Luca Agrifogli
Lanificio Roma
“I would like to making new fashion, an eco-friendly fashion, that takes advantage of something that is destined to die and gives it new life, a new shape, a new colour.”
What was a first milestone you reached in this role as a designer?
In general, for a designer like me, reaching a goal means finding the right fashion proposals without abandoning the Prato tradition, the Made in Italy know-how, or the company’s requests. But if I had to contextualize, I would say that the first goal was certainly to see my idea, my garment, my collection in the shop windows.
What kind of fabrics do you like to create? What are your sources of inspiration?
I like to create prêt-à-porter fabrics that give a touch of fashion to everyday life. Among the fabrics I prefer, I would say that they are outerwear fabrics, jacket fabrics, fabrics that are not only aesthetically beautiful but also useful, warm, and enveloping. These are heavy fabrics in which I have the possibility to mix different qualities of materials and finishes to make the garment that will be created not only beautiful and comfortable, but also performing.
As for the sources of inspiration, they are very many. I let myself be inspired by everything around me, from a beautiful sunset to a concrete building with a particular shape. Or I find inspiration in the natural world, in advertising, in different markets. Obviously however, German fashion is not Italian fashion, German colours are not Asian colours, they are not Italian colours, and they are not American colours.
What are your future aspirations as a designer? What materials would you like to work on in the future?
As for future aspirations, the answer is a simple “dunno”.
For now, the fashion world is changing and continues to change. However, I see that we are returning to a basic fashion (“back to basics”), clean, practical and comfortable. People are looking for simple comfortable garments like overalls where, perhaps we can always insert some very small fashion details.
Although, I like to work on many materials, both I and in general Lanificio Roma as a company have now embarked on a green path, which increasingly aims at an eco-sustainable market. By the way, we just got GRS (global recycle standard) certified. The world is one and can be improved and safeguarded if we all take even a small step towards sustainability. In the near future I would therefore like to continue on this path, working with eco-sustainable materials and making new fashion, an eco-friendly fashion, a fashion that takes advantage of something that is destined to die and gives it new life, a new shape, a new colour.
How do you see the fashion sector ten years from now? What are the big future trends?
Within 10 years is long because the world of fashion changes from month to month. Before, the big fashion houses dictated fashion, but today everyone invents their own fashion and true fashion is dictated by people. Fashion therefore changes very quickly, and it is difficult to imagine it 10 years from now.
Instead, regarding great future trends, I think (and hope) that the concept of sustainability will be increasingly fundamental in the creation of the new collections of all companies. Therefore, the big trends of tomorrow will increasingly focus on eco-sustainability, regardless of fashion. Also, because, in my opinion, if a customer were to be faced with a choice between two garments of equal beauty, characteristics and price, certainly today, he would more willingly buy the “sustainable” garment, rather than the unsustainable one.