Timisola Shasanya Wins First Sozzani Award
Timisola Shasanya received the inaugural Sozzani Award in Milan, including a 15,000-euro scholarship. Her debut ready-to-wear collection mixed menswear codes with fabrics and details drawn from British and Nigerian influences. The collection will be shown digitally during Milan Fashion Week.
Shasanya, born in Ireland to Nigerian heritage and raised in London, earned the first Sozzani Award in Milan. Her debut line blends menswear references with British and Nigerian materials and motifs, including waxed hunting-jacket cotton and leather tops inspired by Nigerian weaving. The collection is displayed at Fondazione Sozzani’s Bovisasca site and streams Monday during Milan Fashion Week.
A Central Saint Martins menswear graduate, she is studying at Paris’s Institut Francaise de la Mode and previously interned at Ferragamo. The 15,000-euro prize, backed by Veuve Clicquot, supports design and craft and highlights women creators. She intends to deepen handcraft skills and present her next collection at Paris Fashion Week in six months.
The award may give Shasanya greater visibility as she builds her namesake label, potentially opening doors with funders, retailers, and media. It could also draw attention to designers working across cultural influences and to Fondazione Sozzani’s effort to support women in design and craft. Audiences may encounter more hybrid menswear and handcraft-focused work, though the immediate effect on broader fashion systems remains uncertain.