter 25 looks from the men’s and women’s collections alongside shoes and accessories, and the brand’s new Camero bag.
To celebrate the opening, a limited-edition Acne Studios Loves Bangkok T-shirt will be available alongside a series of early Trompe L’œil drops.
The new Bangkok store opening comes on the back of Acnes Studios’ opening in Aoyama, Tokyo, strengthening the firm’s presence across the Asia-Pacific region.
LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault said he was hoping he would be able to make another ten years when asked about his succession plans for the world’s biggest luxury group.
Reuterss
“Talk to me again in 10 years, I can give you a more precise answer,” Arnault, 76, told broadcaster CNBC in an interview, referring to his latest mandate extension, approved by shareholders earlier this year. “I hope … that I will make these 10 years,” he said.
Commenting on the role of his five children at the family-controlled luxury giant, Arnault gave little insight on who could take over the helm. “For getting responsibility, they have to merit the responsibility and to prove they can do it,” Arnault said.
Last month, Clarks announced it was opening its first ever Cloudsteppers store in the US… and it’s duly arrived, with the Corpus Christi, Texas, store marking the UK footwear-to-apparel retailer’s next chapter for its standalone lifestyle brand.
Cloudsteppers
It’s made its debut because UK-based Clarks says Cloudsteppers “has earned its reputation as America’s No.1 flip-flop brand for women, [citing Circana data], with over 25 million pairs of the iconic Breeze Sea sold globally”.
It’s all down to the “love for their signature ‘walk-on-air’ feel”, with Cloudsteppers products combining “lightweight comfort, dependable quality, and exceptional everyday value”.
It comes as a new 1,255 sq ft mall-based concept store with an immersive retail experience. The store’s choice of location, La Palmera, is “perfectly placed” in the beachside city “where laid-back comfort is part of everyday living”.
Designed as a “bright, welcoming space”, the store features Cloudsteppers’ first range of casual lifestyle essentials. With price points starting from $9.99, the range includes soft-touch T-shirts, hoodies, caps, bags and water bottles.
Previously focused on women’s styles, Cloudsteppers is also expanding into menswear. In the new year, it will stock a full men’s range – from sandals and sneakers to T-shirts, hoodies and more.
Peter Quirke, Clarks VP of Retail in the Americas, said: “Launching… as a standalone lifestyle concept is a major milestone for us. Cloudsteppers has really grown into its own in America.”