Extè

Extè is an Italian fashion brand introduced in 1996 by Ittierre S.p.A. (a subsidiary of the IT Holding Group).

The name Extè comes from the Latin expression ex-tempore, which means timeless, or literally: beyond time.

Brand identity

Extè is the end-result of a conceptual project where product meets communication and market to give definition to a whole new vision of style.

Thanks to the bold use of experimental fibers and materials, the directional design and the innovative brand communication, Extè made an immediate and ultra-edgy impact on the market. Extè captures the future in the here&now through shapes and colors, context and culture. A style full of passion, energy, vitality. Strong on graphics, geometries, chromatic contrasts, superclean cuts. Always in potent mix with the explosive appeal of streetwear.

Evolution, early years

1996 - 1999

Extè burst on the scene in 1996 at an event at the Gasometro in the industrial Bovisa district of Milan. That same year the brand presented its first "vacuum-packed" clothes complete with provocative product "sell-by" date. Clearly tweaking the ever-cyclical fashion establishment. Style, passion, energy. A total approach to creativity. Utter openness to the stimuli of contemporary aesthetics. An avant-garde idea of fashion as lifestyle. Keen attraction, rigor and technology for guidelines. The materialization of virtual expressiveness, runway in the form of stageset. Fashion fabrics with a tech twist. This sophisticated image slowly took hold in the minds of consumers as synonymous with intense pursuit of quality and innovation. Meantime, Extè won high marks for unprecedented collections featuring both natural and synthetic products, ultra-easy fits and edgiest of looks, all in one.

2000 to present

Years of major success for Extè, now a prominent name in the realm of Italian youth ready-to-wear lines.

Early on in the decade, young Italo-Brit fashion designer Antonio Berardi, a graduate of Central Saint Martin’s College in London, became artistic director of the brand. By refining and further defining her style, he put the Extè woman in a class of her own while giving her a cool androgynous spirit. After Berardi came Sergio Ciucci, a designer who did a lot with symbols and geometries, as well as with colors like white, black and red. He drew inspiration for his final Extè collection from the cult movie SIN CITY (based on the eponymous Frank Miller comics), using the pic’s layout also to shoot one of the brand’s best-ever ad campaigns. As for Alessandro De Benedetti, another young Italian designer who worked for Extè up through 2004, he exploited his own love of 1980s alternative punk music and of Russ Meyer films to mix styles and impulses and so invent a "virtual" woman intriguingly glam (characteristic, this mysterious allure, no longer primary for the brand).

Currently, Extè makes use of a team of young talents who year after year design winning collections.

Communication

Right from that first memorable Bovisa show, Extè has always stood out for avant-garde communication and breakthrough events. In 2001, revolutionary cult photographer Gian Paolo Tomasi created seven "virtual models" for the mag GQ. Extè made the most of the shots for its own ad campaign, thereby promoting the idea while marking another first: namely, the debut of virtual models in brand communication.

In June of 2004, for the S/S 2005 show, Extè played pioneer once again. This time with the world’s first vertical catwalk, where Les Passagers acrobats gave a stunning performance in the twofold role of artist/model.

Extè communication always benefits from the brilliance of top photographers, major figures such as Michelangelo Di Battista, Patrick Demarchellier, David La Chapelle, Sean Ellis (also film director). And then Anglo-Turk duo Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott, authors of the F/W 2006-07 and the S/S 2007 campaigns, with styling by Joe McKenna, which signaled the brand’s strong positioning in the area of luxury denims. Thanks to the Denim Venture, Extè has become a big name in fashion jeans, now the signature item, with rich make-a-statement detailing.

For the S/S 2008 ad campaign, photographer Tom Munro had the task of capturing the brand’s distinctive mood, fashion in vitro mode. At his side: famous stylist Sissy Vian. In front of the lens: fashion models Emina Cunmulaj and Tyson Ballou.

With the campaign for the F/W 2008-09 collection, the brand continued to move forward applying techno research to fashion in terms of both philosophy and materials. The latter increasingly more sophisticated, producing strong vibrant tactile and chromatic contrasts. In this case photographer Warwick Saint had the job of interpreting and conveying the mood of the new collection, with styling by Miguel Arnau. In his high-impact image, models Helena Sopar and Christopher Meireles move inside a cube that provides structure and atmosphere. Here Extè opted to showcase pieces of an unusually magnetic collection in shades of dark gray and black with touches of red – in stark opposition to the clear luminous structural element from which they take light.

On January 15, 2008, Extè welcomed the new year by hosting a fabulous party to present the F/W 2008/09 collection. Held again in Milan’s Bovisa district, at the BaseB on Via Lambruschini, it drew guests totally into the Extè world with an explosive succession of surprises, emotions, music, performances and other forms of creative expression. All to spark a "Chemistry of Emotions" (aka name of the event). This time too technology and creativity were the principles inspiring the many Extè products, identifying a design vision at once edgy, clean and bold.