Under-represented creatives will gain a dedicated production and presentation base in Milan after designer Edward Buchanan opened The Situation, a self-funded 400-square-meter centre in the NoLo district. Buchanan says the space will host residency programmes, exhibitions and showrooms free of charge to selected artists, with an archive and workspace available to residents and collaborators.
The Story in Pictures
Buchanan, who trained at Parsons School of Design and became the first ready-to-wear design director at Bottega Veneta, financed the project personally and intends to keep the foundation financially autonomous, with no outside investment. He has committed €400,000 to the site’s interior construction and materials, a figure that excludes the building’s purchase price. The organisation held a soft opening on September 25.
The ground floor will operate as a studio and gallery where designers, artists and other cultural practitioners can work in residence and stage openings. The top floor, dubbed "At Eddie’s," will house Buchanan’s own design office and an archive of his work, including pieces from his years at Bottega Veneta and subsequent consultancies. Buchanan has described the archive as a research resource, particularly rich in knitwear and textiles.
Buchanan said the project grew out of five years of planning after closing his previous office during Covid and finding the current space by chance. "I really wanted to create a space where we celebrate artists from disadvantaged communities," he said, adding that the programme will target creative practitioners who are people of color, queer, and women. He also said he would form a board to select recipients and to help secure partner funding; he plans to use his industry network to connect emerging talents with institutional and commercial collaborators.
Alongside his new foundation, Buchanan retains multiple industry roles: he is Milan fashion director for Perfect Magazine, Pucci’s knitwear designer reporting to creative director Camille Miceli, and the founder and designer of Sansovino 6, launched in 2005. Between 2019 and 2023 he served as Off-White’s design director for knitwear. He is positioning The Situation as a platform to address barriers he encountered across a nearly 35-year career and to supply practical support, financial, mentoring and presentation opportunities, for creatives who lack space and industry access.
The immediate next steps include finalising the board and selecting the first cohort of residents. Buchanan has already signalled outreach to peers in Milan’s creative community to populate that board and to provide programming synergy.
