When we talked about Milan Fashion Week, we emphasized how the dialogue between fashion and design is becoming increasingly natural, necessary, and intense. Among the protagonists of this synergy is the brand behind the blown-glass stools seen at the Bottega Veneta show: 6:AM, a venture with a clear and ambitious vision.
Based in Milan but with deep roots on the island of Murano, 6:AM is the result of the shared vision of Edoardo Pandolfo and Francesco Palù, who in 2018 decided to rethink Venetian glass through a contemporary lens. The brand’s name comes from a precise image: artisans lighting the furnaces in their workshops at six in the morning, keeping alive a tradition handed down for centuries.
“Muranese techniques are the starting point for everything,” Edoardo and Francesco tell us. “They’ve been the same for centuries, but today they’re made more precise and reliable by contemporary tools and technology. We don’t use them to imitate what’s already been done, but to build on those roots with new forms and languages.” It’s in this tension between memory and innovation that 6:AM has forged its identity, speaking a language that is both ancient and current.
Their work ranges from sculptural objects to architectural installations, always with an approach that combines research and experimentation. “We constantly look to the past for references, motifs, proportions, and details that can be quoted, overturned, or reinterpreted through a contemporary lens. We’re interested in understanding where we come from to make sense of what we do today,” they explain. This method has led 6:AM to collaborate with some of the most relevant names in contemporary design and fashion.
“We only collaborate when we feel a real affinity,” they say. “If we work with an architect or a designer, it’s because we recognize something close to our own language in theirs. From there a continuous dialogue begins, made of comparisons, tests, discussions, until we reach a shared balance.” It’s a process that requires time and patience, but it’s precisely this slowness that distinguishes their idea of craftsmanship: a way of working that stands in contrast to the frantic pace of the outside world—without excluding it.
It’s no coincidence that in recent years 6:AM has found a natural interlocutor in fashion. “Last year we contributed to the first The Attico show by bringing over 250 vintage Murano chandeliers from Murano to Milan, a complex and beautiful project that was one of the highlights of Milan Fashion Week 2024.”
Since then, collaborations have multiplied: Luca Guadagnino, Massimiliano Locatelli, Pomellato, Saint Laurent. “The project for the Bottega Veneta show, however, represents a unique moment for us—the most significant we have ever realized in this field and probably in our history,” they confide. “It was a technically and organizationally complex journey that involved a network of artisans, mold makers, polishers, and furnace builders. From that experience we learned that the key is dialogue: knowing how to listen, to persist, to trust, and to face the material’s limits together.”
But beyond technique and vision, there is also a deeply human dimension to their work. “We are working to make 6:AM a brand with a clear identity recognized around the world, but also a structured and responsive reality, capable of managing complex projects with precision and foresight,” they explain. “We want to grow by bringing work and new energy to Murano, contributing to a generational turnover and enhancing the skilled hands that still today make this place unique.”
cover photo: ph. Melania Dalle Grave | DSL Studio
