At his home/studio in Milan, we met and interviewed the imaginative and brilliant young Tuscan designer Stefano de Lellis!
Q – Hello Stefano, tell us about your career beginning. How did your adventure in the fashion world design start?
A – My passion is born when I was a child. Not for gaming, however, it is clear… Before the design and then the objects’ concrete realization… It has been a natural path, a way to express myself, a logical becoming… I never know what I will do tomorrow, next month, next year… I am fascinated by art in all its expressions… From sculpture to painting… My motivation is creativity!
Q – What is your background?
A – As I told you, it was love at first sight! Even before the school, I liked to create unique pieces able to mirror my personality. The family’s environment has undoubtedly influenced my peculiarities. My uncle is a sculptor and restorer. My father a woodcarver. A stimulating environment, certainly more art than craft-focused, but there is no doubt: in my house scissors and forceps never lacked!
I attended the Art Institute where I followed a course in art and restoration. I’ve always had a special feeling for fashion. Today, it is probably the easiest way to make art. The most democratic one, more accessible than artistic expressions such as painting or sculpture… There are more bags in a closet than statues in a garden, right?
Q – What was the item or the material that has officially turned your passion into a real job?
A – My jewelry, no doubt. It all started with two hundred pounds of electrician’s washers with which I wanted to create a suit of armor. A friend of mine who has a line of t-shirts saw the item – he already knew how I used to work – and proposed me a collaboration with LuisaViaRoma. Unfortunately that project was cancelled but they were impressed by my pieces. After six months, they called me back and since then I have not stopped. The contacts with the jewelry’s buyers, the proposals, a dream! Let’s talk about three years ago… I used to draw men’s accessories for Coveri… It was the turning point!
Q – To date, what about your greatest satisfactions?
A- I do not know… All, different in time… From the smallest to the largest! Surely, when buyers chose my jewelry line… a new thing was starting, my way, my adventure!
Q – Do you follow the current fashion?
A – Once a lot. I used to follow the Fashion Week without losing a parade. Now, a lot less… I prefer to look at the collections later, quietly, when alone …
Q – What’s your birth sign?
A – Pisces
Q – What are the materials you prefer to use?
A – Metals. The brass. Now I’m thinking of a capsule collection in gold (necklace, ring, bracelet)… Pure luxury! I love to mix… To combine many different pieces made of different materials!
Q – And what about feathers? Why do you use them?
A – I cannot tell you… I create from raw material, I let the materials guide me. I have not particular inspirations. Of course, university helped me… There may be some references… but it is the instinct to command… It’s my sense of freedom!
Q – Instead, how was the wonderful clutches’ new collection born?
A – The brass that surrounds the black leather bag takes its shape from a simple roll of paper towels… For decorations I wanted to combine contrasting but harmonious shapes… So here is the blazing phoenix and the slow turtle… the celestial angel and the sea-corals… the crab and the little bee.
Q – What about future projects?
A – Bags and bags again… Unique, unconventional and contemporary!
Q – Let’s close the interview with your own reflection, a thought that represents you.
A – Everyone should follow his own way, make a path that is not somebody else’s… In my opinion, there are no people or experiences to be taken as an example… You should be the master of your destiny, the proponent of a unique story, our story… a story we will be able to tell!
Luca Imbimbo
Photos : Jana Anhalt wormeline.com
