In fashion, few materials carry the emotional resonance and universal familiarity of denim. Worn across generations, geographies, and subcultures, it exists simultaneously as uniform, rebellion, personal archive, and cultural symbol. Now, a new Milan-based initiative is reframing denim through a distinctly contemporary lens, positioning it as a medium for storytelling, identity, and artistic experimentation.
Created by AFRO FASHION ASSOCIATION in collaboration with Levi’s®, Voices of Denim is a year-long cultural platform bringing together 30 emerging BIPOC creatives living and working in Italy. The project spans fashion design, photography, visual arts, film, styling, sound design, and creative direction, culminating in a large-scale immersive exhibition during September 2026’s Milan Fashion Week at Casa degli Artisti.
Presented earlier this year at Palazzo Marino in Milan, Voices of Denim arrives at a moment when conversations surrounding representation, authorship, and access within the creative industries continue to evolve globally. Rather than approaching diversity as a fleeting industry narrative, the initiative centers long-term creative development through mentorship, craftsmanship, research, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
At the heart of the project is the idea of denim as a living cultural material. The program explores how fabric can hold memory, movement, migration, labor, transformation, and personal history. Through this lens, denim becomes far more than a wardrobe staple. It becomes an evolving visual language connected to contemporary culture itself.
The selected creatives reflect an expansive international dialogue shaped through Italy’s multicultural creative landscape. Among the designers participating are Victor Hart, whose contemporary menswear merges classic tailoring with refined modernity; Tokyo James, celebrated for sharply constructed silhouettes and culturally layered storytelling; and Gaeun Kim, whose emotionally charged work explores identity through experimental forms and Y2K-inspired aesthetics. Cuban-born designer Yaimira Gomez Fabre contributes her innovative seamless handmade constructions, while Papa Oyeyemi brings his provocative approach to masculinity and material experimentation into the project’s evolving narrative.
Photography, image-making, and visual storytelling also play a central role in shaping the project’s universe. Creatives including Kendall Hill, Donald Ngamene, and Ben Drame contribute visual narratives rooted in intimacy, identity, and contemporary cultural observation.
The initiative extends beyond fashion into sound, literature, moving image, and contemporary art. Ghanaian-Italian duo Pamy & Polly shape immersive sonic experiences that bridge nightlife and fashion culture, while artists such as Francis Nathan Abiam reinterpret denim through conceptual artistic practices centered on transformation and reuse. Writers and visual storytellers including Nadeesha Uyangoda and Anna Osei contribute reflections on belonging, language, and representation within contemporary Europe.
Jordan Anderson
Ten participants will each develop a manifesto look using deadstock Levi’s® materials, while collaborators from other disciplines will construct the broader visual and emotional landscape of the exhibition through editorial projects, soundscapes, film, installation, and creative direction.
Mentorship forms a defining element of Voices of Denim. Participants will work alongside internationally respected figures from fashion, publishing, and culture, including Edward Buchanan, Tamu McPherson, Francesca Ragazzi, and members of Levi’s® design leadership including Cara Fenu and Paul Dillinger.
The final exhibition, curated by Jordan Anderson, is set to transform Casa degli Artisti into a multisensory environment where fashion, sound, installation, moving image, and narrative intersect. Open free to the public for two weeks, the exhibition aims to create a direct dialogue between the city of Milan and a new generation of creative voices shaping contemporary culture.
Michelle Francine Ngonmo
Founded in 2015 by Michelle Francine Ngonmo, AFRO FASHION ASSOCIATION has become one of Italy’s most influential platforms dedicated to advancing diversity, education, and cultural exchange across fashion and the arts. Through initiatives spanning mentorship, exhibitions, talent cultivation, and advocacy, the organization continues to create meaningful opportunities for emerging creatives across Italy and the African diaspora.
For Levi’s®, the partnership reinforces the brand’s longstanding relationship with individuality, craftsmanship, and cultural relevance. Since its founding in 1873, denim has remained deeply connected to self-expression and social evolution. Voices of Denim reimagines that legacy through the perspectives of a new creative generation, one shaped by migration, hybridity, artistic freedom, and global cultural dialogue.
As Milan Fashion Week continues expanding beyond traditional runway formats, Voices of Denim signals a growing appetite for immersive cultural experiences grounded in storytelling and collaboration. The project speaks to a broader shift unfolding across fashion today: a movement toward interdisciplinary creativity, emotional authenticity, and narratives that reflect the richness of contemporary society.
