In previous posts we looked at the work of illustrator, accessory designers and print lover Pierre-Louis Mascia for his own brand and his production of scarves, blankets, bags, small accessories and knits. Let's look today at his contribution as Art Director of Italian brand Franco Ferrari.
Founded in 1978 this leading company in the high-end fabric accessories sector is known for its high-quality products and for being one of the first ones to use digital systems to print on fabrics. In 2002, Franco Ferrari became part of the Achille Pinto S.p.A.Group, but maintained its independence, name and high-level garment making. While the company does embrace new technologies, manual processes are indeed still employed - the hemmings of its pieces for examples are still made by hand and the company focuses its production on exclusive designs that cannot be replicated by other clothing manufacturers.
Mascia became Franco Ferrari's Art Director in 2011, and since then he has been innovating it, combining his own visionary prints and patterns with the company's original archival patterns and know-how.
The Autumn/Winter 2013-14 collection features brightly coloured graphic motifs and cartoon inspired macro prints mixed with classic silk tie patterns. The size of the silk scarves has also been maximised (90cmx90cm; 70cmx70cm) to guarantee a fun and hyper-real effect. One of the scarves features for example an image of a colourful tartan suit, with matching hat, gloves and bags and a book of fairy tales, and could be interpreted as Mascia's ironic answer to the persistent "look at my outfit" mania.
The palette of the new collection - in luxurious materials like ultra soft silk and cashmere - goes from Autumnal shades like dark grey to soft neutrals and brighter and fun nuances such as bright red and blues.
Mascia is not interested in trends, but in timeless pieces that show his passion for prints and juxtapositions of motifs and materials. Conforming to his own principles, this capsule collection of hand-printed designs, made employing multiple dyeing techniques, features investment pieces that will never go out of fashion.
The collection is distributed in Milan, Paris and New York in shops and boutiques including La Rinascente, l'Eclaireur, Saks Fifth Avenue and Harvey Nichols.
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