Emanuele Abbondanza, I'M Alumnus of the Fashion Business Bachelor course at IM Milano Fashion, is an emerging fashion designer based in Milan and the co-founder of the brand Ascend Beyond.

Emanuele turned to fashion as a way to express himself due to a childhood stutter. Although his stutter faded, his passion for fashion persisted, guiding him from university to a career in the industry. In 2018 he graduated with a Bachelor in Fashion Business at Istituto Marangoni Milano Fashion school and, later in 2021, Emanuele co-founded the luxury menswear brand Ascend Beyond with Marco Grossi.

Ascend Beyond is a men’s luxury brand that draws inspiration from Mediterranean atmospheres and enacts a metaphorical distillation of them. The designs reflect deep considerations of desire, aspirations, and self-awareness, aligning with one of the founderìs key influences: conscious rap, a subgenre of hip-hop that promotes individual intuition as a path to collective positive change. This ethos is evident in the mix of workwear and formalwear, resulting in a relaxed, spontaneous, and effortlessly elegant style. Sustainability is also central to the brand's identity. Most of the fabrics used are end-of-stock materials—existing, underutilized resources they source from across Italy. The brand emphasizes the reuse of materials and the integration of pre-existing elements into the designs, driven by a fascination with the past and its ability to enrich each garment.

Since its inception, the brand has quickly gained industry recognition. In 2023, Ascend Beyond was featured in the Fashion Hub FW23 organized by CNMI, a platform for emerging designers, and won The Best Shops Award from CNMI and Camera Buyer Italia. Recently, it was selected as a finalist for the CNMI Fashion Trust 2024 and made its debut at Milan Fashion Week Men SS25 season.

1st Edition I’M Talent Showroom project at White Milano

Thanks to his achievements, emerging talent and dedication to sustainability, Emanuele was selected among the five designers to be featured in the inaugural edition of the I'M Talent Showroom project. 

In line with its aim to always enhancing its Alumni Community, Istituto Marangoni unveiled the first edition of the exclusive I'M TALENT SHOWROOM Project at WHITE Milano during the Milan Fashion Week on September 24. 
WHITE is an international showcase on the global fashion scene, dedicated to comprehensive ready-to-wear collections. It is one of the most significant and dynamic events during Milan Fashion Week, attracting numerous buyers, press members, and industry professionals from around the world.