Words by Mia Raja
Edited by Valerie Aitova
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Victor Hart writes in light of his latest collection Defiant, unveiled at Milan Fashion Week.
This September, Milan saw light layers, bold colour mixes and wild coats as well as an emotional and bittersweet farewell to Armani. But one rising designer offered a bold counterpoint to the multicoloured excitement of the catwalk with his celebration of rebellion against the uniformity of societal archetypes: Victor Hart.
As children, our dreams are shaped by familiar roles: the lawyer, the banker, the accountant, the politician — each defined not just by function, but by form.
Defiant disrupts this. At this year’s Milan Fashion Week, Victor was hailed as one of WWD’s ‘ones to watch,’ thanks to his radical uniforms that represent a rebellion against their typical role as codes of conformity. In Hart’s hands, the archetypes are not rejected but reclaimed — subverted through texture, silhouette, and styling that blur the line between role and identity.
This is not just fashion. It’s an act of resistance — against becoming what you’re told, and a statement for becoming what you feel.
But beyond his distinctive designs, it’s his perspective — rooted in dialogue with his Ghanaian heritage — that truly sets him apart. Victor also grew up under pressure to pursue various career paths and, even after breaking into the fashion world, he has faced even greater challenges — most notably, confronting racial prejudice within the industry.
The designer’s ability to transform, what some may perceive as obstacles, into inspirations for his designs, demonstrates his ability to rise against all odds, using the very challenges meant to hold him back as catalysts for his success.
Victor Hart sat down with HYGY to share the influences and ideas shaping his breakout Milan Fashion Week collection and workwear brand, Victor-Hart.
“We’re trying to change the narrative of wardrobe staple archetypes, pushing the boundaries on futuristic craftsmanship”, Victor explained, speaking on the aim of his Milan Fashion Week collection, Defiant.
“[It’s] great storytelling from both Africa and Italy. And this time it was more focused on experimenting, in flock prints and jacquard.”
Victor went on to detail an unlikely inspiration for Defiant: “[Moss] is the most difficult kind of thing that grows in every environment, regardless of the surface. [It] grows in water, the sun, wood, everywhere.
“That is a reference to my defiance as a designer.”
Another key inspiration for Victor’s collection was the philosophy of ‘less is more’. For Victor, understanding that you need to use the ‘less’ of something to create more is a vital truth to be carried throughout the design approach.
The Ghanaian-born creative also highlighted the crucial role that the expertise around him played in helping him to craft a garment on a different level of vision, naming MAX&Co in particular.
However, Victor’s Milan Fashion Week show went beyond merely showcasing his designs, additionally featuring one of his models steadily pacing the room while reciting verses from Dante’s work.
For Victor, the incorporation of Dante’s poetry was vital in order to create the fusion between heritage and avant-garde.
“It was about his style, his look, and also getting to know what kinds of things he was wearing.”
Victor was heavily inspired by Dante’s layers; “a shirt on his shirt, a jacket on a jacket, all these things kind of put me in the mindset to understand those centuries.”
The designer added that his experience as a sculptor enhanced his appreciation of Dante, a connection he felt profoundly when he visited the poet’s statue in Florence.
Ultimately, though, it was Dante’s versatility that drew Victor to his poetry.
“Dante was a poet who knew how to connect with the average, the rich and the middle class, so for me, looking at his statues is to understand the true elegance of Italian men.”
Milan is a stage where heritage and innovation collide — a duality that Victor embodies. Still, he’s not interested in imitation; his focus is on carving out something entirely his own.
“Everybody’s trying to catch onto the same thing in Milan.
“But as a small brand or a small designer like me and other guys, we really sit down and [think], ‘We need to build our own status, our own vision. We need to build our own kind of silhouettes, which can fit into the market and [make] people understand we cannot all be the same, all the time.’”
Above all, Victor highlights his self-confidence in his work and audience: “I know exactly who I am. I know exactly who I’m selling to.”
Victor brings further individuality to his designs by incorporating Ghanaian and Italian influences into his work.
The key to successful collaboration between distinct influences, Victor explains, is mutual respect. In Italy alone, each city — Rome, Milan, Naples — has its own identity. When these identities converge, as with Victor’s Italian and diaspora friends, it is respect that enables true diversity and meaningful integration. However, cultural diversity does not come without its challenges.
Throughout Victor’s career he has faced setbacks due to racial profiling. Nevertheless, Victor approaches these prejudices with resilience and logic. Describing discrimination as a “distraction”, Victor advises that the best thing to do is to put your only focus on the goal.
“There’s racism all over the place, but there are also people who really are fighting against it. This is the most beautiful part to me.”
With Victor’s optimistic outlook and open mind, it is no surprise that he draws inspiration from the simplest moments of everyday life — people in markets, passersby on the street, shoppers, and the music around him.
It becomes evident, too, that Victor sees himself as much a problem solver as he is a designer.
“The customers are coming with problems, so I need to find solutions”, Victor comments sincerely.
“The inspiration comes from looking at these people and deciding how to find the solutions to their problems about clothes and garments.”
Now, as Victor looks ahead to an exciting and promising future in fashion, he hopes for his brand to take part in further collaborations and with different stakeholders. However, Victor’s primary goal remains to introduce a new level of cultural diversity.
“This is what I really feel will help the brand and keep the vision alive”, he concludes.
By breaking boundaries and defying the limitations once imposed on him — whether pressured into a corporate career or held back by racial profiling — Victor has consistently transformed every hardship into strength, and even more remarkably, into art.
Amid the grandeur and legacy of Milan Fashion Week, Defiant stood as a quiet rebellion against expectation — demonstrating that innovation often starts with the courage to resist.
Milan’s harmony between heritage and modernity is something Victor embraces while still boldly carving his own space.
In doing so, Victor Hart demonstrates that in a city built on style, authenticity remains the boldest statement of all.
