FEATURED DESIGNER - MAURIZIO GALANTE

By Eva Fydrych

Inspired by Life

Photo by Satoshi Saikusa

Maurizio Galante, a Paris-based couturier who dresses some of the wealthiest women in Europe, uses design to communicate. Asked about his inspiration, he says that he simply finds it in himself and in the people he meets every day. "Life is the theme of my work," - says the designer.

Maurizio has just visited Singapore to present a preview of seven exquisite pieces that will be shown during French Couture Week 2012 at the end of November.

We decided to take this opportunity to show some of his spectacular fashion and interior design work.

�Silk Wafer� Organza Jacket by Maurizio Galante

Did you know?

Haute Couture requires the highest discipline in fashion. One garment can take up to 800 hours to complete by a team of highly trained craftspeople.

Photo by Kimberly Holcomb

Maurizio works closely with his business partner, Tal Lancman, who is a trend forecaster and designer. They have been working together under the label INTERWARE since 2003. INTERWARE is a crossover of design, art, architecture and life that ignores common delimitations.

�INTERWARE is about a new generation of design. As a rule, the term �couture� is used in connection with the past. My work is a fusion of past, present and future. The memory of the past is there in the handicraft, the poetry and the familiar elements, while the future is presented very practically and realistically by means of technology and innovation. But it is not based on a �total look�. They are just the things I love - the things that have a place in my world.� - says Maurizio Galante.

All photos courtesy of Fide Fashion Weeks

Collector's cabinet

All photos courtesy of Fide Fashion Weeks

DESIGNER PROFILE

Multidisciplinary artist and designer Maurizio Galante was born in Latina, Italy. Intrigued by various art forms as a teenager, he found himself torn between studies in architecture and fashion as a university student. Eventually fashion prevailed and young Maurizio graduated from the the Accademia di Costume e Moda in Rome. In 1987, he presented his first ready to wear collection in Milan in 1987 under the label MAURIZIO X CIRCOLARE to critical acclaim.

In 1988, Maurizio Galante was appointed the creative consultant by Filati Bertrand and presented 2 collections at the Pitti Filati, Florence. In the same year, recognized by an international jury as one of the most talented emerging designers, he was presented the Occhiolino d�Oro.

In 1991, MAURIZIO X CIRCOLARE presented for the first time on the official calendar of Paris Collections. In the following year, the label�s fall/winter collection was described by the New York Times as �one of the most beautiful and poetic collections ever presented in Paris�.

Maurizio Galante has also participated in numerous exhibitions, including �Black in Fashion� at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (1999), �Aristocratic Artisans� at the Ace Gallery New York (2000 ) and �Modamorphoses� in store Le Printemps in Paris (2003) just to name a few.

A designer of the true Renaissance spirit, he draws inspirations across artistic disciplines and cultural divides. His creative visions often bold and wildly imaginative have seen opulent manifestations in 18th-century lace, shibori silk as well as swan feathers.Combining architecture and fashion, his iconic draped dresses are both flowy yet sculptural.

In 2008, at the age of 30, Maurizio Galante became the youngest official member of the Chambre Syndicale de haute couture and has been presenting on the official calendar of haute couture shows ever since.

Source: Fide Multimedia