IVO MILAN – Radical Fashion Blog

In the middle of the new Fall season, it’s a pleasure to return and to guide you in the discovery of the collections that gives form to our seasonal catalog. Returning to the good practice of introducing the new arrivals, we are starting with a new entry, the Swiss-Italian designer:

Elisa Wild

In absolute world preview, her work is hosted inside of our two places of belonging: online and in the Padua shop.

Elisa Wild stands out not only in the textile production, she also involves us in a detailed narration of her work and in the path that led her to be make clothes. With her own words…

“This adventure began, as is often the case, with a passion: a passion for textiles and the chance to work and shape them in the same way as sculpting a raw material. It was essential to make the materials and techniques in the project compatible, since every fabric responds to handling in a different way.

For many years, I have worked continuously on researching, studying and experimenting, in order to stimulate and inspire the design departments of the stars of the fashion world with sophisticated ways of working with textiles. But only now, with these dresses, has the dream that I have always harbored throughout my career come true: managing the entire creative, conceptual and technical process myself, right through to the finished product.

The project has therefore become a system in which the chosen fabric, the specific production methods and the entire process of constructing the object/garment merge to produce unusual, wearable effects. Finally, the ‘textile constructions’ for which we are known in the fashion world have become the dresses I have always dreamed of, as if the thoughts, ideas, whims and sketches in my myriad of notebooks found the right moment and means to take shape. Our workshop has left no stone unturned in researching and testing artisan techniques in its quest to achieve special effects with fabrics.

The BOLLE DRESS (bubble) owes its shape to a specific, extremely irregular hand-drawn design, which takes into account how the fabric will move as its form is reshaped by elastic. It is entirely handmade, and to a certain extent it is an empirical work… mass producing a process like this would certainly be a complex challenge to any manufacturer.

Those admiring the final garment may not appreciate how delicate the balance is between the effect produced by the shape of the dress and how it is made. This equilibrium stems from a careful study of the designs, proportions and procedures to create an item that epitomizes haute couture.

In the ORIGAMI DRESS, the concept underpinning the production — strips of fabric assembled three-dimensionally — and the cut of the garment were designed in parallel, and as a result the front of the dress is a compact modular system in which all parts are interconnected. In addition, the very dry and lightweight wool/linen canvas fabric chosen specifically for the dress can be doubled up, making it ideal for the origami-style folds. The resulting strength is an intrinsic part of the garment, within a simple yet sculptural shape.

For the NODI DRESS, a special design was created with a structure that runs vertically through the dress: a sort of comb with teeth made of small strips of fabric. Only when the sewing is done and everything is completely finished are these strips tied by hand, and the dress slowly takes shape, taking on its final appearance thanks to a spine of knots and bows that gather the fabric in at the sides. Truly a captivating design!”

A made in Italy learned, who knows to confront the most daring challenges of the great Japanese school, knowing, however, to defend and define its own creative authenticity.