2005 Italian fashion fund bravissimo; Italy's fashion competition Who Is on Next was set up to find the country's best new talent.

Byline: Mark Holgate

Year in, year out, those who visit Milan to view the designer collections hope that someone unheard of, and unbelievably talented, is ripe for discovery. It did happen once: It was 1985, when Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana emerged as stars at a group show of fledgling talents. Now, after all these seasons, there is again something to talk about in Italy. Italian Vogue's editor, Franca Sozzani, and the Alta Roma organization set up the Who Is on Next awards in January 2005 (based on the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, the initiative established to foster a future for American fashion). Three hundred young designers from all over Italy-who knew there were so many?-applied, and then the list was cut down to 30, then to a final nine. The chosen few presented their collections at a special runway show in Rome this past July before a panel of judges including Vogue's Hamish Bowles. Three winners emerged: Albino D'Amato, who specializes in romantic, ethereal dresses with a touch of the 1920s; Carlo Alberto Pregnolato, who makes ...