Vain Stylist Issue no. 5° - ENG

t s i l y t s

MADEINMEDI

Index

ERIKA ALI’ P.11

CLAUDIO FERRI P.33

WHO IS ON NEXT? P.19

UNDERWATER CATWALK P.42

GIORGINI & MADE IN ITALY P.21

MADEINMEDI P.46 HARIM FAHION SHOW P.51

GIULIA FERRARA P.23

www.harim.it

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ERIKA ALI’

By Emanuela Amy Rossi

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rika Grazia Alì, 23-year-old designer, is a young designer who presented her first collection at the Made in Medi catwalk. Let’s find out more about Erika’s ambitions and projects.

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Mattia Vismara

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Tell us about the collection you presented at Made in Medi.

It was my first collection, I presented six clothes inspired by research, exploration and reconstruction. I took the figure of the archaeologist as starting point, who is moved by the desire to discover. From this I enlarged the concept to a total vision: rebuild the fragments of life and the plots of the story.

I presented different items which are a mix of lengths and volumes, always keeping an eye on what I prefer: shorts and short clothes.

What is your vision of the woman?

The woman from whom I take inspiration is full of contradictions, a woman who always wants to go beyond her limits, brave and resourceful. I love combining minimal to over sizes.

When did your passion for fashion start?

When I finished the scientific high school I understood I wanted to become a designer. Then I attended the Euro Mediterranea academy in Catania, which I have just finished: four wonderful years! Think that when I was a child, I didn’t want to become a designer, now it is my life’s goal.

Let’s talk about the competition among the designers.

You are just at your first experience, but how do you think you will handle it in the future?

I think that a good and healthy competition could be constructive and essential for the growth of the talent of a designer. I do not want to look at the others, but I want to go my own way, trying to make my philosophy and my fashion idea worth.

Where do you take inspiration for your collections?

I always start from a critic and an interior analysis. I try to figure out what I want in that specific moment, what I want express and communicate. I also try to be in step with the times, without forgetting my vision and my taste.

Which are the designer you admire the most?

Balenciaga and Alexander Wang. I love the structure of their clothes and the lightness of their creations.

How do you prepare yourself for a fashion show, how do you live the moment of rehearsals?

The rehearsals of a fashion show are always exciting. Looking after the combinations and choosing the right models, you never have the real perception of the collection until you see it on the runway. I wait for the moment of the show with joy because only in this way I can really see what I create. The catwalk is very important, you are able to understand if a collection moves the public or not. It is an important and basic test for a designer.

Seeing your clothes and your work on the runway gives you the right drive to continue, it motivates you to go on and make your dream come true.

What are the goals you want to achieve?

At first, as it’s not long since I finished the academy, I am going to gain experience in some fashion houses with a stage. I am 23 years old and the road is long but I am willing to change city, I have no boundaries, I am determined to grow up and learn.

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WHO IS ON NEXT

By Cristina Giannini

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Luisa Attardo

he instinct for survival arises in us from the competition, we are ready to get involved, to give our best; the pressure, sometimes, leads us to be more creative. In the fashion industry there are many competitions born over the years allowing young talents to show their skills, while also offering great opportunities in the working field.

A competition which over time has turned into a real project of scouting, is “Who is On Next?�, born in 2009 in collaboration with Italian Vogue. The intent is to try and promote new designers both national and international, but having behind them a production exclusively Made in Italy. Participants will be assessed initially by a committee composed of the heads of Alta Roma and Italy Vogue, which will select the finalists. Then, the same committee and the most important professionals in the fashion industry (including industrialists, suppliers, etc.) as well as Italian and international journalists will choose the winner .

The finalists will have the honor to present its own mini Spring/Summer collection (12 outfits) during the calendar of AltaRomAltaModa, while offering them even the prestige of attending an important event in the context of Roman fashion and in any case showing their art to a wider audience, thanks to an international showcase composed of many Buyers who often take part in the event.

Altaroma was chosen, with the intent to use Rome as a driving force of scouting, a real springboard for these new talents, which confirms the unstoppable growth of the Eternal City, by consolidating the role it has in the fashion system. Above all it offers an ideal setting for a contest based on creativity and innovation, being one of the most important cities in the history of craftsmanship tradition.

