Giuseppe Virgone, an interview. by Silvia Bombardini

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Dear Shaded Viewers and Diane,

Coming from nothing less than a Gaspard Yurkievich background and based in Belgium, Giuseppe Virgone will soon bring to Paris his own inspired, beautiful collection. On his way there, he very kindly spared some time to tell us about it in his mesmerizing, almost lyrical way.

 

S.B.: Your latest enchanting collection, soon to be presented in Paris, was inspired by the fascinating and unexpected character of Girolamo Savonarola. A friar and a politician, a self-proclaimed prophet whose uncompromising behavior was rooted in harsh, deep spirituality and a rebel, ardent soul doomed to a tragic destiny. The beliefs he fought for as well as his unbending morality seem obsolete values today but are still, somehow missed. What were you looking for in this captivating 15th century personality and how did you manage to recreate his peculiar appeal?

G.V.: I was walking in Firenze when I knew I would work and design about this city for my next collection, and it came true. The very strong atmosphere of this city shocked my mind. I visited religious places and characters from Firenze have interested me. I knew the famous Botticelli and Jerome Savonarola. I have been very interested in the second one. Shapes and movements came to me and formed in my mind while reading his history. I started having a crush on this person. I had sadness too. Yes, I can say that inside of me, this character became my muse. I like the ideas of power, lust, tribes, sects, sacred meeting, ceremony, message, truth, lie, vanity, death and none. Savonarola got all these messages in tattoos. A powerful man is first a man. I wanted to transform this body and his power-men-protection, his cassock, in something chimerical, something dissected, something heavy, fragile. Even if the body is stifled, it has to be lightness, elongate. A work on the body shapes came to my mind, so I accentuated the line from the armhole to the shoulder blade; sleeves which keep up the neck. Jewels stifled him, jewels represent the vanity, the thirst for power, the contemporary poesy, a nudity burnt on the vanity pyre. If we look closer at the collection, the clothes respond with Savonarola's history, clothes are burning being destructed (wool yarn), clothes are turned into animal, leathers are mixed with softy materials, zippers on most of the backs, on the pants show a spiritual and political mind going out of the body. 

 

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S.B.: Girolamo Savonarola was a very controversial figure, and violent political and religious contrasts animated his passionate and devoted spirit. It is almost possible to perceive them, through the dark, shiny leathers of your collection, the angular profiles, the knitted nets, heavy lengths and precious stones laying on the chest like honors. The title itself, Accords bris

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