Interview Maria Grazia – Spring/Summer Collection 2021

On-screen:
This video begins with a model's fashion show. The first one wears a grey and white striped
kimono jacket, open on the front with a small black belt, over a long white skirt. She is
followed by another model who wears a long white lace shirt with a black vest over short
shorts. The next model is dressed in a gray neckline dress, matching with gold earrings and
a necklace. After the fashion show, we see the hands of a woman adorned with golden
jewels holding a black clutch or a bag matching their dress.

Maria Grazia:
[Translated from Italian for the entire video]
In order to envisage this collection, I needed to interact with other women regarding certain
themes in order to come up with an appropriate answer to provide, through fashion, in
such, unprecedented and uncertain times.
In this search, my meeting with Nanni Strada and my reading of her work proved to be
enlightening.

On-screen:
The next sequence shows a chiffon fabric embroidered with flowers and a woman tying her
white scarf printed behind the neck. We then see the room for the parade decorated with
several paintings. Women in blue printed dresses line up along the stage, while another
woman in a black dress holds a microphone and beats the measures.

Maria Grazia:
Since the ‘60s, as a designer, she has created clothes characterized by a strong concept of
design.
Clothes that represent, for each body, a place to feel at ease.
So, starting with some of the most iconic elements of the Maison, such as the Dior Paletot
jacket, which was basically a dressing gown.
I tried to reinterpret the Dior silhouette from a new point of view.
More comfort for the needs of today’s women.

On-screen:
The video that follows shows a woman with blond hair wearing a black sweater sitting in her
office. The catwalk image continues with a model wearing a printed garnet kimono
tightened by a black belt at the waist and holding a bag matching her dress. Other
mannequins appear later wearing the same model but with different colors.

Maria Grazia:
Another woman who greatly inspired me for this collection, and whom I collaborated with
for the show’s backdrop, is Lucia Marcucci.
As an artist, she uses collage as her creative element. Through collage, she analyses the
influence, the media has on our self-image, while also including a fundamental element:
words.

On-screen:
We then see the back of a woman dressed in a dress printed with several colors and
another wearing a white lace dress with gold earrings and necklace.
The next picture shows a sewing workshop and the dressmaker with his models of reversible
printed kimono dress, or double sided.

Maria Grazia:
The collage aspect is very much present in the collection. It is not juste tied to the shapes,
but also to the study of the fabrics, where elements of several cultures come together to
celebrate the history of textiles, and how this history reflects the history of humanity.

On-screen:
The sequence that follows shows an overview of the room where the fashion show takes
place, with the paintings adorning the wall. The lady with blond hair continues her story
about fabric making with a focus on quality. Then we see the models who wear different
kinds of dresses on different fabrics.

Maria Grazia:
So, for this specific collection, I worked both with chine and ikat.
When using the chine and ikat techniques, the thread is dyed before weaving the final
design.

On-screen:
And in the last sequence, we demonstrate the making of these fabrics exposed during the
fashion show and the dressmaker.

Maria Grazia:
I believe that the idea of combining elements from different cultures, but which share
affinities in the way they are constructed, is a way to portray what lies beyond fashion.