For many years, this prestigious event has given rise to new designers, both in the context of women and male fashion (in collaboration with Pitti Immagine and Uomo Vogue), giving many dreamers an opportunity also to present a collection of accessories including handbags, shoes, hats and jewelry. Winning is important, but not essential, since the competition, thanks to the wide visibility, allows all participants to open up new doors in this fabulous field, giving rise to original and important collaborations.

All aspiring participants need only view the website of Altaroma or Vogue Italy to take note of the regulation and rules for participation, by starting to give free rein to their creativity, perhaps even inspired by the charm of Rome.

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GIORGINI BETS ON MADE IN ITALY, TAKING TO HIGH LEVELS THE ITALIAN FASHION

By Gaia Bregalanti Mattia Vismara

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iovan Battista Giorgini, hailing from Forte dei Marmi, was a business man who understood how conciliate art, fashion and made in Italy before others. It was he that organized the first actual Italian fashion show on 12th February 1951 in Florence, in the gardens of Villa Torrigiani. Nine fashion houses and Italian tailor’s shops took part in this historic event: Simonetta, Sorelle Fontana, Fabiani, Schuberth, Marucelli, Carosa di Roma, Veneziani, Ruberasco and Vanna di Milano. Around the catwalk there were just about thirty people. Giovan Battista Giorgini took a great risk launching nine artisan tailor’s shops. American buyers sew a strong potential and immediately regarded Florence not only as a city rich with art, but also as a city with a big potential in textile sector. They bet everything on the made in Italy.

The first thoroughly Italian fashion show is considered by fashion historians as the greatest challenge to the established capital of fashion at that time: Paris, with itsmany ateliers, which were already established and well known in the sector of international fashion, as for example the Chanel brand.

After the great success, Giorgini managed to have permission to model in the White Room of Pitti Palace, where in 1965, together with his partner Gianni Ghini, succeeded in turning made in Italy high fashion into prêt-à-porter. Ital y took its place the fashion sector, competing with other foreign designers, conquering today the first place in the textile industry.

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F E R R A R A G I U L I A

GIULIA FERRARA

By Angelica Grittani Luisa Attardo

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iulia is a young girl chasing her dreams. She approached fashion in a very pragmatic way, even though she wanted to be a doctor. This artistic streak led her to experiment, by creating jewelry and accessories from recycled materials. After her studies at the grammar school, she took a different path, she decided to follow her instinct and aesthetic sense to study at the Euro-Mediterranean Academy and fulfill her purpose, that is working for a style office.

Her first fashion show for the Madeinmedi in Taormina has been a very exciting moment. During the fashion week in Taormina, Giulia Ferrara has experienced the fashion event closely, by proposing, in a showroom set up for the event, her garments for the catwalk. Moreover, fashion designers have been noted by a high level panel of judges. Definitely, it has been a training conclusion that gave these young designers the possibility to get off to a good start in the world of fashion!

Giulia is a simple-minded girl but very determined: her consistency can be seen in her clothes, which are a mix of styles and fabrics representing street-style, art, and movement; they reflect a strong, intelligent sensitive woman proud of herself who does not feel the need to undress herself to look sensual.

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What is the most important aspect of your training path at the Euromediterranean Academy?

I think the most important aspect that I experienced and that formed me concerns the field of the collection design. We had a chance to create a collection from scratch and this has been possible thanks to the teachers at the school who taught us a very long and difficult creative process. We have laid the foundations to get to the collection design, starting from the modeling package, because a designer has to know where pleats or zippers must go, and how to make the cuts ... it is essential to have a practical knowledge in this field in order to know how to draw and design. I feel very satisfied with this educational choice: I think I have learned so much the last four years and I must say I’ve acquired greater self confidence.

Have you felt much competition during the fashion shows where all of you were the protagonists during the MadeinMedi in Taormina?

I do not like the competition (ed she laughs). I prefer when you put together the ideas, indeed I would like to collaborate with other designers to join forces and create a common project. Personally, I have not felt the competition so much in the design but a healthy tension between us. During the preparation for the event I did not look what other designers had made; I was concentrated on my collection: I had some doubts while I was making it, I did not like it in some moments, but I discovered that I was not the only one who had second thoughts, compared to my colleagues!

