From the ideas of the millennials, lessons can be learnt and predictions for the future can be drawn. The new generation of fashion designers is here, and they're just waiting for the right moment to bring out their winning ideas. Luca is part of this new generation, and will tell us about his vision and plans once he will have finished his studies at the IED in Milan.
My interest for fashion design was born from a desire of expressing my artistic side. It all came from the inside, and I felt the need to let my artistic alter-ego free.
Briefly present yourself.
My name is Luca Bianco, I live in a small town in the province of Como. During the high school I studied Informatics, and now this seems strange to me considering that I decided to study Fashion Design at IED University in Milan.
Where does your interest in this sector come from? And what does it mean to you?
My interest for fashion design comes from a desire of expressing my artistic side, something I could never express during my high school studies. It all came from the inside, I felt the need to let my artistic alter-ego free and so it was natural for me to choose this career. Fashion is the perfect vehicle to express myself, I see it as a redemption for all that I went through. To escape the environment I always lived in, to become someone and to redeem myself from what I did in the past.
I believe that dresses are not just something to cover your body with. They need to have an additional function.
What's your perception of fashion?
I believe that dresses are not just something to cover your body with. They need to have an additional function. My aim is to make dresses that are functionally useful for the human being, thanks to the use of micro-technologies. It all comes from the strong interest in technology and futuristic stuff that I cultivated during high school.
What inspires you when you design dresses?
Stylistically I'm inspired by a mix of Japanese culture, videogames, internet culture, anime, cyberpunk, all things that had a special role in my life. I'm also inspired by this quote by a painter: "All the greatest painters in the world did awful works. And these were their first 500 paintings.". It's important to remember that only a lot of practice leads to perfection, and that the most useful lessons come from failures. It's fundamental to keep generating ideas, and never loose the focus even after the failures.
What are the projects you're proud the most of?
Among the projects I created, my favourite is the so called "Kids Collection". The idea was to push kids to do physical activity, express their creativity and set free all their energy instead of losing time on the phone; thanks to a fitness-band incorporated in the dress, the data of the physical activity are registered, so that the parents can track the efforts of their kid. This idea was functionally and stylistically inspired by an anime cartoon called "Mairo Academia", where the characters have special dresses through which they could level up according to how much physical activity they perform.
Do you think that the current sanitarian situation affected the fashion sector?
I think that this pandemic crisis pushed all sectors to digitalize themselves, and so the fashion. All the biggest brands needed to give value to their collections even in a contest where they wouldn't be able to perform physical shows. So all the latest collections have been performed digitally, and it's fascinating to see how many original means the maisons followed to make it possible. Then, if we want to see the positive side of the current situation, definitely it helped to wake up the fashion sector and pushed it towards innovation.