L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 4 A ntonio Marras does not define h i m s e l f a s a fashion design- er. "I don't walk around with that concept of myself because it is a restric- tive and reductive definition. I cannot stand it," he says from his home in Alghero, S a r d i n i a , f a c i n g t h e b l u e Mediterranean Sea. T h e v e r y s u i g e n e r i s designer, 62, is more like an artist-experimenter. Besides creating dramatic, darkly romantic clothes, he paints and makes installation art. He is also a ceramist and a song lyricist. He wants art without borders that satisfies t h e i n e s c a p a b l e h u m a n hunger for imagined experi- ence in all its variations. "I make no distinction between fashion, art, cinema, dance, l i t e r a t u r e a n d t h e a t r e o r between high culture and popular culture. For me, they are one," he says. "I am so lucky to do a job that allows me the most unexpected mix- tures. From fashion, I cross over to other fields; I mix and discover new effects." And every creation is a piece of his heart. Mr. Marras debuted his eponymous brand in 1996 at R o m e ' s h i g h f a s h i o n week Altaroma and, from 2003 to 2011, served as artis- tic director of Kenzo. H i s f a t h e r ' s p r o f e s s i o n influenced his decision to pursue a fashion career, and so did Elio Fiorucci, a pio- neer in the globalization of f a s h i o n w h o s c o u r e d t h e g l o b e f o r u n d e r g r o u n d trends. M a r r a s w a s b o r n a n d raised in Alghero, "an island within an island, a seaside, border town and a former Catalan colony that welcomes by predisposition, forges by destiny and rewards for its extraordinary natural beau- ty," he says proudly. And even if he spends more time travel- ing, "Alghero represents the nest, the refuge, my Ithaca." Mr. Marras, your Sar- d i n i a n r o o t s n o u r i s h y o u r i m a g i n a t i o n a n d affect your designs, yet your clothes are imbued w i t h m u l t i c u l t u r a l moods. Clothes are expressions of ourselves; we are all the result of a multicultural society. Clothes are the custodians of influences, passions, inter- e s t s , a n d e v e r y t h i n g t h a t happens in the world. We are like sponges and transmit our universe through our most suitable means. How do you explain this need to experiment through multiple artistic media? You showcased your paintings and draw- ings at the Venice Art Biennale. My forays into art arise from an uncontrollable need that pushes me to intrude upon other fields. After all, art has always been a privi- leged source of inspiration for those who work in the fashion field. There is a close d i a l e c t i c a l c o n f r o n t a t i o n between the art and fashion worlds. They are two realities that meet and collide, feed- ing each other. It is in the art that I seek, I scrutinize and investigate. I get lost in art, which always surprises me. I experiment with new materials and lan- g u a g e s : l o o m s , b o o k s , stitched canvases, terra-cot- tas, stitched books, embroi- dered maps, all works of rare beauty. I have a special rela- tionship with art. It is a har- mony of interests and ideas that lives on unchanged. In Milan, you dedicat- e d y o u r F a l l / W i n t e r 2023/2024 show to the remembrance of Grazia D e l e d d a , a S a r d i n i a n writer who won the 1926 Nobel Prize for Litera- ture. We saw a bountiful collection of floral bro- c a d e d r e s s e s , o u t f i t s inspired by ancient Sar- dinian carpets, and wool sweaters with lace and embroidery. In Deled- da's pages, moral dilem- mas, human weakness a n d u n c o n t r o l l a b l e f o r c e s r e c u r . W h y i s Deledda your new muse? Grazia Deledda is a leg- end, a milestone of Sardinian culture and beyond. No one born on the Island can ignore her teachings. She has always been our point of reference, but out of reverential fear, we never allowed ourselves to inconvenience her. The runaway set for your Milan show aimed to mimic an enchanted forest: a dark woodland w h e r e y o u c a n f i n d a glimmer of light. Was that a metaphor for our contemporaneity? I want to imagine it like this. The forest has always been a place of magic and enchantment. From A Mid- summer Night's Dream to The Magic Flute to Orlando F u r i o s o , t h e f o r e s t i s t h e ideal setting to make fantas- tic things happen. And Sar- dinia forests are magical, a s o u r c e o f i n s p i r a t i o n f o r Grazia Deledda. I wanted to give a double reading as also a troubled path of a woman who, stubbornly, comes to see the light thanks to her determination and intelli- gence. The supermodel of the 2000s, Carmen Kass, 44, for almost twenty years t h e f a c e o f N a r c i s o Rodriguez's fragrance, graced your runaway. Why did you want her to open the show? Carmen Kass is an icon. She is a celebrity in Estonia and also a talented chess player. She seduced us at the time of Kenzo. We wanted her in a campaign. Then a couple of years ago, a maga- zine asked us to shoot a show a t t h e M i l a n T r i e n n a l e Design Museum, holding my exhibition Nulla Dies Sine Linea. We chose her as the protagonist. And now, we were looking for something more than a simple model for the Milan Fashion Week. We wanted a great woman with depth of character, so we thought of Carmen. She is entrancingly beautiful, time- less, independent, and com- mitted. Y o u r w o m e n a r e always strong-minded. A n t o n i o M a r r a s , t h e S a r d i n i a n fashion designer who gets lost in art MARIELLA RADAELLI A portrait of Antonio Marras by photographer Daniela Zedda (Photo: Daniela Zedda) Continued to page 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS

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