What has inspired your collection?

First of all, I have decided to take all the sketches and the work I have done these years by doing an analytical work. Then I asked myself what I would have wanted to propose, and the choice fell on the craft applications, since I still made accessories from recycled materials.

I was inspired by an art current, that is, the Russian constructivism based on the use of materials never before used and I found this artistic expression as the sum of what I wanted to express through my clothes.

The defragmentation of the image, the idea of motion and speed, and color are elements which inspired me.

I also took inspiration from the work of a Brazilian artist called L7M, who draws very colorful murals of birds, whose body is stylized with many broken triangles giving the idea of kinetic motion. It was a long and involved process, starting from the “mood” and then choosing materials and shapes: I have decided to work more on fabrics such as PVC, ecofriendly leather, mirrored fabrics that are very difficult for baste and sew. The finishes I’ve done on the fabrics are like veins and give the dress a touch of three-dimensionality, while the prints I have applied to other models give an idea of scratched, like a painting in motion.

How can you show your own style and your skills on the catwalk?

My mix of ideas comes from a reasoned study and I think this will also be seen on the catwalk.

I tried to give a similar impression to dresses, such as lengths, and I wanted to communicate the theme of my collection, through every style.

In addition to music, a designer must also think about the makeup and the hair, which should always give you the image of women that you want to represent in your clothes and which the models should be able to embody.

What does make a bridal gown special?

Surely the dress itself must convey something, no matter who wears it, but actually the dress changes a lot depending on the wearer. Before a fashion show, while doing the fitting with models, I realized how some dresses fit well a model than another, and this aspect matters a lot for a designer.

When do you understand that your work has been appreciated?

The time that it took to make the collection and all the efforts made these years, for me are already a great satisfaction. I know I have learned so much and after a fashion show the congratulations from teachers, friends and family have given me the motivation to continue and realize that I have done a good work.

What are the qualities that a good designer should learn?

I think the most important quality, in addition to the method of work, are certainly the determination, sensitivity, humility and curiosity, understood as a research. I think it is crucial to be innovative and to have a base where to imprint your own style.

Are you working on any future projects?

I had once the chance to show my dress, made entirely by me at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence for the event “Imbastire un sogno, Cucire un’idea”(“Basting a dream, Sewing an idea”). The fashion show was at the 16th century Hall, a wonderful and exciting location, and the prize was an internship by Roberto Cavalli.

Although I did not win, however, being chosen among 500 participants throughout Italy, for me has been a milestone. Now, my dream is to design and carry out research in an office style.

F E R R I C L A U D I O

CLAUDIO FERRI

By Angelica Grittani Selena Magni

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laudio Ferri is a freelance artist, who, after discovering his love for art has decided to express it in its every form, from painting on canvas and ceramic to make-up. He experiences his job as a natural artistic branching of painting that expresses itself with colours and brushes on people’s faces, that he tries to understand and interpret with make-up, bringing out the best. His dream? Besides that of carrying on his artist career (Claudio paints on ceramic and creates beautiful works) there’s another dream that deserves all his efforts and motivation and this is to give an emotion to the people he “helps” with his work. His skilful hands, the sense of beauty and his ability are like a balm that helps people feel more beautiful. This is Claudio’s goal: to enjoy the happiness on people’s faces, even when they don’t have many reasons to rejoice. Make up is frivolous appearance but appearance has never been as important as nowadays and our exterior aspect is the mirror trough which we relate with others.

Claudio Ferri talks through colours, textures, application techniques, hair and styling. Make up has been for him an artistic demonstration of what he had already studied and practiced. He only needed a chance to discover this talent he had, for, as soon as he moved his first steps in this field, he was thrown in the backstage of model shows and he won a contest that allowed him to collaborate with Lancome as international ambassador of this brand, giving him the chance to work for several important events (Taormina’s Festival, Save the Children and more).

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When did you start your work as make-up artisti?

