BERTO FOR MA VA': #INTERVIEW
Can you recall the exact moment when you decided to become a fashion designer?

It was not a decision but merely another way to express our artistic side. So far it has been through the architecture that we could shape our creativity, until one day those moments with needles, cloth and lace that belong to when we were little girls have become a way of life as “ma va’”. In Italian it is an exclamation of astonishment, but especially our identity in the contraction of our two names, Marianna and Valentina: two women, two sisters, two Architects.
The crucial opportunity to collaborate with a business team full of experiences is a great opportunity for growth.
What was your first project?

The first project was a spring capsules for a store that wanted to offer clothes with a particular attention for details. We offered to the store's customers the fundamentals of sartorial tradition and contemporary design to create unique and personalized clothing.

Creative process: do you work instinctively or planning each single small step? Where do your ideas come from?

It is precisely the concept of "fashion design" to inspire our work and our creations. Suggestions and emotions awaken in us the soul of the architect who advocates new language of signs and forms, a continuous exploration of colors and materials, a greater attention to detail and an ever better choice of fabrics. The process is nothing more than the design evolution of what is born impulsively from inspirations, which are the result of the influences of our past and of our ways of life: the rational architecture of the '30s, the neo-realism and pop art, the avant-garde of the 60s and Fellini’s films. Everything around us can be inspiration or contamination.

What did you think when you have been contacted by Berto first?

The collaboration with Berto began before B4YT project, from our research for Made in Italy fabrics with an innovative design. It was almost natural to be part of The Young Talents for the empathy that has quickly established between us and the company’s team.

Which Berto’s fabrics have you been working with for your project/collection?

The first project conceived on Berto tissue was made with Ceck Oscar and Oscar Club fabric. The continued growth of knowledge and collaboration has allowed us to deepen the know-how of both which led us to a more accurate choice of fabrics.

What's the most meaningful part about this project in your opinion? What have you been able to achieve thanks to this program?

The opportunity. We have always been aware that we can not do everything by ourselves, which is why the crucial opportunity to collaborate with a business team full of experiences is a great opportunity for growth. During the first meeting we were able to create a first link between our desire and knowledge. We had to begin to make ourselves known, to share our ideas with others.

“Less but better” could be read as an endorsement for purity in design but in fashion design too. It can also be adopted as an environmental message about reduction and sustainability. What do you think about this?

That’s why we answer "Less Aesthetics, More Ethics" (7. International Architecture Exhibition ed). The signals coming from around the world are forcing us to reflect on our behavior and stimulate us to new interpretations of the universe of fashion. The reality puts us on a new challenge: to find new ethical solutions than usual aesthetic commitment of a project. We consider our laboratory as a place where we analyze the new dimension of behavior and stylistic transformations and then give shape and visibility to the result of it. For a long time many of consumption habits appeared to have no consequence. It is now clear that there is an imbalance in the standard of living around the world, fueled by the exploitation of labor markets. That's why finding the origin of manufacturing output at Km 0 is definitely the key behind ma va’.

Is there anything you'd like to do that you haven't done yet?

To use a metaphor dear to us: "We have just laid the foundation of our project that still need to be realized" 

www.mavacollection.com