Stella Novarino (born 1979) is an Italian fashion designer of partial Haitian origin. Her label, Stella Jean (), utilizes her mother's maiden name. She is a member of the

Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (often translated to ''National Chamber for Italian Fashion'' or ''Italian Fashion Council'' in English language, English) is a non-profit organization, whose purpose is the promotion, coordination of the Ita ...

and the only member of

Afro-European Black Europeans of African ancestry, or Afro-Europeans, refers to people in Europe who trace full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. European Union In the European Union (EU) as of 2019, there is a record of approximately 9,6 mill ...

background.

Education

Novarino studied political science at

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

, before dropping out.

Early career

Novarino dropped out of school to model for

Egon von Fürstenberg Egon is a variant of the male given name Eugene. It is most commonly found in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia, Hungary, Slovakia, Sweden, Denmark, and parts of the Netherlands and Belgium. The name can also be derived from the G ...

. She decided she wanted to try designing while modeling. She is self taught. Her label uses her mother's maiden name Jean, instead of her birth surname Novarino, to reflect her

creole Creole may refer to: Anthropology * Creole peoples, ethnic groups which originated from linguistic, cultural, and often racial mixing of colonial-era emigrants from Europe with non-European peoples * Criollo people, the historic name of people ...

heritage. She has collaborated with artisans from developing counties including

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...

, and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in producing her collections. In 2011, Novarino won second place in a ''

Vogue Italia ''Vogue Italia'' is the Italian edition of '' Vogue'' magazine. Owned by Condé Nast International, it has been called the top fashion magazine in the world. It's been in publication since 1964. Name ''Vogue Italia'' was first published as ''N ...

'' emerging designers contest. In 2013, she showcased a collection at

Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...

/Teatro space during Milan Fashion Week SS14 which included a collaboration with the

International Trade Centre The International Trade Centre (ITC) () is a multilateral agency which has a joint mandate with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN) through the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The head ...

's Ethical Fashion Initiative to create sustainable printed fabrics. For a month in 2014,

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and ...

in London exhibited one of her outfits while highlighting diverse designers.

Activism

Stella Novarino took the stage at a BLM protest in June 2020 against racial discrimination in Italy and has later claimed to be the first and only Italian fashion designer to do so. In 2021, Novarino co-founded the We Are Made in Italy (WAMI) initiative with Edward Buchanan and Michelle Francine Ngonmo to showcase BIPOC designers with the support of Camera della Moda, including a Milan Fashion Week opening. Despite WAMI's efforts, Camera della Moda eventually chose not to host a board it advocated for after Novarino publicly posted criticism of other Italian fashion brands.

Carlo Capasa Carlo Capasa is an Italian fashion executive who has been the president of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana since June 2015. His leadership has been marked by controversy over his perceived lack of action against racism in the industry and prot ...

, president of Camera della Moda, stated that it "could not host any board that appeared to take public swipes at other members." In 2023, Novarino announced that she would withdraw from Milan Fashion Week and begin a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

due to the lack of diversity and inclusion of designers of color.

Personal life

Novarino was born and raised in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

with a Haitian mother, Violette Jean, and an Italian father, Marcello Novarino. She is a mother of two, and resides in Rome with her children.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jean, Stella 1979 births Living people Fashion designers from Rome Italian fashion designers Italian women fashion designers Italian women company founders Italian people of Haitian descent Sapienza University of Rome alumni