What Does It Mean To Be A Creative In Milan? A B&A Interview @ Artefact: Part One
Last November B&A hosted an aperitivo at Artefact, gathering different creatives in Milan, mostly still students or just a couple years older. During the event, we’ve collected insights on what inspired them to create and how Milan has influenced their work. Even when coming from different backgrounds and by using different media, the artists share the same passion.
This is the first part of the thoughts we’ve collected from our last event :)
Interviews by Daniela Garcet & Iris Spoormans
Carlotta Orlando - Giglio Tigrato
My name is Carlotta and I am a 23-year old girl from Milano and the founder of the brand Giglio Tigrato. What we are trying to do is use upcycling in a way that can be fitting for everybody, even for those not really into fashion. When I started Giglio, I felt the need to do something different, designing unique pieces that you can really recognize yourself into. I love easy stuff. If you see my designs they do not have anything crazy. The point is that if you see it in a store and fit in it, you can buy it.
What is the history behind the name of the brand?
Giglio Tigrato in means Tiger Lily in Italian, and the name comes from the story of Peter Pan. Tiger Lily is the Native American princess that lives in Neverland. I picked this name because when I started Giglio, the attic where we worked during Covid became the island where a lot of people wanted to come to see what we were working on. The attic is Neverland, and we are both the workers and characters, that shows how we work.
How did you get started in the creative industry?
It was actually a mistake. After I graduated high school, I wanted to study law. But I had a feeling that I also wanted to do something creative, so I applied for both Politecnico and Naba. I got into both, but when I had applied I made a mistake ranking my choices and had put fashion in Politecnico, instead of interior design or graphic design, which is what I wanted to do. So I started Politecnico studying fashion and ended up loving it. From that mistake, I found myself.
How would you describe your creative process?
I look a lot into my past or my childhood. Some designs are inspired from what I was wearing when I was a child, and I look a lot into orientalism. I really love Japanese art and its mindset. Many of the prints that we use are re-designs of Japanese or Chinese symbols. The Tiger Lily is also a flower that comes from Asia, so it is part of the history of the brand.
We usually start from the research of the fabric or the materials, and when I see the fabric then I can see the vision of what I can do with it. It’s different from big fashion brands, where it starters from an idea and then a fabric is produced. We don’t produce anything, we take vintage fabrics that have already been made and follow the opposite process. From that design, from that fabric, we design something that is new and durable.
Is there anything you would like to change from the fabric industry?
Anything no, everything. I think especially the consumer mentality. We don’t have to change the big brands, if the consumers change then the big fast fashion brands will collapse. We needed to change the consumer to change fashion.
What is your perspective on Milan being a creative city?
It is growing. I have been to London and Paris, not to New York or Tokyo yet, but they are way bigger and more involved in this revolution. But Milan is trying to do that, and a lot of the mentality has been changing over the past few years. I am happy to be here, but at the same time I would love to bring the brand abroad and broaden the number of people that can experience it.
Do you have any future projects at the moment?
My big project at the moment is to work B2B (Business to Business). Right now we are a B2C (Business to Consumer) brand because we only work with direct consumers. My goal for next year is to work B2B through partnerships with bigger brands, mixing visions and ideas, and also in a more traditional way, such as first having a runway and then working to produce for small boutiques and go in physical shops.
Natasha Clarke - La eSQueen
My name's Natasha and I'm from the UK. All my designs are made from secondhand materials, so it's all about sustainability. Most of the time I don't have a specific idea or inspiration, it's me playing just around with things I would want for myself and then developing a concept from there.
You lived in the UK prior to Milan, how has it been living in different countries and how has that impacted you or your style?
I also lived in Spain for a year, which was super fun. I wanted to move away from the UK to just get new experiences and grow as a person. Spain was much more humble and chill. Whereas Milan was much more intimidating when I first arrived. But once you break into it, then you learn to love it.
How did you become involved in the art and fashion world?
It just happened kind of naturally and randomly. Art has always been something I have loved since I was young. I did a lot of random things as a child, in school at the time we worked a lot with textiles and fabrics, which I loved and so I just started making things. Also my grandmother taught me how to sew, so it probably comes from that as well.
What is your creative process like?
