VULNERA

Graduate Final Collection 2026
POLIMODA x Vogue Italia

VULNERA — THE CONCEPT

VULNERA explores the tensions and contradictions within the gay community through the encounter of two opposing figures: the hardened biker and the delicate boy.

Their dialogue challenges conventional notions of masculinity, revealing vulnerability not as weakness, but as a radical form of strength.

Through protective leather structures, exposed skin, and the contrast between hardness and softness, the collection reclaims emotional honesty and sensitivity as powerful expressions of identity.

VULNERA — Final Collection Lineup, 2026.

KNITWEAR DEVELOPMENT

An exploration of texture, structure and material experimentation through knitwear.
Raw Silk on 12-Gauge Knitting Machine.

Hand-crocheted silk with marabou feather yarn.

Tubolar stitch with lace inserted.

VULNERA — EDITORIAL

Selected looks from VULNERA, the 2026 graduate menswear collection by Matteo Bardi, photographed in an editorial shoot styled by Serge Girardi.

VULNERA — Selected Editorial Looks, 2026.

VULNERA — RUNWAY SHOW

Polimoda Graduate Show 2026

June 15, 2026 — Manifattura Tabacchi, Florence

Presented during Pitti Uomo 110 and livestreamed in partnership with Vogue Italia.

VULNERA — Runway Look 01.
Knitwear Biker jacket with leather finishings, layered with a shearling vest and sheer knit tank top, paired with python embossed printed leather trousers.

VULNERA — Runway Look 02
Leather biker jacket with laser-cut sleeves and fringed detailing, layered with a sheer knit tank top, paired with burgundy calf-hair patchwork biker trousers.

VULNERA — Runway Look 03
Olive cavallino laser-cut sleeveless biker jacket layered over a black leather salopette.

VULNERA — Runway Look 04
Knit bodysuit layered with a suede bomber jacket with shearling mantle, paired with leather biker pants with a denim print effect.

VULNERA — Runway Look 05
Crinkled lamb leather cropped jacket with eyelets and lace-up detailing, paired with a distressed calf-hair pencil skirt.

VULNERA — Runway Look 06
Laser-cut leather tailcoat lined with organza, biker jacket in shaved calf-hair with metallic crackle finish, leather shorts and knee-high leather boots.

Distressed leather pirate boots with oversized folded shafts and metal nail fastening.

JAZZY WEARS VULNERA

Irish singer and DJ Jazzy, a rising force in the international electronic music scene, embodies the bold, rebellious spirit of VULNERA in an exclusive editorial for NASTY Magazine, captured through the lens of Marco Giuliano.

Jazzy wearing a leather jacket from Matteo Bardi's VULNERA collection in an editorial for NASTY Magazine, photographed by Marco Giuliano.

IN SILENTIO ET SPE

Collection 2025
Showcased at Stelle in Giardino Fashion Show — Pisa, 2025

IN SILENTIO ET SPE — THE CONCEPT

In Silentio et Spe traces a spiritual passage through Mongolia’s cold vastness toward ecstatic communion.

Inspired by traditional dress and electronic music, garments serve as protective talismans: wrapping, shielding, and revealing the self as it moves from solitude into the collective rapture of a rave.

IN SILENTIO ET SPE — Final Collection Lineup, 2025.

IN SILENTIO ET SPE — Look 01.

Tailor jacket with sculptural shoulders and hand-crocheted raffia floral embroidery, paired with nylon bomber sleeves and trousers.

Look 01 — Stelle in Giardino Runway Show, Pisa.

Look 03 — Stelle in Giardino Runway Show, Pisa.

PRINT DEVELOPMENT

From Mongolian floral motifs to electronic visual experimentation.

The print development for IN SILENTIO ET SPE began with the floral motifs of traditional Mongolian costumes, reinterpreted through photography and cyanotype techniques to create a contemporary visual language inspired by electronic music.

The photographic experiments were scanned and digitally manipulated in Photoshop, transforming organic floral forms into abstract, layered compositions. This dialogue between tradition and electronic culture extends to the shoulders, where vinyl records featuring zoetrope imagery introduce an element of movement and visual rhythm.

IN SILENTIO ET SPE — Zoetrope vinyl records incorporated into the shoulder construction, connecting the visual illusion of movement with the rhythmic energy of electronic music.

IN SILENTIO ET SPE — Handcrafted leather gloves embellished with hand-embroidered raffia flowers, combining traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design. Designed and crafted by Matteo Bardi.

IN SILENTIO ET SPE — Cyanotype illustration overlaid with a negative sheet photograph, combining photographic experimentation and layered image-making to develop the collection’s print language.

IN SILENTIO ET SPE — Coated cotton denim takes on an armour-like silhouette, defined by an imposing collar, sculptural shoulders and protective headwear. A study in concealment and restraint, where rigid volumes become a second skin, blurring the boundaries between strength and vulnerability.

EATERS OF DARKNESS

Collection 2024
An exploration of grotesque beauty and dark elegance.

illustration lineup from Matteo Bardi's EATERS OF DARKNESS

EATERS OF DARKNESS — THE CONCEPT

EATERS OF DARKNESS draws from the unsettling imagery of Joel-Peter Witkin and the sophistication of 1920s attire to challenge conventional ideals of beauty. Through distorted proportions, elongated silhouettes and unconventional constructions, the collection explores the grotesque as a form of elegance, transforming the disturbing and the unconventional into something refined, graceful and strangely seductive.

EATERS OF DARKNESS — Sculptural corset constructed from overlapping horsehair leather panels, with exposed side lacing and elongated leather strips.

EATERS OF DARKNESS — KNITWEAR DEVELOPMENT

EATERS OF DARKNESS — Experimental knitwear development exploring distorted proportions and asymmetric silhouettes through contrasting textures and innovative constructions. Combining 5-gauge viscose knitwear, fur-effect stitches and sculptural draping to redefine the relationship between fabric and the body.

Eaters of Darkness — Experimental Knitwear Design by Matteo Bardi

Close-up of Matteo Bardi's pony hair leather belt corset from the EATERS OF DARKNESS collection, featuring overlapping leather straps, metal buckles, eyelets and a contrasting black-and-white knitted back panel.

EATERS OF DARKNESS — An experimental photographic study exploring distorted beauty through inverted tones, extreme contrasts and haunting silhouettes.

A series of three photographic studies, each exploring a different expression of distorted beauty through negative imagery, extreme contrasts and fragmented silhouettes.

The final study completes the photographic triptych, transforming distortion and the grotesque into an unsettling expression of beauty.

FREE FROM CONDEMNATION

Collection 2024
From vulnerability to protection, from confinement to freedom.

illustration lineup from Matteo Bardi's FREE FROM CONDEMNATION

FREE FROM CONDEMNATION — THE CONCEPT

FREE FROM CONDEMNATION explores the transformation of barriers into sanctuary. Drawing inspiration from the architectural language of Tadao Andō and the bodily sculptures of Rebecca Horn, the collection reimagines vulnerability as structure and heaviness as protection. Within sculptural, enveloping silhouettes, the body finds refuge before emerging strengthened, expanding outward into the world without apology.

FREE FROM CONDEMNATION — A study of movement and stillness, where contrasting silhouettes explore the tension between vulnerability and protection. Sculptural volumes and fluid gestures reflect the body's passage from concealment towards freedom.