THE END AND THE BEGINNING
FEATURED ARTISTS
Maddalena Scutigliani
www.maddalenascutigliani.it
All clothing and styling by Claudia Danna
www.claudiadanna.com
Margarita Babina @ Q Models
www.qmodels.com
Make up and hair / Lucia Piccolo
Assistants Francesco Assi, Simone Margottini
FEATURED DESIGNER INTERVIEW
1. High fashion is always changing. How do you stay fresh and inspired? Personally, I don’t try fashion into fashion but I prefer to
range. My best source of inspiration is nature and I think that a walk in the wood is a real full immersion of ideas and intuitions. As an
alternative, I attach much importance to nature documentaries. I am convinced that everybody has a nostalgic instinct towards an
essential life, a reminder that drives us to go back to interpret life in the nature that created us; I consider this a trend, and it is the
message that lies behind my work.
2. What textures do love to work with? I prefer both the skin and the synthetic materials, so imitation leather, plastic and rubber
filaments. I love working these materials especially for decorative applications: it is a bit the “leitmotiv” of my style.
3. What are your words of wisdom or advice that you have been given that has helped you most? I was useful to learn to develop
a work experimenting, working day after day without making goals. When I start the construction of a suit, I presuppose that the sketch
is the starting point, not the final one. It helps me to assemble ideas, but the implementation is something else, and often the ideas have
to be rearranged and changed. Then comes a day when I simply understand that the dress is finished.
4. Anyone mentor you? And what was the most valuable lesson they taught you? I follow in detail Alexander McQueen’s
creations, first as an artist than a stylist; he broadens my horizons, I would recommend everyone to do it. His mental approach helped
me to gain a different method with my work and it is also poured out into all my daily things. I could never claim to have fully understood
his ideas and his point of view, but his attitude transmits me something positive that helped me to grow in terms of production.
5. How do you keep your style ahead of the game? To anticipate has never been one of my goals. I think it is a matter of
spontaneous insights, I think that to feel free is the right requirement to conceive satisfactory ideas. I simply imagine a dress wears by
women who reflect my aesthetic ideal, and I like most to dare with details. Then I choose to take a break for a few days, I think about it
and I decide if the intuition convinces me at all: it is a kind of ritual.
6. What have you learned of most value with your experiences as a designer? Respect for others' ideas. There are many
conceptions of beauty, often very different from our own. For designers, or a creative work in general, it is important to explore and to try
to understand even what seems incomprehensible or seemingly meaningless. I love wearing clothes of any kind and style.
7. What's the design process like for you? The process I like most is the phase of the embroidery. I learned to embroider several
years ago by my aunt, who has an antique embroidery workshop in Rome. The embroidery is one of the last phases of the outfit where
it begins to show in its final form and gives already the first satisfactions. From my point of view, it has a decisive influence, it can
change the entire look of a dress. So, when I start to embroider, I feel excited about what I could do and fulfilled on a creative level.
8. Describe your personal style? I like every collection has a story to tell, it is the soul of my clothes. I am inspired by forms found in
nature and the colored combinations of animals, from classical mythology, from the esoteric symbolism, from the past and present
cultures. In terms of materials, my clothes are identifiable by the use of hard materials and, above all, of the filaments of rubber. I placed
them one by one interlocking, like a mosaic, I want to give the idea of a protective armor but, at the same time, of a decoration. I want to
reveal the ethereal femininity, but a bit detached and "extraneous", very pure. Through my work I would like to go beyond the standard
concepts of beauty and to find to touch the dark and intimate feelings of those who observe it.
9. What sparked your passion for design? I've always been attracted to art in general. When I was little I drew a lot and when I was a
teenager I learned to paint. In the meanwhile, my interest in fashion increased, so I learned to embroider, and the more I perfected the
technique, the more it gave me great satisfaction. At first it was born as a pastime, but at 19 years I embroidered clothes for famous
cinema and fashion’s labels, so I decided to take this route, even if it is only at the beginning but it gave me a lot of satisfaction and it
makes me feel very gratified.
10. How did you build your career? (Steps, milestones, etc.) I can not claim to built my career yet. For now I'm happy to have
obtained important results: last year I won an Italian swimwear contest designed by Fendi and the Italian Fashion Chamber, and, with
the same collection, I was one of the finalists for the “Muuse Fashion Award x Vogue Talents”. This year I won the prize “Altieri” as best
talented designers during the event “Altaroma Alta Moda”. Now I have several projects ongoing, the most important is my next collection
that will model at Altaroma in 2014. But I can not say anything else, I look to the future and keep my fingers crossed!
11. What would readers find most surprising about you? Undoubtedly, the fact that I do not try to meet the tastes of those who are
interested in fashion, but I propose my own, that does not have to be interpreted necessarily but only to convey subtle feelings and
arouse curiosity and attention.
12. Words to live by? The quickest way to close a door on reality is buried in details. (For better or for worse, I add!).
