For Ohio-born designer Edward Buchanan, Black industry mentors changed his life. While finishing his studies at New York’s Parsons School of Design, designer Gordon Henderson put him forward for interviews at major fashion houses, while Rodney Patterson gave him a tip off about an opening at Bottega Veneta, where he would become the first ready-to-wear design director. Now, more than three decades on, the creative director and knitwear specialist has opened a self-funded foundation to continue that lineage.
The result is a 400-square-meter building located in NoLo — a historically working-class and multicultural district of Milan — dedicated to fostering and guiding creative talents from under-represented communities, including people of color (POC), queer, and female cultural practitioners. Crucially, Buchanan will ensure the non-profit remains financially autonomous, with no outside investment. He’s calling it The Situation, after the design consultancy he co-founded in 2012.
So far, Buchanan’s put his money where his mouth is: €400,000 went into the interior’s construction and materials, a figure that doesn’t include the building’s purchase price. On the ground floor, a studio-slash-gallery will host designers, artists and all manner of creative talents in residency programs. The creatives will work here, while presenting exhibitions and showroom openings. On the top floor, Buchanan has housed an office for himself and his assistants to work from, with an archive of his design work, spanning pieces from his days as at Bottega Veneta (1995-2000) through to various consultancy gigs.
Currently, Buchanan is building an institutionally esteemed board to guide the recipient selection process. He plans to capitalize on his extensive network and industry prestige to advise the talents, connecting them with partners and resources.
Buchanan is currently the Milan fashion director for Perfect Magazine and holds down a role as Pucci’s knitwear designer, reporting into creative director Camille Miceli. He is also the designer behind Sansovino 6, a knitwear brand he founded in 2005 and continues to run. Between 2019 and 2023, he was Off-White’s design director for knitwear.
Despite a strong résumé, Buchanan has encountered various barriers to entry throughout his career. His hopes for The Situation is to better the experience of other disadvantaged creatives climbing the ranks today.
Ahead of the non-profit’s opening, Vogue video called Buchanan during a brief gap in his Milan Fashion Week schedule to discuss the project, his own come-up, and the current playing field for POC creatives.
Vogue: Edward, how did The Situation develop from your consultancy into this project?
Well, this actually started developing five years ago. I’d closed my office [due to Covid] and moved everything into my home. As things moved along, I had to start looking for a new office. I found this space by chance; I was on my way to a furniture store. The space was just somehow very New York to me, and I fell in love.
The idea in the beginning was to move the office into the space, but the more I thought about this space, I thought, ‘Somehow, I’ve existed in this industry for almost 35 years, and the love I have for design and working in the editorial space is unparalleled. But there’s always a complaint. I always have criticism.’ I said to myself, ‘Fuck this, Edward. You can’t continue complaining if you’re not actively attempting to initiate change.’
I really wanted to create a space where we celebrate artists from disadvantaged communities, which I am one of. I know what it was like for me at the beginning, when I couldn’t find space and support. I wanted to support creatives, whether they be queer artists, Black and Brown artists, women artists. ‘Artist’ is a broad word — it could be a chef, a painter, a fashion designer.
