Gattinoni’s new woman has a strong, irreverent personality. She is eccentric, inquisitive and rebellious. She is the star of the upcoming Spring-Summer collection, which Gattinoni’s creative director, Guillermo Mariotti has developed and shaped according to the rules of the maison’s ‘cultured fashion’.
He has re-imagined, re-established and de-structured these rules, and infused them with a new light and beauty, elevating them to another level.
“Upcycling” is the theme of the new collection that will be showcased in Rome, in the spaces of Macro Asilo, a location specifically chosen by the maison for the event. Macro Asilo is a new experimental project developed by Giorgio de Finis, who has transformed the entire Museum, which is dedicated to contemporary art, into a living, hospitable and relational entity; a place that encourages the meeting of minds, skills and disciplines.
Upcycling is the expertise of manual skills combined with the discipline of Couture. It is creative repurposing. Giullermo Mariotto has conjured up an image of Venice, a city renowned for its age-old civilization, culture and trade; the Serenissima, a crossroads of men and women, of styles and trends, even in the realm of fashion.
Venice is a capital of diverse influences and art, loved by Coco Chanel and Peggy Guggenheim, who lived in Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, Marquise Casati, Elsa Maxwell and Anna Piaggi, among others. “My new collection is inspired by these and numerous other women; all singular in their larger-than-life uniqueness”, says Guillermo Mariotto. “Because, in my opinion, in this globalized era, real class an elegance are synonymous with absolute distinction”. His collection is a melting pot of cultures, like the New York described by Valentina Ilardi, the fashion stylist, who collaborated with the creative director to develop the look for the woman in the upcoming springsummer season – it’s like a theft from the suitcase of a rapper. The collection features over-size Bermudas in green military lace doubled with fluorescent organza, mousseline soleil gilets with hoods, and the timeless XXXL bomber, featuring heraldic Dabka embroidery retrieved from illustrious European dynasties, all imbued with a metropolitan-chic allure.
The designer rummages through the closet of a post-millennial, transforming her wardrobe according to the codes of haute couture.
Even for his robes de mariage, Mariotti insists on the use of pearl grey and a hood as a contemporary veil. For the upcoming season, fluorescent colours take centre stage.
Yellow, fuchsia and orange are mixed with military green, powder blue, cerulean and burgundy.
Likewise, the makeup worn by the models showcasing his creations on the runway at Macro Asilo, is vibrant, ultra-luminous and fluorescent. There are coral, violet, silver, lace and gold, tulle and embroidered woven fabrics. Other highlights include a blaze of ruffles, asymmetrical skirts and geometric cuts, couture dresses in chiffon, satin, organza and mousseline, toned down with flesh-coloured shades, lime and army green, or simply hand-painted.
The collection is worn by divine creatures, known for their complicated pasts or amazing lives. Gianni De Benedittis, inspired by the exoticism of the silk route, created the jewelry worn by the models exclusively for the collection.
Chokers, rings and bracelets featuring unique colours appear to mirror the vibrant hues of spices and ancient silks from the east.“For this collection,” says Mariotto, “I wanted my sister, internationally renowned artist, Gina Mariotto, by my side. Her canvases, beginning with her painting titled Religion, appear on my creations in tulle, becoming wearable art”.
Each item of clothing is like an ouverture, free, light extinct, fiery, passionate and abstract; closely resembling the perpetual evolution of creation.
Madame de Vinteuil