I started in 2002 and I’ve worked for 7-8 years in the show business. I started this career by chance, as my artistic education is very large and I started as painter, painting on canvas, glass and ceramic. I’ve always cherished the dream of being an artist and one day a friend of mine that needed a make-up artist for a model show called me, since she knew about my interest for painting and make-up. It was a positive experience because I succeeded. I didn’t know much about makeup techniques but it came natural to me to paint on bodies and faces. It was a success that convinced me to attend a professional make-up course.

Why did you chose this job?

I think it was this job that chose me, after all. The job of the painter/artist is hard and it is difficult to stand out. With make-up I had positive feedbacks from the very beginning and I found out that I like changing people’s features, see the change on their face and being told that they love it. I chose to do this job because I knew I had a talent for it. I was good in school as well, but I’ve always done everything on my own, I never got any help. After I finished my studies I started handing out curricula and sending my works to agencies, magazines and similar, because I was very determined. My motivation pours out from my works, as well. I am not a simple worker, I always find a way to turn the initial idea completely upside down because I like experimenting, as I usually do when I attend the Alternative Show in London with the Hairstyle Gogen school. I design exaggerate looks to convey a message. For example, I once drew the wireless symbol on a model’s face, a mask to represent this way to communicate that has become, in my opinion, too intrusive. I try to reach beyond the schemes and this is what characterizes me.

PH GAUTHIER GALLET

You work for several magazines and you also deal with advertisement. What’s the difference between working for a magazine and for a commercial?

In a magazine you often do editorials and covers for celebrities like actresses, sportsman, politicians and so on. For this reason, my work focuses more on the character, on what they want to convey and I usually listen to them carefully and I try to make them feel at ease. When I work for commercials, I’m more focused on the product and the main goal is to highlight the storyboard of the campaign. The most beautiful campaign I’ve worked at was one for Sony, because I could do the make-up for famous tennis players (Sharapova and the sister Williams among the others), giving them a natural look they were probably not used to.

What does it mean for you to take care of a person’s look, from hairstyle to make-up?

I always try to respect everyone’s image and to enhance everyone’s beauty. I always ask to my client: “What do you have in your beauty case?”, which may seem a rhetoric question but it isn’t at all, it can tell much about the woman we’re dealing with. If she uses red lipstick, for example, she might be a strong woman, very extrovert. I try to follow the rules, if a person doesn’t like skin contact, I don’t use my fingers but brushes only, or the air-brush. I try to understand people, I use my sensibility to get closer to their desires. I am en aesthete, I like beautiful things and I think I have talent that I want to develop to grow up. In the show business it is very easy to shrink into the commercial rules. I believe that a person’s strength lies in the ability to change, to transform and challenge yourself, like Madonna has done several times, for example. Often, it comes down to trust, a make-up artist is regarded as an expert that can make you feel at ease. I try to be all this for the women I work with, a friend and a person with whom they can feel at ease and why, not, let themselves go for a change of look or an unexpected hairstyle.

W FROM THE SHOWS ON CATWALK TO THOSE UNDERWATER: THE GREATEST MODEL SHOWS OF THE LAST 50 YEARS

By Enza Volpe Selena Magni

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hat’s behind a model show? The fashion world is very complex but charming at the same time, rich in surprises and marvels. Behind a model show there is a huge work that concerns not just what we can see on the catwalk, like models, flashes, big smiles, organisers, photographers, celebrities, rich customers and anxious stylists and countless staff members. The fashion show is like the stage of a theatre, everything is like a play to show not only for the models but also for those who organise it.

It is quite difficult to tell what happens the very moment the lights go down, the music starts to play and the photographers circle the catwalk in search for the perfect shot. Every dress is a woman, every woman is a scene to watch and every scene is a play organised to the very detail.

During the years, the greatest stylist have organised the greatest scenaries. In 1982 Valentino had his 46th collection presented at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It was with this show that Valentino got to the top of his success, thanks to the organisation of the former director of Vogue, Diana Vreeland, who was also a consultant for the fashion museum of New York. Many years later, another great stylist gave life to an outstanding show, one of the greatest and most expensive models shows ever. The maison Fendi decided to present its collection in a magical location: the Great Wall of China.

