“Art is the triumph over chaos”. – John Cheever
What is art? For Vincent Van Gogh it is when men join with nature. According to Jackson Pollock it is nothing but the expression of the ideals of the time which we are living in. For Pablo Picasso it’s just what the genius and the brain elaborate behind any rule. For everybody it’s freedom: the freedom to be through your own self. And that’s what it also is for Antonio Polizzi: Sardinian designer and artist.
His ap.ooo was born from the need to make the constant search for stimuluses to flow into a single container that becomes an accessory, a bag. It’s the human beings’ innate need for getting answers through a continuous dialogue with what is around. So the leather turns into an instrument and a tool to assist them in their mission. Each bag becomes a lifestyle, the expression of a mood. The shapes are simple and essential. The handmade make them unique. In the SS16 Collection (so as in the previous ones) each has its own distinctive characteristic but always based on simplicity. Antonio wants to set people’s soul free from stereotypes so that they can be themselves.
Fucking Young! – Hi Antonio! How and when was your passion for fashion born?
Antonio Polizzi – Let’s say that my concept of fashion is strongly related to art. The project itself has such a foundation. Indeed, it’s the result of two of my exhibitions aimed at examining in depth leather, rather than other materials… It undoubtedly has a highly artistic base.
FY1! – Your brand has a specific focus on the accessories, namely the leather ones. Why such a specific choice in a moment when the big brands are becoming more and more multi-tasking?
AP – The initial project was just what I wanted to express in terms of division of total life and it included furnishings, sweaters and accessories: three elements that decoded and developed my idea. Then, I felt the need to focus on accessories because they were the field which I felt more prepared in. Maybe because I am still very young, I am not so used to considering what can happen around. I rely on sensations.
Probably soon I’ll have to start to consider what surrounds me and the demands of the market, but for now I prefer to focus on personal needs, on the relationship with myself… perhaps selfishly.
FY! – Your items design is essential and one color wins over the others: black. Nevertheless, your bags have such characteristics that give them a strong identity…
AP – I tend to define them as containers for my personal mess. The shapes represent the rigor that I have not in myself. I look for features that don’t belong to me but that I would like to get. It’s the unconscious material: for me they are containers, not bags.
FY! – Who would you identify your typical customer with?
AP – My ideal client is definitely a person who may want to bring along and upon himself other people’s experience. That’s just what I do myself: I buy and wear items by designers that I don’t know. I hope my consumer will do the same, this is the goal.
FY! – A current relevant concept is the unisex, palpable in your collections. What is it for you?
AP – I think it is the synthesis of sexuality. The intention is not to create objects either for men or for women. Each of us has both male and female characteristics and I will not give a single direction to what I do.
FY! – Your items are created in Sardinia and your products are synonymous with authentically Italian craftsmanship. Why this choice, certainly not a simple one?
AP – As you can imagine, in terms of costs it isn’t among the most convenient choices. However, I must say that the good fortune of establishing a reliable relationship with the artisans who I work with is priceless, it’s at the base of my project. This strong bond is also visible in the products. Not least, the choice is based on the fact that I want to keep the tradition alive and give local artisans the opportunity to enhance their work. Everything is made with passion. Now, I could also decide to produce somewhere else but indeed I keep myself firm in this decision… In spite of the problems.
FY! – Staying on the topic, what is the added value of a totally made in Italy product and what are the difficulties in producing it? Instead, as a young emerging designer, how can you succeed in coming into the public eye, in both the Italian and the foreign market?
AP – Precisely in my case, the benefits are those related to the opportunity of working with the artisans closely. Obviously, a factory can’t put the same attention as theirs in doing the job. Besides being made in Italy, my brand is made in Sardinia. Sardinia is an island and the transportation costs should be taken into account. But I noticed that this made in Sardinia guarantees a certain level of finishing that attracts a certain type of customers. So, for now, I would say that in my really small business anything is an advantage.
FY! – Let’s speak about the SS16 Collection: we can see raw cuts on simple shapes and black holes on fine leathers. You alternate black and silver… Would you want to speak about that?
AP – I chose silver in the latches for aesthetic reasons at first and, above all, for its manufacturing, its melting. It’s a kind of material that over the time undergoes changes and I find it interesting. Then, I started a collaboration with a graphic designer with whom I created some pattern through the screen-printing that I brought back on the bags. For the rest, I’d say that the collection remains unchanged which means that it’s the constant evolution of an ongoing project. I just integrate and increase the working on the different bags such as the Tote Bag that was the first one I conceived and produced and that is still represented in the SS16 collection.
FY! – The most representative item in this collection?
AP – The backpack. It will stay the most representative accessory and now it is also commercially stronger.
FY! – Earlier we’ve mentioned art but in your creations it’s possible to see a connection with music as well… Both in dialogue with fashion. You seem to create a message that acts as a link between these three worlds. How can you make them communicate with one another? And how much are they complementary?
AP – They are fundamental for me. My daily mission is absorbing anything dealing with music, art, architecture. I put all my inner being into this container that is the bag. I value a lot any possible collaborations with local artisans and artists because I have no academic background resulting from fashion so I know that their support is so important for me.
FY! – We know that the first two letters of your label ap.ooo represent your name’s initials. What about the other ones?
AP – Actually, they are three circles. They gave the name to one of my exhibitions that even now continues to develop through these materials in a constant dialogue. For me, the circles represent the movement of the research. Maybe I’m still looking, or I’m in the illusion of looking for answers… We live in the illusion of finding perfection.
FY! – As usual, our last question… According to you, what is really FUCKING YOUNG!?
AP – Staying on containers, the idea at the base… It’s a box for projects, ideas to be told to tell about… Something that offers space and possibility.
