Autistic City – Exploring youth different minds unique world

Realised by the association Modelli si Nasce,in partnership with Accademia del Lusso di Roma and with the support of theAssessorato Grandi Eventi, Sport, Turismo e Moda di Roma Capitale, the photographic exhibition Autistic City - Exploring youth different minds unique world was created to raise awareness of the issue of autism through fashion.

For the occasion, the Accademia del Lusso, leading fashion and design school, made available Carolina Turra, professor of Styling, to coordinate the work together with the students of the course, and fashion photographer Marta Petrucci, to realise a shooting inspired by Wes Anderson's films.

Modelli si Nasce is a non-profit association founded in Rome in 2018 thanks to the initiative and commitment of some parents of autistic children. Modelli si Nasce is the first and only association in Italy to offer customised training courses that prepare autistic children to enter the world of fashion as models and photomodels.

In its five years of existence, the association has seen its membership base grow, with families from all over Italy and the number of young people (around 60) ready to embark on their first work experience in the fashion industry has grown.

To date, the Association has operated in Rome even though the young people come from all over Italy. Since March 2024, training courses have also been started in Calabria. The aim is to increase the number of regional branches in order to avoid long and tiring journeys for the many young people and their families.

The Accademia del Lusso was founded in 2005 in Via Montenapoleone, Milan, as an exclusive school for young talents wishing to pursue a career in the fashion and luxury industry in Italy and abroad.

Its head office is located in Via Montenapoleone 5, in Milan, in the heart of the fashion quadrilateral, a symbolic place of fashion in Italy.

Also in Milan, at Via Chioggia, the Luxury Lab has become the active venue for workshops, seminars and other theoretical-practical activities aimed at students.

In Rome, Accademia del Lusso, in addition to its historic premises of Via Matera 18, has opened a new school in Piazza di Spagna 9, where students have the opportunity to learn about the great Italian sartorial tradition.