Born in Bologna in 1970, Massimiliano Bizzi took his first steps in the fashion industry very early in life and graduated in Economics aged 26; after cutting his fashion teeth in Collection Privée?, his family’s firm manufacturing fashion and accessories, he started working as strategic and marketing consultant in important trade-fairs, such as Fiera Milano, Pitti Immagine Firenze, Bologna Fiere, and also as artistic director for the main Prêt-à-Porter fashion events, he was active in Paris for 8 years, from 1999 to 2008. In 2000, the executive was the first to focus on contemporary fashion, giving way to the project WHITE, featuring a ground-breaking exhibiting format in the trade-fair scenario. The first edition of the tradeshow took place in Milan in piazza 6 February in the pavilions of Fiera Milano, which, at the time, was in the city centre. In 2002 the debut with 90 exhibitors at Super Studio, betting on the potential of the Tortona District, which at the time was just budding. The next step was in 2005, when Bizzi – with Brenda Bellei, his life and business partner – founded M.Seventy, the company that manages the trade-show. Since its very onset, the show stood out owing to a pioneering exhibiting layout, and also because it was the first in Milan to zero in on the new emergent talents. The tradeshow, thanks to Bizzi’s insightful and successful idea, has been a forerunners in scouting, focusing on promising fashion designers and inviting young talents to the tradeshow, so that they would meet the Italian producers. In 2007, when no one talked about TALENTS, WHITE started to organize a series of events with designers who at the time were still unknown to the wider public, and are today international icons, like Anthony Vaccarello, Pierre Ancy, Roksanda Ilincic, Peter Pilotto, Marios Schwab, Jonathan Saunders, to mention just a few. With his team, Massimiliano Bizzi has always been committed to buyer-oriented scouting, which has brought to the tradeshow the likes of Stella Jean, Uma Wang, KTZ Kokon To Zai, Nasir Mazhar, Filles à Papa, brands that, after their participation in the show launched by Bizzi, have risen to international fame. Ahead of their time, Bizzi and WHITE have showcased labels like Lucio Vanotti, Sunnei, Moto Guo, Fengchen Wang, Julian Zigerli, Aalto, Tonsure, Cottweiler, who then were all selected to partake in important contests, such as VMH Prize and International Woolmark Prize.
In 2008 Massimiliano Bizzi was the first to address the issue of sustainability in the fashion industry by launching the first high-end initiative to be fully dedicated to the theme. He has partaken as speaker in several conventions on sustainability both nationwide and in Europe. In 2008, he opened WHITE UOMO with 40 exceptional brands, showcasing the menswear vanguard during the homonymous Milanese fashion week, with an outstanding setting, one of the best ever made by M.Seventy. In 2009 the manager underwrote the important partnership with the Municipality of Milan, which allowed the expansion of WHITE, today on three locations – Tortona 27, Superstudio Più; Tortona 54, Ex Ansaldo; Tortona 35, Hotel Nhow – with over 500 brands on show. In 2012, aside from the extension of WHITE show in the January and June editions dedicated to the pre-collections and unisex fashion, Bizzi was yet again the first in the sector to come up with the idea of a preview of the collections for the buyers, in order to favour the sales by the exhibiting businesses through WHITE MAN & WOMAN. In 2012 and 2013 WHITE ushered in its presence on the American marketplace with two important events in partnership with Coterie. In 2015, Max Bizzi and Brenda Bellei have relied even more on the internationalization of the trade show by developing several projects in collaboration with ITA – Italian Trade Agency, and thanks to the partnership with the trade-fair Revolver in Copenhagen. In 2016 Bizzi and Gisella Borioli, founder of Superstudio Più, have launched the brand Tortona Fashion District. In order to shed light on this local entity, one of the most dynamic in the fashion system, Editions Modem, in cooperation with Tortona Fashion District, have been producing since September 2016 the ‘’Modem Map – Tortona Fashion District’’, which is released every year during Milan’s 4 fashion weeks (January and June for the menswear collections / February and September for the womenswear collections). In 2016 Massimiliano Bizzi also underwrote an important political partnership with Confartigianato Imprese, the main Italian association to represent small and mediumsized fashion businesses. Today WHITE is a leading tradeshow, with unique emphasis on a specific segment, contemporary fashion. Rather than a mere project, this is the definition of a sector that identifies first with Milan and then with the whole world. With over 22.000 confirmed visitors, WHITE is one of the hubs that make Milan’s Fashion Week increasingly engaging on an international scale. Massimiliano Bizzi, as president and founder of the trade-show WHITE, is a member of the table on fashion, set up by Minister Calenda, whose protagonists are the topmost personalities in the sector. In February 2017 White womenswear show’s calendar was extended to 4 days, thus registering an increase in the number of visitors by 40% compared to the previous editions. Again in 2017, the opening of the tradeshow WHITE SHANGHAI with the first edition in October during the Shanghai Fashion Week, in partnership with the local Government. In 2018 Bizzi launched the format WSM White Street, Sport and Sustainable Market, whose January and June editions during the menswear fashion weeks represent the international reference point for businesses producing and selling sustainable collections. This is an innovative type of event that can be likened to a festival, as, besides the Be To Be, it is open to end-users too. In 2018 Massimiliano Bizzi was the promoter of the strategic partnership between Camera della Moda, Confartigianato Imprese and ICE – Mise to re-launch the menswear fashion week a Milan. Last but by no means least, in 2018 Massimiliano Bizzi came up with BLUE, the foremost sustainable innovation event, which he launched during the 2019 edition of Milan’s world-acclaimed international furniture show, Salone del Mobile.
