What was your first project?
Valeria – My first project was as a fashion coordinator for the creation of a plus-size line at the age of 23.
Cristina – I attended a fashion academy in Verona, where I had the incredible opportunity to participate in internships within companies in the sector. My first work experience was a project for Byblos for the creation of a capsule collection, and I delved into studying trends, k-shape, color balances, galvanics, and finally planning a runway.
The creative process: do you work instinctively or plan every single step? Where do your ideas come from?
Cristina – My creative process is entirely guided by instinct. I can’t tell you exactly with which weather phenomenon I can give my best in creativity. If I wake up in the right mood, it will be a typical workday; if it’s one of those days of creative madness, then yes, it will be the perfect day to draw. My ideas come from observing the small details that I collect and store in my personal mental database, with the certainty that the time will come to retrieve them. For me, inspiration is everything that creates emotion; it can be a simple fallen leaf in autumn or the swirl created by a raindrop in a puddle. Everything becomes art if there is passion.
Valeria – The creative process for me starts with precise planning. Within this planning, it is then instinct that guides creativity.
What did you think when you were contacted by Berto?
Valeria – Being contacted by Berto was an enormous fortune and opportunity for me to create garments with unique and quality fabrics.
Cristina – At Berto’s company, I found the professionalism and excellent quality that one seeks and hopes to find in any company. Beautiful fabric swatches and color/print variations that were used for the creation of accessories and clothing. The fabric is an essential element to achieve what you want to represent and at the same time satisfy the clientele. At Berto, these expectations were certainly met.
Which Berto fabrics have you worked with for your project and your collections?
Cristina – I immediately fell in love with a piece-dyed gabardine in a beautiful lime yellow color, with which beautiful asymmetrical spring outerwear was conceptualized and made. Every fabric tells a story. I also remember being captivated by a blue and white tartan that was a true inspiration for the creation of drawstring backpacks paired with contrasting solid fabrics.
Valeria – With Berto’s fabrics, I experimented with a straight dress with raglan cut and A-line, a 70s style in solid color.
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?
Valeria – This project gives me the opportunity to have a precious reference point, which is Berto’s fabric. Knowing where to start from gives my creativity greater stability at the pattern-making level, thus allowing me to travel even more with my imagination.
Cristina – The most significant and innovative part of this project is knowing that we can contribute to strengthening a partner’s image through the creation of young and versatile products born from high-quality materials. I want to emphasize the importance of this incredible opportunity to “play” with Berto’s materials. Thanks to this collaboration, it was also possible for me to start from the phase of creativity and product ideation and then move on to the realization phase starting from rich and never ordinary fabric swatches. I was able to reverse the process that daily regulates the activity of our reality, where ideas are born from the availability of fabrics in our wonderful warehouse and give life to a succession of limited editions.
‘Less but butter’ can be interpreted as an endorsement of a certain degree of purity in design but also in fashion design. It can also be understood as an environmental message about reduction and sustainability. What do you think about it?
Cristina – In the entire fashion world, one aspect that currently receives the utmost attention is the sustainability of the entire system and the protection of the environment from pollution (such as the use of chemical dyes for fabric finishing or even the toxic fumes created by the maceration of waste fabrics). Quid has always been sensitive to these aspects and seeks to contribute by recovering and using leftover fabrics from major companies in the sector, high-quality fabrics not used because they may have a minor defect or because they are not sufficient to support a production. We try to enhance these fabrics and exploit their potential in the creation phase.
Valeria – For me, it means getting closer to nature, slowing down the frenetic pace of modern life, and at the same time giving new life to materials that still have much to tell, that can be beautiful for a long time and that transform into unique and valuable garments.
Is there something you’ve never done that you’d like to accomplish?
Valeria – I consider myself very fortunate because I have just realized a dream that dates back to my beginnings: an evening dress with a back neckline that walked the runway at the end of June. However, this is just one of many dreams; I am only at the beginning and do not want to set limits for myself.
Cristina – I am an emerging young designer, and I still have an infinity of products, ideas, projects, and craziness to realize and share. I want with all my strength to see my dreams become reality. I consider myself privileged to have had the opportunity to concretize my educational path within the fashion academy. Quid and its partners have made all this possible. I will never stop traveling with my mind and dreams, along with my favorite travel companion: passion.