The 18th October 2007, Fendi had 88 models walking on the Great Wall, turning one the seven marvels of the world into a catwalk. For the first time ever, China agreed to open one of its precious treasures, jealously guarded for centuries, to the world of fashion, to honour the Made In Italy. The scenery was very striking, with great light that underlined the shadows and the red shades. The expense amounted between 7 and 10 million of euros, inclusive of large donations for future restoration works for the Wall.

No other stylist managed to surpass the marvellous show of Fendi, not even the wonderful catwalks and sceneries of Victoria’s Secrets, whose shows feature gorgeous models and fairy-tale sceneries, with models wearing huge butterfly or angel wings. In 2013 there was a ground breaking news coming from China: a model show that took place underwater. No catwalk to walk on but a huge fish tank in which the models swam together with thousands of fishes. The show was held in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian, in the South-East of China.

F MADEINMEDI mediterranean design & fashion week

By Rossella Scalzo Mattia Vismara

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rom 2nd to 8th June 2014 Madeinmedi, the Mediterranean design & fashion week, took place in Taormina. At its eighth edition, Madeinmedi represents a “Made in Sicily” cult event, an event where fashion, art and design mix together. For 7 days one of the most charming place in Sicily has become the scenery of events full of creativity where young talents had the opportunity to show the results of their studies.

The protagonists of Madeinmedi were the students of Harim, the Accademia Euromediterranea, an institute of education based in Catania and Tripoli, that aims at enshrining the Mediterranean as a new creative basin and at demonstrating how design and fashion can affect the cultural and economic welfare in the whole Mediterranean area.

Its aim is to educate young talents in the fashion, jewels and global design sectors, through specialized courses, and to plan events like Madeinmedi, important not only for the chance of being noticed by the audience, but also for the opportunity to show their creation in front of professionals and being chosen for new study and work opportunities.

During the Madeinmedi, the small streets and squares in Taormina became the background to videos and photo shootings, but also to selection of aspiring models with “Catwalk” and “Are you ready”, organised by the fashion agency Castdiva in Catania.

Fashion was the the protagonist of 6th and 7th June nights, when two fashion show took place in the wonderful location of Teatro Antico in Taormina.

Friday 6th June 2014 the Harim show went on stage, with 15 young fashion designer, students from the fourth year of Accademia Euromediterranea, presenting (most of them for the first time) their collection. Sarah Anastasi presented “Inside”, inspired by the Indian culture; Sara Vitali, with “Spirit 26” revisited the “nude look” with soft superimpositions and hi-tech materials; Oriana Rinaldi, with “Toxic Hole” made modeling creations inspired by Dalì and its overflowing Freudian vision of man; Noemi Licciardello and her futuristic scenario in “Undefined”, “total white sportswear of unconventional styles”;

Luna Cuffari and her research of perfect fragrance in “Balmy Breeze”; Mariangela Castronovo, between romanticism and biker style with “Ogeretla”; Stefania Parisi and her collection inspired by fantasy sagas, with role games and armours with “ArmorAmor”; Cristina Nicotra with “Cinquante” that played on the gilded opulence of the pin up opposed to the bon ton of the US daily life; Carlotta Cosentino and her only dress “Anxiety” presented by a fashion film inspired by natural disasters and the deepest darkness; Valentina Plumari starts from a quote

by Fulco Pratesi “We are much more like trees than transistors” and shows on the runway “Tr(e) e”; Francesca Passanisi with “Tedea” revisited in a modern key the Greek tragedy of Medea with a minimal style and maximal volumes; Erika Alì with “Eureka” reconstructed the story of a young archaeologist, among mud, rust and earth colours; Annalisa Coco and “Muñecas” inspired by Frida Khalo, Aztecs and dream catchers; Giulia Ferrara with “Spaceless” brought cubism, futurism and Russian constructivism at Teatro Greco; Valeria Rosso and “The Glade” that blends in nature and 3D architecture and finally Ilaria Blanda with “Deep Charmer” and the rebirth of a weird starfish Gorgon. Young and talented fashion designer fulfilled their dream of having their collections presented in front of the audience, the press and professionals in the fashion sector. At the event there were talent scouts, magazines publishers, creative directors of prestigious fashion maisons, among which Camera Italiana Buyer Moda, Mirko Rizzi for Marsèlleria Permanent Exhibition, Antonio Cappelli for Spazio Calabiana, Laura Bernasconi, fashion consultant for many sector companies, Alessandro Baldi for Les Copains Uomo, Henry Cotton’s, Monocrom k and Nikolas & Mark.

