What was your first project?
M140 is our first project and was born just 1 year ago. From the very first collection, we have been driven by the desire to reinvent classic Italian garments, to which we are so attached due to my family’s textile experience. This journey has led us to revisit our roots by combining them with a new aesthetic vision: sartorial research with a contemporary twist. This process is personal and indeed arises from the need to recover the classic from our past, that is, memory, and reintroduce it with a new meaning that enriches it. Tradition and new thoughts that mix in perfect balance in our minds.
The creative process: do you work instinctively or plan every single small step? Where do your ideas come from?
I come from studies in architecture, and there are many artistic references within our work that come from different worlds. Architecture and design have always been a source of inspiration in our creative process, from the Italian school of Terragni and Giò Ponti to the constructivism of Aldo Rossi, all figures who proposed innovative solutions through the study of forms and the search for new materials… and it is exactly all that we try to apply in a different field, fashion.
Our design approach is also closely linked to my studies: I think of a collection and plan every single step with the same attention to detail and meticulousness as when I design. Programming and planning are necessary to have a credible project that lasts over time.
How did your collaboration with Berto begin?
We got to know Berto through the “Berto4YoungTalents” program. We had friends who were already collaborating with the company and gave us excellent feedback. Hence our desire to embark on the collaboration.
Which Berto fabrics have you used for your project and collection?
For SS18, we used a Raw Denim as it was the material that best expressed the inspiration of the gesture and the “raw” nature of the entire collection. We have always wanted to include a denim base in our collections to leverage its strong commercial appeal, which is why we were immediately very happy to work with Berto’s denim this season.
What is the most significant part of Berto for Talents in your opinion? What goals have you been able to achieve thanks to this program?
The help that the Berto for Talents project offers to young entities like ours, by providing its know-how, is invaluable. One of the most critical aspects during the first collections is the minimum yardage for purchasing fabrics. Many times, one is limited in the creation phase because forced to work with suppliers on ready-to-wear or with a very limited archive of materials due to the surcharges related to the quantities needed for a brand in its early stages. This is why Berto’s support is truly invaluable: opening the doors of its warehouses, choosing a high-quality made-in-Italy product without obliging a minimum order can really make a difference.
“Less but better” can be interpreted as an endorsement of a certain degree of purity in design and fashion design. It can also be understood as an environmental message about reduction and sustainability. What do you think about it?
Absolutely. These are topics that cannot be ignored today in any field, including the fashion business. We are inspired by the great Italian masters of architecture, like the aforementioned Terragni, Giò Ponti, and Rossi, who made the study and research of new materials to find alternative and sustainable solutions their greatest battle. For this reason, the prerogative of each of our garments is that aesthetics must always be closely linked to functionality and never an end in itself. Nowadays, sustainability and the environment are topics that are now part of the “common sense” of the society in which we live, but I would like one day to also talk about labor equity, respect for the person, the value of the supply chain, and human capital, concepts inherent in the “true” Made in Italy, with the same frequency and media strength. But we are still very far from that.
Is there something you would like to do that you haven’t done yet?
We have a lot of things in mind, but for now, we are just thinking about planning the next season. And for the rest… step by step, we’ll see.
(Responses by Michele Canziani)
