Interview AntoninoSalemi Garigliano | Fashion Designer

Posh Sauvage | Earth Issue

 

To find out more about the designs of Antonino Salemi Garigliano or to book a custom made wearable piece of art, click here to be directed to his site

Antonino Salemi Garigliano

Mythologic Fashion Designer

Antonino is from Torino, Italy. He is not just a fashion designer, he is a Mythologic Fashion Designer, interpreting myths and legends into custom wearable art.

PS:What has influenced you to be a fashion designer?

ASG: There are no particular experiences that have influenced my path as a fashion designer but the strength of something that pushes to come out, the need to express my world. Everyone has this need, you just have to recognize it. I didn’t discover it, I’ve been feeling and living it all along, sometimes it turns into an obsession.

PS: How would you describe your work?

ASG: I’ve often met people charmed by the creative work, that look at it imagining a free and different reality. That’s a part of the work but it’s even perseverance, sacrifice and devotion. I don’t know which other job I could do because I believe that’s the only thing I can do well naturally. 

PS: What materials do you use?

ASG: I like all the fabrics. Various materials are suitable for my collections: from the organza and the voile for their lightness and dynamism, to the reinterpretation of eco-leather for winter collections. I’m linked to the classical fabrics for the tailoring of the clothes while for the accessories I like testing     new fields and reconsider already existing fabrics like recycled fur.

PS: Did you attend a fashion design school?

ASG: I did not attend a fashion design school, I got my degree in Visual Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts of Turin. In the world of fashion not having a degree seems to be a limit, but I’m happy of the choice I made. This type of education widens my horizon on arts, a thing that a fashion design school can’t do.

PS: You are featured in several editorials for this fall issue of Posh Sauvage, Would you describe to us about the design, concept and materials of the white dress. shot in Palazzo Paesana.

ASG: It’s a dress of 35 meters composed by hundreds of  little squares made by plastic fabric. It was made for a performance and it has been chosen for some great shootings, such as yours, maybe for its majesty and scenic greatness.

PS: Please share with us about the upcoming Fall / Winter collection...

ASG: I work on the contrast between classical and contemporary passing through punk’s hints and the sartorial’s architectural rigor. Elegance is the component that must be always present this is the reason why some cuts refer to the past. I’ve increased the wearability and I focused on strong and well structured lines that are graceful and dynamic     at the same time.

PS: What are your thoughts on the upcoming fashion video collaboration you are presenting as an installation during Modissima?

ASG: The installation was thought to include three different arts’ realities as fashion, sculpture and video art. I had the opportunity to collaborate with some great artists like Lynette Arlene with all her competence and experience, Carmelo Brustia with the visionary interpretation of  multimedia language and last but not least, Les Artistes du Dimanche that have skillfully defined the aesthetic line shaping both statues that will wear my dresses. Those are sphinxes, mermaids, caryatid, mythological figures, disquieting totem that attract people, they are the threshold of a metaphorical door that allows to enter a symbolic realm. They are the emblem of Fashion. They’re not just mere mannequins on which you can put a dress. They’re the essence of Fashion as Art. Something that goes beyond a dress and becomes a mean of expression for the artist and for who will wear the dress. The screen shows a demiurgic figure (δήμιος, dèmios, “of people” - ἔργον, èrgon, “worker”) a female-looking “divine artisan”, a sort of Mother Goddess from whom begins creation. Will it be the Inspiration or maybe the Fashion itself? Mythology recurs over and over again, and the act of putting the thread in the eye of a needle, essential action in order to create a dress, reminds the darks Parcae.

PS: Is your line ‘Made in Italy?’
ASG: Yes, all my lines are handmade by me. I’ve learned tailoring thanks to a seamstress that gave me all her knowledge. Italy is always the birthplace of craftsmanship renowned all over the world for its excellence, and tailoring is part of this excellence.   

PS: Where do you see yourself in the future? What is your ultimate goal?

ASG: I’d like to have the chance to continue to express myself, to keep on growing. Research is endless, an artist grows when his humanity grows with him.

PS: Where can we find your designs?

ASG: I have a workshop in Turin and I receive by appointment. Starting from this autumn there will be various showrooms that will host my items.

PS: Do you create custom orders?

ASG: Every dress or accessory is made by adapting the item of the collection to the needs of the customer, or creating something new if the requests are more specific. I think that’s an added value to have a dress created in a workshop that can fit in different ways and keeping its uniqueness on every person.

In closing, thanks for the opportunity that you’re giving to the less known creatives, dedicating them some space to be better known. I would like to thank you even for the support I’ve received in this experience, hoping this will be the beginning of great future collaborations!  

- Antonino

PS: Thank you Antonino for sharing your inspiration and vision with us, we look forward to experiencing your evolution and collaborating in the future!

All the best!

- Posh Sauvage

next  ASG_Video.html
 previous ON_set.html