Andrea Pompilio. A long experience. A rock-chic soul. A talented designer… The day after the 2013-14 F/W Collection’s fashion show, here is the exclusive interview for FuckingYoung!
Fucking Young – Andrea Pompilio. What’s your background? How and when was your passion for fahion born?
Andrea Pompilio – When I was young, very young. Mine is, as I say, an artistic origin. My father is an architect. My mother is passionate about art and loves painting ceramics. My grandmother owned a boutique… I remember how much I liked feel enveloped, lost among those clothes… When I was eight, to the question: “What do you want to be?”, I answered: “The stylist.” My family has supported my choice, they ensured that I could realize my dream… First the school of art in Pesaro, my hometown, with a specialization in Fashion and Costume and then the Istituto Marangoni in Milan…
FY – Before your first collection, you had lots of work experiences with international fame’s brands… Alessandro Dell’ Acqua, Prada, Calvin Klein, StefanoPilati for Yves Saint Laurent… How much and how have they contribute to your personal and professional growth?
A – A great enrichment. In this, as in all professions, there are people who work to bring home the pay and others who do it with and for passion… Well, it is from these latter that I have absorbed their knowledge, their experience like a sponge. They made me full-formed, grown… Alexander McQueen’s romanticism … Prada’s minimalism … Calvin Klein’s idea of minimal related to the marketing… Yves Saint Laurent’s apotheosis of luxury…
FY – When did yourealizeit was time to launch your collectione?
A – I have always been a fashion-addicted… In recent years, I could see around me a lot of deariness, no news, no one able to stand out… I have decided to come forward… Friends, relatives and producers have supported and encouraged me… It’s been a breeze!
FY – In2011 you was Who is on Next?.’s winner. How much, today, can talent-contests like this help an emerging designer?
A – For me it has been very important to win Who is on Next?. It was my pass to Pitti, allowed me to be where I am… More generally, I think it depends on individuals, on the ability to seize the day and to take advantage from occasions… We are the creators of our own destiny!
FY – What does Pitti represent for Andrea Pompilio e what for Italy?
A – The answer is easy to come. In Italy, if I think about Moda Uomo I think of Pitti. Pitti is a melting pot. It looks out on the world market… For people like me who like to dress an international man, it is an honor to be there!
FY – – How was your collaboration with Onitsuka Tiger born? How do you manage to link together two so different souls?
A – It was an amazing experience, fantastic… They believed in me, in my abilities. I felt free to do… It was a great demonstration of trust and a unique collaboration! Together we wanted to combine the all-Italian tailoring concept and that so-Japanese minimalist and modern style… I love Japan… The starting point, involuntary, were the so-called “pony-express”… in our vision, almost ninja of the future… For the presentation of the collection we have created a relaxed, fresh, contemporary atmosphere… A moment before to start I told the models wearing our clothes, to relax, to use the skates, to joke … So it was!
FY – Usually, how wasthe inspiration for an item or a collection born?
A – Generally I let my instinct, my emotions, to guide me…I would call it a jet creative impulse! Usually I don’t have a default tableau!
FY – Who isAndrea Pompilio’s 2013-14 F/W man, the one who marched yesterday?
A – He’s a young bohemian who stole the colors from the female wardrobe. He loves cashmere fancies for jackets and pants… Wears either slippers with fur pon-pon or simple striped shirt… Like me, he is obsessed with square-prints and is a citizen of the world …
Then, back to the concept of melting pot mentioned before… The concept of contamination is… Yes, contamination … It ‘s the right word!
Thank you so much.
