Exhibition and presentation of the OPOS × AFA project: MATTER MATTERS
September 28 - October 17 2026
MATTER MATTERS
OPOS and Afro Fashion Association bring materials back to the heart of the design process.
On the occasion of Milan Fashion Week 2026, OPOS and Afro Fashion Association present MATTER MATTERS, a research project and exhibition that reverse an established process: designing the object first and selecting the material afterwards.
MATTER MATTERS starts from the opposite perspective. Materials become the starting point for design.
The project brings together over thirty years of OPOS research into materials, production and technology with nine designers selected through Afro Fashion Association’s international network: Alvine Demanou, Christel Abboud, Delvin Nosakhare, Kathiana Saincy, Nana Brenu, Paul Roger Tanonkou, Weiren Theo, Yaimara Gomez and Zineb Hazim.
Working from a selection of natural and regenerated fabrics, yarns and leathers, as well as materials sourced from production surplus, the designers were invited to develop garments and accessories by allowing the properties, limitations and possibilities of each material to guide the design process.
Silk, linen, wool, cashmere and High Twist Cotton® are brought into dialogue with regenerated cashmere, Corium® regenerated leather and recovered materials. Traditional techniques and advanced production technologies become part of the same process of experimentation, from natural dyeing and vegetable tanning to seamless knitwear.
Developed over nine months of mentorship, research and design, the project directly involved Alberto Zanone and the OPOS team, guiding the designers from an understanding of the materials towards the possibility of developing functional, replicable products suitable for small-scale production.
The exhibition expands this reflection through a journey exploring material quality and durability, the recovery of production surplus, textile innovation, and alternative models of production, consumption and distribution, connecting MATTER MATTERS with the research OPOS has been developing since the early 1990s.
A section dedicated to Sports Merchandising uses the football jersey to trace the historical shift from wool and cotton to synthetic fibres, while presenting new experiments with high-performance natural materials.
MATTER MATTERS does not offer a single answer, but rather a question from which to begin again:
Before asking ourselves what we want to create, should we first ask what we are creating it from?
MATTER MATTERS — EXHIBITION INFORMATION
Opening: September 27, 2026 | 5:00–9:00 PM
Exhibition: September 28–October 17, 2026 | 11:00 AM–7:00 PM
Closed: Sunday, October 4 and Monday, October 5; Sunday, October 11 and Monday, October 12
Venue: OPOS Milano | Via Ermenegildo Cantoni 3 | Milan, Italy
Produced by: OPOS
In partnership with: Afro Fashion Association
PARTICIPATING DESIGNERS
Alvine Demanou · Christel Abboud · Delvin Nosakhare · Kathiana Saincy · Nana Brenu · Paul Roger Tanonkou · Weiren Theo · Yaimara Gomez · Zineb Hazim
MATERIAL PARTNERS
Pino S.r.l. · Prodotti Alfa S.r.l.
