Now in its eighth edition, the Premio Giovani Imprese Altagamma – Believing in the Future award was created in 2015 to identify emerging Italian luxury companies and, in particular, to valorise the entrepreneurial drive of those who have built a young business and have the characteristics to become an excellent Made in Italy brand in the future. From smart lamps for psycho-physical wellbeing to the luxury hotel in the heart of the Alps at 1,800 m; from the excellence of Calabrian yachts to bio-building materials made from rice processing waste to new talents in fashion and design. The 7 categories of the Young Entrepreneurs Award reflect the transversality of the Italian high-end and the award-winners represent the potential future champions of the Foundation.
Fashion: BLAZÉ MILANO
Founded in 2013, BLAZÉ Milano was created with the aim of reinterpreting the elegance, sartorial tradition and quality of Made in Italy in a contemporary key through one of the key elements of a woman’s wardrobe: the blazer. BLAZÉ’s distinctive features include the Smiley pocket – an iconic element that has always characterised the shape of the pocket in the brand’s creations – and the made-to-order service in the Milan and Rome Ateliers.
Design: OLEV
OLEV is a Veneto-based manufacturer of designer lamps. Each lamp is treated as a unique piece of art, assembled by hand in the factory in the province of Vicenza. OLEV does not create simple lighting bodies, but intelligent bodies capable of increasing man’s psycho-physical well-being. Some lamps are able to absorb noise, imitate changes in sunlight during the day and purify the air of germs, bacteria and viruses.
Jewellers: ILARIA ICARDI
Launched in 2020, the Ilaria Icardi brand is based on the 25 years of experience of the eponymous founder, a designer in the luxury fashion industry at companies such as Bottega Veneta, Etro, Saint Laurent, Tom Ford and Céline. The company produces fine jewellery collections made from responsibly sourced precious metals and stones.
Food&Beverage: ENGINE
ENGINE is the 100% Italian and organic gin that combines traditional artisanal methods with an image that draws inspiration from the world of motors of the 1980s. ENGINE is a distilled gin created in an artisanal way by master distillers in small batches and bottled by hand in a small laboratory in the Alta Langa. Its formula, linked to Piedmontese culture, pays homage to the tradition of rosolios and cordials, famous both as digestive remedies and as mood-boosting potions.
Speed (Boats&Engines): INVICTUS YACHT
Invictus Yachts are designed and built by Cantieri Aschenez, in the province of Catanzaro, applying the qualities that have made Italian yachting one of the most appreciated in the world: aesthetic care, materials, state-of-the-art assembly, reliability, flexibility and durability. Thanks to the collaboration with international designer Christian Grande, Invictus has transferred a strong technological component and a very high level of care in design into its yachts.
Hotellerie & Wellness: FORESTIS
FORESTIS is the five-star luxury hotel in the Dolomites in Brixen in the heart of the South Tyrolean Alps, facing the Plose massif, founded by the Hinteregger family and run today by the second generation: Stefan Hinteregger and his wife Teresa Unterthiner. At an altitude of 1,800 metres, immersed in the forest and open all year round, FORESTIS allows an escape into silence for psychophysical recovery.
Innovation: RICEHOUSE
Ricehouse is an Innovative SME and Benefit Society in the province of Biella that transforms waste from rice processing, otherwise destined to be burnt, into 100% Made in Italy and natural materials for green building. Suitable for both renovations and new constructions, Ricehouse products – from screeds to plasters, from insulators to finishes, from panels to bricks up to eco-paintings – are healthy for man and healthy for the environment, capable of absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere and thus guaranteeing a sustainable future.
