I think it is a crescendo. In my childhood, I used to play with fabrics; a towel could be the tail of a mermaid. That game was the first time that I sensed fashion, I think. When I started this job as a young man, it was because a person that I really loved and that, in a way, has been my mentor, Barbara Nerozzi, suggested me to do that. All the experiences I had in this field added a layer of consciousness and passion.

Many. But if I had to choose one name that really made me change my point of view about fashion I would say Franco Moschino.

Bologna brings more ‘provincia’ to my narrative, more magic realism. And I love the underground scenario that historically takes place here.

Technically, everything. A good sense of product and manufacture that is at the very base of prêt-à-porter.

It’s the process of synthesis. To give as many evocations as possible through design. We used to say that designing was like creating surgically this new monstrous creature where allergic universes were joined together: this is both an aesthetic and an ethic rule. We want to narrate the stories of freaks.

We call those objects the fundamentals of a wardrobe, garments that generally have a legacy in terms of meaning. As I said, my background is prêt-à-porter, and Magliano started existing in a moment when menswear was all about streetstyle: our bid at that time was to make those classics talk to the contemporary, make that ancient language cool and current. That is why we started from the very beginning to play with the rules in a very irreverent way.

Well, all of them and none of them. Sometimes a blazer must be perfectly done if the project is to tear it apart in the end; some other times, we don't respect any of the rules of construction because we want to give a feeling of something absolutely uncommon. Same happens to fabrics: sometimes, we source the finest Italian wool, sometimes, it’s military dead-stock. What is sure is that we do clothes following those organic processes that once were known as made in Italy. It is industrial but it also involves a certain amount of craftsmanship that makes design feel real.

Basically, it was an investigation about the wardrobe of a man in love, from prom’s dressing to the cruiser outfit passing through Latin lovers and Italian grooms from the ‘80s. We often say that our designs are for ritualistic individuals, in this sense, that first fashion show was a statement.

Who’s On Next? luckily happened at the very beginning of our history, but for sure it made a difference. It was the perfect starting point and granted us a public in the fashion world.

(Laughs) In a way, yes, love is the most precious of the design projects that exists, it requires passion and the use of all the senses at the maximum of their possibilities. It needs attention, it makes people develop a special vernacular.

Cinema and literature are for sure the main inspiration of my fantasies. In this specific case, both Fellini and Pasolini were able to include in their discourses a dreamy vision of their contemporary Italian landscape, they made it iconic, ridiculous crazy also but never pathetic. For sure, their lessons are very important for a brand like ours that wants to explore the quintessence of Italian legacy.

In fashion, so many at the moment, it would be hard to make a list. I have a great admiration for many of the new brands of the last five years scenario.

At this very moment, it is hard to imagine the future clearly. A dream would be to experiment in the direction of a more elevated way of designing and producing. The ideas around made-to-measure and bespoke thrill me. It is couture for men. I have a feeling for extremes.