With the usual energy, the miart art week has come to an end, and Milan has already catapulted itself into the hot days of the Salone del Mobile. And the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome is also there. With a small experiment carried out together with REDValentino, the bold and contemporary line of the Maison Valentino.
A call to action was launched in February 2019 to offer students a concrete design opportunity, linked to the production of a limited-edition T-shirt to be presented during Milan Design Week 2019. “Love and Rock Design” involved young men and women, who were invited to create graphic designs that were convincing from the point of view of communication, appeal and style. Twenty-five-year-old Giulia Torelli, enrolled on the three-year Fashion Culture and Technology course, was selected. Her proposal was convincing thanks to her ability to interpret the mood and theme of the project in a fresh, immediate way.
The graphic solution draws on the imagery of rock and hip-hop: a synthesis with a typically street flavour, evoking stories of stencils and spray paint, like a quick mark drawn on a city wall. Pierced by a golden arrow and split by a zigzag crack, the magenta heart holds the brand’s initials, between the lines of the lettering reinvented by pink micro arrows.
The garment will be presented in Milan on 11 April, with an invitation-only cocktail party at the REDValentino store in Corso Venezia, a splendid space dedicated to pink and gold, characterised by strong combinations (from brass to velvet), the result of the exchange between creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli and designer and interior architect India Mahdavi. From the following day, the T-shirt will also be available at La Rinascente in Piazza Duomo and in the REDValentino online store.
This is not the first collaborative experiment between the Academy and the brand. In November 2018, a shared journey began with the creation of a photo shoot to promote the Pre-Fall 2019 collection, which is expected in stores from 22 May. The models were not professionals, but rather a group of students aged between 18 and 25, selected by the REDValentino team through a dedicated scouting process. Authentic faces, of ordinary yet special girls, embodying a love for art, a desire for knowledge and cross-fertilisation, daily exchanges between cultures, a desire for independence and professional success nourished by talent, originality and sensitivity. The portrait of a generation seduced by the adventure of artists, by the language of new media, by a European and international esprit.
Created by photographer Luca Strano, the shoot found an ideal location in the classrooms of Via Ripetta, among work tables, stools and easels, reflecting the urban-chic, eccentric and romantically casual character of the collection. All garments enlivened by contrasts, giving the dark-sweety pairing a natural interpretation: in the palette that mixes strong colours and pastel variations, in the fusion of rough rock notes and dreamlike delicacies, in the combination of feathers, organza, floral appliqués, hearts (red, of course), transparencies, ruffles, Seventies-inspired long dresses, outerwear and bon ton dresses, and – in contrast – oversized jumpers, biker jackets (in black leather, strictly), sweatshirts, maxi PVC-effect down jackets, and jackets with masculine lines. Just an image of reality, as it is found every day in the classrooms, in the faces of normal girls, in the very personal mixes of details and styles, in the extreme freedom and complexity with which attitudes, emotions, orientations and references are defined today, at the age of twenty.
– Helga Marsala