Special guest of Madeinmedi this year was Massimiliano Bizzi, the founder of “White” of Milan, the salon sponsored by the City council of Milan, an international contemporary fashion showcase that is held in via Tortona every year.

The White presence at Madeinmedi meant the will to create

a constructive dialogue with an important reality of the world of creativity, an extra showcase on an international level for every student at the Accademia Euromediterranea. Thanks to this prestigious guests, the young students of Harim had the chance to show their creativity and their talent in front of prestigious experts acting as highest level judges, with the precious opportunity to be selected for the next step to continue their studies with a stage at the famous houses of fashion that took part.

The night of 7th June 2014 was the turn of the collections by the designers from Sood Generation: Antonio Attisano with subtle colours and contrasts of black laces in “Sinfonia n°4”; Raffaella Rullini was inspired by painter Claude Monet for “Ninfea Sognando Monet” and Rosa Vetrano brought on stage the feelings of Greek heroines with “Thimos”.

Afterwards it was the turn of the international show with Nabila Jlassi, chosen as representative of “Le Festival de la Mode de Tunis”; Arzu Kaprol from Turkey presented his Atelier Collection “Digital Big Bang”; Ruji Collection from Libya faced the difficult theme of “Arabian Spring” together with Performance Coreutico Teatrale; to conclude, Leyre Valiente from Spain brought a collection of spatial mood titled “Nostromo”.

The location for the 2014 edition was not chosen randomly, as Marco Aloisi, producer of the event, declared. The transfer of Madeinmedi seat in Taormina (editor’s note, last year it took place in Noto) and in particular the choice to turn the Teatro Antico into the location for the two nights dedicated to fashion shows, allowed young fashion designers, international designers and Mediterranean creative talents to promote their image in the best way.

Commenting on this Madeinmedi 2014 edition, Marco declares:“This year’s was surely an edition to remember, not only for the location, but also for the important names that had the chance to know the creativity of our young fashion designers. Always pursuing the mission of supporting the new generations, Madeinmedi provided good chances for the budding designers, including the international ones. Our bet is always to make Sicily a privileged place where young people can be given the opportunity to express themselves”.

H A R I M FA S H I O N

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S H O O T I N G

MADEINMEDI IS CONCLUDED, NEW FASHION SHOOTING. The students of the four-year “Fashion Design” Euro-Mediterranean Academy wanted to live a more exciting time together, creating a fashion shoot. The designers selected for their looks have turned to the choices of stylist sumake-up, hair-styling, videos, photos and styling to creatively present their style.

“Ogeretla�

Fashion Designer: Mariangela Castronovo PH Marco Ognissanti

“Tr(e)e�

Fashion Designer Valentina Plumari PH Marco Ognissanti

Title: Headlights Fashion Designer: AlĂŹ, Anastasi, Blanda, Castronovo, Coco, Ferrara, Passanisi, Plumari, Vitali.

Styling: Andrea Franco, Valentino Fiammetta, Giulia CalĂ Ph: Marco Ognissanti Hair Styling & Make Up: New Generation Models: Castdiva

Competition provides stylists with drive to create new collections. Just like an athletes, stylists play their cards in few seconds. The model show: curiosities, secrets, emotions and tenseness that are worth a career. “The way to get things started is to stimulate competition, not in a calculating way, but for the desire to excel and be outstanding.�

Charles Michael Schwab Competition stimulates the mind to outdo the others and to put effort in realising works on your own, so that you can distinguish yourself from the others. Even in fashion, in the phase that precedes the creation of a new collection, stylists are driven by an healthy feeling of competition, in search for that element of originality that enhances their creations and makes them original. Anyone who thinks that competition is plain rivalry aimed at excluding one another is wrong: competition is what allows stylists to stand out from the dullness to make way to what is new, unusual and different.

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