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Guest Blog by Anna Battista, an Italian writer, journalist and fashion and film lecturer. Anna co-curated for Peroni the photographic exhibition Italian Style on the Silverscreen, a journey through Italian cinema revealing its connections with global fashion. On the Peroni Collaborazioni project, Anna worked with the bloggers and designers as an expert on Italian Style.
Italy has produced some of the world's greatest designers and fashion houses, their creations - associated with elegance, style, creativity and artisan traditions - were at times inspired or helped by collaborations or experiences developed abroad.
The latest Peroni Collaborazioni project provided a platform for further international creative collaborations. Three UK-based jewellery and fashion designers - Jessica de Lotz, Maarten van der Horst and Shaun Samson - and three popular bloggers - DisneyRollerGirl, Fashion Foie Gras and Style Bubble – were asked to reinvent a new piece inspired by Italian style.
Jessica De Lotz came up with an interactive bike bell that detaches on to a watchstrap and a ring base. Her piece has got some filmic connections with Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves but it has also got a romantic edge calling back to mind Fausto Coppi’s controversial love story with Giulia Occhini, “La Dama Bianca” (The Lady in White).
Shaun Samson has got a special connection with Italy since he won in July the “Fashion Collection of the Year Award” at the Trieste-based ITS #Ten competition. Inspired by the techniques developed by Italian designers and by the long history of Italian textile manufacturers, Shaun experimented with devore paste reducing eight layers of silk fabric to thin fine threads and coming up with a unisex ensemble.
Italy’s ready-to-wear prospered in the ‘80s: Versace launched then a new kind of style that combined sensuality, opulence, decadence and kitsch in his uproarious pattern mixes. Maarten van der Horst moved from these inspirations and, combining them with the fabrics and moods of his latest collection, developed a Baroquish jacket evoking a flower in bloom.
The Peroni Collaborazioni will evolve now to celebrate the function, beauty and passion of Italian Design: Peroni will bring together some of the most influential leaders in design across Italy and the UK to collaborate with up-and-coming UK designers who will reinvent 3 everyday pieces inspired by Italian design. And with a rich history of design including great inspirations such as the avant-garde group Studio Alchimia or the Memphis Milano movement with their bright, colourful and at times eccentric pieces characterised by unusual shapes and silhouettes, you can bet that the next Peroni Collaborazioni project will be a completely new and exciting challenge in the best Italian tradition.
Watch the episodes and the unfolding of the Peroni Collaborazioni here and tell us what you think @peroniuk.