MFF 113 - Marco De Vincenzo: «First times are the most important»

“First times are the most important. I had many first times, and this one, at Etro, is a wonderful new adventure,” Marco De Vincenzo stated with his usual, thoughtful enthusiasm. In the backstage of Etro’s fashion show, in the exciting hours preceding his debut at the helm of the Maison, the atmosphere is one of great occasions. Under the vaults of a warehouse not far from Linate airport, a geometry of lozenges designs a colorful set floor, which becomes an optical scenography for the brand’s new chapter. “It is the origin past mixed with the future of sustainability,” the designer explained. He is the first outsider of the founding family, which is sitting in its entirety in the front row, to design a collection for the brand, which recently entered L Catterton fund’s orbit, related to LMVH. And in the first row there are also Silvia Venturini Fendi, Dior CEO Pietro Beccari and Fendi’s Chairman and CEO Serge Brunschwig (for whom De Vincenzo keeps working on accessories, ed.).

Born in Messina in 1978, De Vincenzo started his career when, right after getting his degree at the IED in Rome, he was noticed by Silvia Venturini Fendi herself who wanted him on her team for a bag collection. “After ten years I wanted to try and launch my own clothing line”. His debut as a designer under his own name happened in Paris during haut couture, in 2009. “I was unexperienced: I had 20 items in two suitcases, I held rehearsing at a friend’s house, my PR. Hardly anyone came to the show”. However, even then, the show had the master of fashion journalism Suzy Menkes, Silvia Venturini Fendi of course, and Franca Sozzani of Vogue Italia. Since then, his personal project has gone hand in hand with his work on Fendi’s accessories. This expertise is perhaps the key to his appointment as Etro’s Creative Director. Since its foundation in 1968, the brand has been a symbol of Made in Italy. “I am happy that the collection opens and closes with Etro’s heritage and there is a little bit of me within it,” De Vincenzo stated.

For his first collection, made in record-breaking time, preferred long conversations with founder Gimmo Etro and his children Kean and Veronica, who until last season were, respectively, designing menswear and womenswear, to historical research. “Thanks to them I was able to imagine my own vision, less linked to the past and more focused on sensations”. It is not surprising that among the guests there was a designer of the caliber of Alessandro Dell’Acqua. At the end of the show, CEO Fabrizio Cardinali and Luigi Feola, Managing Partner and Head of Europe at L Catterton, proudly hugged the designer. “One of the first times I look forward in my future is conceiving and then shooting the campaign. I cannot wait,” he added. It looks like De Vincenzo is starting off with the right foot in this new chapter of his already not short history in the fashion world.

How did the meeting with Etro come about?

The brand has been part of my life since I was a child because it is a symbol of Made in Italy. I was born in 1978, during the peak of Italian fashion, so Etro somehow accompanied me in my growth and my love for fashion. However, when they called me, I realized I did not know many things, I had never dug deep in its history. My first collection was born in a month, and it is much more imagined than planned. I was part creator, part spectator. I was waiting for the day of the show to enjoy and look at it.

For the collection you preferred talking to the Etro family, to Kean and Veronica, rather than see the archives…

Yes, I did talk a lot with the family. They told me anecdotes, but at the same time I was afraid of getting stuck in the past, in the memories. Someone told me that my collection lacks nostalgia. It is true, however, because they told me something I did not know, the legends, the stories. Some real and some false.

Which real stories and fake news did you find about Etro?

Among the funniest stories, perhaps legends, there is the one that sees Walter Albini as the creator of paisley. It is not true, however, Albini worked with Etro when it was just a fabric manufacturer. There is then the story of a trip to India which would have generated the Etro we know today. But the brand’s history is very much linked to Italian manufacturing and fabrics, even more than the patterns. At the base, it is a brand that has many things to tell and, over the years, Etro’s history has yet to be fully explored.

The set up was based on optical patterns. What does this entail?

I wanted the audience to enjoy Etro’s pattern without it being nostalgic and coming from an archive. Thus, I chose a kinetic one, something that could either come from the past or the future, something abstract that leaves space to free interpretation. In this sense, the pattern can become anything in the future. Optical, kinetic art has always been my source of inspiration, perhaps that is a way to cite myself.

