To create, I always need a story Interview with Fabrizio Corbo, creative director of Erika Cavallini

As you are reading this interview, in Milan during fashion week a deeply romantic presentation is taking place, one that has a lot to tell. It is the Fall Winter 2026 collection by Erika Cavallini with creative director Fabrizio Corbo. Titled Forget me not, it is accompanied by a performance by Gaia Banfi and is conceived as an immersive experience for the audience - a space to inhabit and interact with from a multisensory perspective. We asked the creative director directly about it; this is what he told us.

Interview with Fabrizio Corbo, creative director of Erika Cavallini

What is the central concept behind the F/W 26 collection?

The central theme, which is also reflected in the title Forget me not, is do not forget me. I wanted to tell the story of a love between a mermaid and a sailor, a unique, unrepeatable moment. Driven by this feeling, I reflected on the figure of the mermaid to give her a sense of redemption. Mermaids are often seen as sinners, as negatively seductive figures, when in reality they are women who were promised a love that never returned. Deceived, not guilty. I also played with the sailor figure, incorporating garments whose fabrics and shapes recall him. Within the collection, these two souls coexist: one more structured and rigid, the other fragile, fluid, and soft. This duality is evident in both the color palette and the choice of fabrics.

There is a very strong narrative intention

Whenever I begin designing a collection, I always need to have a story. It is important, when I start visualizing it, to follow a kind of plot. Sometimes it can be a message, sometimes a story.

How would you describe the emotional thread running through the collection?

At times romantic, at times nostalgic. What I like to emphasize is that there is actually a sense of peace throughout. Mine is not a dramatic interpretation of a love that is forced not to exist; it is a peaceful acceptance. The image of the mermaid remaining on the rock in the winter sea is not a negative one.

This is your first collection as creative director of Erika Cavallini. Are there innovations or changes you have begun introducing with this collection that you see continuing into the future?

Actually, this is not my first collection, it is the first one we are officially presenting as such. The Spring Summer currently in stores is my true first collection. We chose to communicate it with the second one, waiting until a solid foundation - my own - had been established. I do not feel I am in radical rupture with the past. My touch is more ethereal, but I identify with the brand’s tailoring and craftsmanship. It is a union; Erika Cavallini is a brand that resonates deeply with me.

You have a background as a pattern maker and designer. How do you bring that into Erika Cavallini, and how involved are you in the actual garment development process?

I am very involved, and I feel very fortunate. Being an Italian company, I am able to work on the product at every stage, alongside pattern makers and seamstresses during development. I feel the need to truly understand the garment from a three-dimensional, structural perspective. Drawings are fundamental - I draw a lot - but for certain things I really need to work directly on the mannequin or on the finished piece.

So you approach each garment from an aesthetic, technical, and narrative perspective. How do you bring all these aspects together?

I am obsessed with control. I always want to understand everything. It is not enough for me to focus only on my own part. This three-dimensional vision is very important; some garments require a non-traditional approach. With drawing, you can anticipate the practical aspects, but only up to a certain point.

What is in the future for Erika Cavallini? Are you already working on something new?

I am already working on the upcoming Spring Summer. The only thing I can say is that it will be another story.