Villa Medici Fashion Residency Debuts with Ashpool and Delon”

ROME AWAY FROM HOME: Designers Stéphane Ashpool and Prune Delon have been named the first recipients of a new fashion residency program for French designers in Rome.

Villa Medici, the French academy in Rome, has launched the residency in collaboration with the Institut Français de la Mode and the Comité de Développement et de Promotion de l’Habillement, which supports the economic development of the French fashion industry.

Named the Medici Fashion Residency, the program will support emerging and established talents in fashion. Created with the backing of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode and the French Ministry of Culture, the initiative aims to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue between fashion, art and culture.

Each year two designers will be awarded a grant and the opportunity to split their residency between Rome and Paris, with a research period at Villa Medici, followed by a production phase at IFM. The program offers not only institutional and technical support but also an environment conducive to experimentation and reflection.

The first two recipients are Ashpool and Delon.

First up will be Ashpool, winner of the 2015 ANDAM Grand Prize. Best known as the designer of the French Olympic team uniforms for the Paris Games in 2024, Ashpool started his residency this fall. The Paris native is known for his work blending sports, art and urban culture. He founded the brand Pigalle Paris in honor of the neighborhood he grew up in, and has collaborated with a diverse group of brands on projects, including Lime bikes, Danone yogurt and Hennessy cognac. In 2024, Chanel‘s Galerie du 19M gave Ashpool carte blanche to create an exhibition, and he collaborated with Maison Lemarié on new pieces for display.

Ashpool’s project is titled “Ready to Dye,” and will focus on the cultural and technical dimensions of color, culminating in the development of an innovative dyeing system for textiles and surfaces. The results are set to be unveiled in summer 2026.

In spring 2026, recent IFM graduate Delon will begin her residency to explore the relationship between body, memory and material through clothing. The young designer worked at Schiaparelli and under Charles de Vilmorin, and intends to build on her interest in natural dyes and symbolic form to create works that bridge the human and the sacred.

The Medici Fashion Residency marks a new chapter for Villa Medici’s mission to promote cultural exchange.