The backstage felt like family. There were also Silvia Venturini Fendi, Etro’s family and his loved ones…

Yes, that was very beautiful. I take backstage every person that is part of my life. From my friends from Southern Italy, the ones who watched me start from nothing, to the people who helped me in my work and made me grow, such as Silvia Venturini Fendi, with whom I have been collaborating for 20 years. There was Pietro Beccari, with whom I made a spectacular journey during his time at Fendi, Fendi’s current Chairman and CEO Serge Brunschwig, Fabrizio Cardinali, and the Etro family. This was a way to reunite all the people in my life who trust me.

Did Silvia Venturini Fendi give you any advice?

No, she never gives me advice. She is only happy when I find a way to express myself and face new challenges. After a moment of uncertainty, she was happy to know I was going to Etro, just as she was happy when I created my own independent brand. She is there, rather than giving me advice. Even when I made risky choices, like starting an independent brand in fashion at 30 years old without having all the credentials to do so but my will. If I am on a trampoline, she accompanies me to the jump.

What did Karl Lagerfeld leave you during your years at Fendi?

Collaborating with him was a great privilege. I was always involved in leather goods, so my teacher was Silvia more than Karl. However, seeing a man at work with all his wealth of knowledge and his desire to explore the contemporary world was wonderful for me, very fulfilling. Among the designers of the old guard, he was the most avant-garde, the most technological, not at all nostalgic. Perhaps from Karl I precisely got this last aspect even though he did not transmit it to me by telling me, but through example. I love the past, but it does not have to be a block. He lived through the best years of fashion, went through very different styles and decades but he always reinvented himself.

Everyone expects great work on bags. Etro's image is little associated with accessories. On the runway there were fabric bags, leather bags... What kind of approach will you have with accessories?

There are already accessories that are not on the side but have their own extreme strength. The collaboration with Mytheresa has already put some products on sale after the show and includes a series of products with eleven upcycling fabrics recovered from the archive. This is a demonstration that we want to focus on accessories. Even the leather bag, which does not have a name yet, has all the makings of a collector's bag. The naturalness with which the accessories in this show came out shows that my schooling helped me. It is an area in which I move nonchalantly, which does not mean being sure of the results but knowing how to deal with them.

What is your relationship with today's creatives? Do you have any muses? How do you relate to the icons of both the past and the present?

I use Instagram a lot, but I feed off a lot of things and then I rework and mix them. I am very open to possibilities, I do not crystallize my ideal in someone or something because I am fickle and that does not mean I betray what I liked one minute earlier but I am sensitive to stimuli, I always have new ones.

What is a wowness moment of yours?

My first fashion show in Paris as an independent brand being on the schedule. I had been working at Fendi for 10 years, my career was on track, and I found myself with two suitcases, defying destiny in a world that was not mine, since I had always made handbags until then. I will never forget that moment. Silvia Venturini Fendi and Delfina Delettrez Fendi were also there. In that I see a connection in my debut as an independent brand and my debut at Etro because the people closest to me were there.

And then Beyoncé came along...

If I think of a gift that the pop world gave me, it was when, on my birthday in 2015, I saw that Beyoncé had worn one of my rainbow lurex dresses for the launch of one of her singles in New York and velvet braided sandals that became iconic because of her. I did not expect it, I knew my dress had arrived in New York but never imagined I would see it on her. That is when I realized the power of social media, what a testimonial can do, and what combining these elements can do to fashion.

Would you like to co-lab at Etro?

Absolutely. I still have a lot of firsts ahead of me and thinking about a collaboration is an exciting idea for me. For example, I have never thought about an advertising campaign because at Fendi I do not conceive them and at Marco De Vincenzo there are no economic means. Whereas now with Etro I find myself in front of another first. This is, in short, another opportunity.

How does the way of working in a ready-to-wear style office change compared to accessories?

It is actually very similar. I think I always lead with great humanity. My relationships, even working relationships, are always long term, and that makes me realize that there is a balance. I care about having fun and making people feel part of a project. At Etro there is already a core group of people who are working hard to help me realize my projects, and that feels like magic to me. I just believe in this form of leadership. I shorten distances, I am unfiltered.

Will you return in January with a focus on menswear?

Currently the planned collection is only men’s, but I do not exclude some women's releases. However, it may not remain so. For now, there is a focus on men. In general, I like the co-ed formula because as I create one, I sometimes think about the other. I have no gender stakes, I like the cohesive form even in the design phase. Above all, I would like my message to be even and consistent and that there is always more harmony between things. (All rights reserved)