For their Spring/Summer 2021 collection, designer Lorenzo Seghezzi turned to Porta Venezia, a neighbourhood in Milan, Italy for inspiration.  Known for its post-colonial heritage and queer presence, the area is also called “Asmarina”, which means “little Asmara”, the capital of the East African country of Eritrea.  

This is mostly because Italy is now the main destination for refugees from this country in East Africa that issues death sentences for queer people. 

“I chose to design a collection inspired by traditional shapes and costumes of Eritrean and Ethiopian culture mixed with the underground street style of the queer community of my city, Milano,” says Seghezzi.

Featuring intricate corsetry and vintage sports silhouettes, the collection has another goal in mind: “I once again designed Queer Asmarina with the goal to criticise how extreme machoism and masculinity are a huge problem in the LGBTIQ+ community,” adds the Milan-born designer.

All images by Alberto Degano.