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

There wasn’t a specific moment in my life where I understood that: I just remember that till I was 10 I used to draw a lot and then there was a parenthesis in my life, a time when I never took a pencil, more or less ’til I was 20. After that, I’ve just allowed myself to follow my passion that had come back.
The only thread that I follow is the constant inspiration that comes from the world of workwear and the military style.
What was your first project?

My first attempt in clothing industry was a T-shirt project. The brand’s name was VITTORIO VALERIO: my t-shirts looked like worn pieces, washed with enzymes and available in a wide range of colors both as basic products or with graphic work through stencils. Through this project I had the opportunity to participate in trade fairs such as Pitti Uomo and White in Milan.

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

Since I started VV KIDZ my approach to fashion is only instinctive and highly open to the influences of other forms of expression such as art, music and design. For this reason, my collections are only the visible tip of the iceberg: there is a deep history of synergies and meanings behind and under it. The only thread that I follow is the constant inspiration that comes from the world of workwear and the military style: is this kind of taste that lead me closer to fashion since I was a customer of the shops that dealt with this type of products.

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

I thought it was really a lucky shot: it was a great opportunity, not to be missed. In this sense I consider myself privileged.

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

I have used Berto fabrics for "GENESIS”, my preview SS17 collection. I’ve been always interested in canvas, heavy gabardine... In short, all those fabrics that refer to that idea of ​​workwear I mentioned, which is why I immediately chose those denim that could give continuity to an experimental path that was already operating in my head. On the other side instead I had the opportunity to feature a premium denim in my collection so I enjoyed to build a kind of "color chart" of garments that stand for this idea, but without falling into the rhetoric and without going too far from the product that I have been working with so far.

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

The most significant part of #BertoForTalents is to provide young people quality tools to give strength to their creativity. The quality costs and as such it may not be available to all: we're talking about quality as a tool, a means to create. This is why I find it unfair that young people can’t work with excellence just because they can’t afford it: it’s something I don’t accept.

“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?

I think it can be a real investiture for creative young people, I think it can legitimize all of us to pioneer new ways for Made in Italy products, choosing a rediscovery of craftsmanship, the love for the product, the ability to tell what you're doing to the customer, highlighting the personal relationship and trust with those choosing your product. Sustainability and reduction should derive from this too.

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

This experience with denim is definitely something I've never done before, so the simple fact of having this opportunity consolidates undoubtedly the knowledge experience that I'm doing with my creative factory. To be honest, I would like to try a collaborative experience with a great denim brand: it would be for me a way to feel luckier in a further way.

www.kidz-factory.it