In university we start off with mood boards and then we have to find our concepts. Normally what I start with is based on nature. For me that's a big, big inspiration. And then along the way my idea always changes. My projects never end up being what I had originally thought of.
Are there any artists or designers that you use for inspiration?
Not specifically, but at the moment my favorite designer is probably Dilara Fındıkoğlu. She's a Turkish designer who is very gothic, super dark, but also really beautiful, sensual and sexy.
How would you say like Covid and lockdowns has impacted your creativity?
That's actually how I started selling my clothes. One friend wanted me to make her a denim top, so I made one for her and since I loved doing it and had nothing else to do during lockdown I started selling online, and it luckily took off.
Anna Löffelhardt - Moments Of Destruction
My name is Anna and I am currently finishing my bachelor's in fashion design at NABA. Right now I am trying to figure out what I like, going in many different directions and trying to find something that is my language in fashion. Slowly after three years of doing different things, I feel that I am finally finding a direction I like.
What would you say is your main source of inspiration?
I try to find my inspiration everywhere. Sometimes I’m without ideas for a couple of weeks, but suddenly I’ll see something that inspires me and from that, I will try to go further and add more depth to the concept. I enjoy first thinking theoretically and then trying to translate that into a practical or visual language.
What do you want people’s experience to be when seeing your work?
I don’t know if I want to specify what people should feel. They can just look at it and like it or dislike it, they can think more of it or just see and pass by it. I hope that people like what I do, but in the end what they experience when looking at my work is a personal thing. I have no expectations there.
Where did you grow up and how did that impact your vision?
I do think that where we grow up always impacts our visual language. We grow up around certain aesthetics and architecture, and that probably influences us all. I grew up in Germany, but I don’t really know if I can pinpoint what I took from my heritage. Milan is a very different environment. Here I feel free to make clothes a bit more experimental or random. I have the feeling that in Germany people tend to go with the classics, whereas here I have been able to discover a different sense of freedom and experimentation.
Is there anything you would like to change about the fashion industry?
There are many things I would like to change, and whether they’ll change or not is questionable. I hope that more people come in with a positive mindset, I don’t think it is a place where people should doubt themselves. So seeing people be more open would be cool.
Anna Cappa - Overgrown Nature
I am Anna and am a graduate of NABA. I am graduating as a fashion stylist, but I have discovered that I also like creating clothes, knitting, embroidering, etc. so I consider myself someone that is a bit in between styling and designing.
How did you get started in this creative process?
I have always been into clothing, and have always felt that it was the right process for me to be involved in. I like the visual part of things, it truly is fascinating. Clothes really speak for ourselves, it is the first thing that you see in a person, this is a concept that I find really interesting.
How do you find inspiration?
I would say that inspiration is random. Most of the time I find inspiration from those around me or general culture like TV shows or books that I find interesting. Sometimes, even just from the behavior of people in general. I find myself wondering why people behave in a certain way, and I begin to build a concept off of that.
How would you describe your creative process?
It starts with a visual. This could be from Pinterest, Tumblr, or books, and then I kind of just wing it. I follow my creativity and my mind. I like to ask those around me for their opinion, especially experts in the specific thing I am working on at the moment.
How would you describe Milan’s impact on your creations?
I am not inspired so much by the city, but by the people in Milan. People that are not from my background are really able to bring a new perspective to my work and my art.
Negar Malayeri - Remains Of the Glowing Aftab
My name is Negar and I am from Iran. This collection is heavily based on my culture and the visual culture of Iran. I have wanted to showcase this collection for some time now because of the current political climate in the country. I felt it was a good throwback and a way to engage people to go and research more about what is happening politically in Iran, which is a very important topic of women and human rights. For this collection, I used 34 pieces of carpets and I restored different parts that were damaged and then sewed them into a piece.
How have current events influenced your pieces at the moment?
I started this collection before the situation in Iran escalated, but I have always had love for Iran. Right now our country is in a very painful moment, really bleeding, our people are bleeding, our culture is bleeding. The word aftab means sunlight, and I wanted to showcase this collection specifically because it reminds me of this hope that has awakened within a revolution. I hope that when people see my rugs it reminds them of the beauty of my country and not the bleeding. I am very proud of what is happening now in Iran and I am proud of the people that are fighting for our freedom, but I wanted a reminder of the beauty of Iran and our culture.
