Giovanni Bedin is the Venetian designer that’s bringing couture back
Maybe you’ve never heard his name before, but it’s one you might stumble upon shopping the streets of Vicenza or Napoli—and one that will become more and more familiar as his profile grows. Giovanni Bedin is new to the broader fashion world because the designer has been quietly honing his design craft for two decades at some of the most revered nameplates in the rarified haute couture world, including Karl Lagerfeld, Thierry Mugler, and House of Worth.
Having now shown at Paris Couture Week for the fourth season, Giovanni Bedin is putting forth a fresh perspective on the interplay between haute couture—custom, completely hand-made and fitted garments—and ready-to-wear. It’s only a subtle distillation from Bedin’s initial sketches down to the product available online: the runway looks shown in Paris inform the aesthetics of the made-to-measure offerings, which he appoints in his London atelier. Then, the adjustments made to those custom garment to accommodate everyday practicalities in turn permeate the ready-to-wear collection, which is nevertheless constructed with flawless handiwork and imbued with exclusivity, as distribution is still highly limited.
To court the modern woman, Bedin works with breathable materials like cotton and jersey, cut close to the body, both for ease of movement and perennial wearability. This practical approach stems from Bedin’s upbringing in a family of Venetian tailors, for whom precise tailoring was a way of life and a matter of pride.
Even within the strictures of working with just a few preferred fabrics and staying true to a meticulous commitment to detail (the labels inside his garments are embroidered by Lesage, the subsidiary of Chanel), Bedin manages to explore the far reaches of couture creativity—from the different techniques applied to a fabric to the methods of folding and pleating them just so.
The result is an overarching collection that is distinctive from other designers but cohesive and ultimately, once you begin to recognize his signatures, attributable to the one and only Giovanni Bedin. It’s the sign of a great designer, and this may be why he was initially scouted by Barneys for a capsule collection of ready-to-wear. His designs are now stocked at a handful of Italy’s finest luxury boutiques, at specialty stores around the world, as well as here on italist.
If you’re a fan of designers like Gianni Versace, Azzedine AlaÏa, or simply love a sleek corset dress, keep an eye on Giovanni Bedin—he’s one of our names to know.
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About the Author
Alex English is the Head of Content Marketing at italist.com, building on a lifelong passion for fashion and luxury. After publishing a lifestyle blog for nearly ten years and obtaining an MBA in Milan at SDA Bocconi, one of Europe’s top business schools, he joined the italist team in 2019. His work since then has focused on upper-funnel messaging, brand storytelling, establishing italist as a thought leader in the space, and enriching the customer experience on the platform. Find him on LinkedIn.