There is a magic charm in the aesthetic of the outfits created by designer Sylvio Giardina. But there is also something more. Maybe even more important. Admiring these wonderful garments the spectator realize that this is not just fashion. Sylvio Giardina's creations have deep roots. A part from the tireless research of new shapes, new volumes, new proportions, there is a constant parallel research in the field of art: the two different natures of Sylvio Giardina, the haute couture designer and the visual artist, come together in the moment of creation.
A series of erudite references to painters, filmmakers, theatrical masterpieces, performances and photographers enhance the style of Sylvio Giardina, elevating his outfits with new meanings and strengthen the visual impact. The result is one of the values that the Rome based designer pursues unrelentingly with his work: uniqueness, a concept which is very far from the mere following of the moody trends. The kind of works that Sylvio Giardina proposes is a complex path towards an original, deep elegance and towards a strong fascination: fashion with a powerful soul.
How did you start your interest in fashion and how did you develop the work for the creation of the brand Sylvio Giardina?
Design and creation are the fulfilment of a passion that lives inside of me all along; I don’t think there was a precise beginning or a precise moment that I remember. I started drawing when I was a child, then I attended the courses at the Academy of Costume and Fashion, then it became a work. A natural path! Different languages flow into my projects, languages that belong to art, cinema, music and nature; languages that I develop, modify, restructure to re-propose all in form of dresses.
Which is your definition of elegance?
Elegance is the openness to the world regarding the fellow and is also to be unique.
Is there a particular cover of a review in which you really would like to see one of your outfits?
There are so many fashion reviews, and a lot have reached a high level of quality and of product. I’m open to collaborate both with the important names and with the young and new products, but always without overlook the type of communication and the style of the product.
Which are the ideal characteristics of the woman that wears Sylvio Giardina’s garments?
I think about a woman that has a sense of the uniqueness of her self and that doesn’t need to run after the tendencies, but chooses what really made her unique.
Which are your icons, both inside and outside the fashion universe?
Claude Cahun, Artemisia Gentileschi, Elsa Schiapparelli, just to name a few, but basically are all that people that have struggled for their own freedom, even through their diversity.
About the comparison with other designers. Who are the ones that you admire?
I prefer the designers that connect the research with the tradition. In this moment I think it’s very interesting the work of creative talents like Gareth Pugh, Haider Ackermann, Iris van Herpen and Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli for Valentino.
Your collections show a lot of references to all the aspects of art: Wong Kai Wai’s cinema, the design of Gaetano Pesce, the portraits of Steve Mc Curry and in the last works Tony Scott’s cinema and the masterpiece Lakme by Leo Delibe. And we also have to add your performances in Rome. It’s obvious that art for you hold a very important task. Which is your vision of art? Is fashion an art form?
Art is memory and memory is what we wear.
As a designer you are based in Rome. In Europe and in in the rest of the world, which are the other countries where your brand has been greet enthusiastically?
In only three years the brand has establish itself both in Italy and abroad; I had a very positive hail in the new economy’s countries like Cina and Russia.
Which advises you would like to give to the young people that are going to start the career of designer, most of all in countries like Italy, in which the world “crisis” is a daily reality. And which advises would you like to give to that governments that are not doing enough for the emergent designers?
Is it clear that there is still a lot to do for the young emergent designers, most of all for all the people that are doing research and that are competitive with the colleagues from Europe and overseas. Italy needs to reconquering the fashion market but with new ideas, new protagonists and with projects with quality. The institutions have great responsibilities, most of all in this period of recession, toward the young designers that represent the future of Italian fashion around the world.
About your new collection. Beyond the incredible visual impact of the volumes and the proportions of your outfits, I was impressed by the particular textures that you use, the effect of the different consistency of the materials. Which method do you use to choose the fabrics?
I choose the materials that represent me more and that are closer to the theme and to the concept that I want to express in the collection that I will realize. Often I match fabrics with sartorial feature to fabrics used in the sportswear.
The ideas that you suggest with your collections are extremely fresh, original. There is a well-balanced mix between elegance and experimentation. Is there also a touch of irony in the way you conceive the shapes and the volumes?
Thank you for the compliments; it’s always something that helps to have a good humour. Irony? No. The starting point for my work is always the study of a new silhouette, in which I exasperate some shapes or some body parts to express a new concept of aesthetic that doesn’t want to fit the traditional canons.
To conclude, your future projects?
In this moment the main purpose is to finish the collection for the Spring/Summer 2014, and if I will have time I would like to spend some days on holiday…
Pictures from the Fall/Winter 2013-14 Collection