While many designers study for years at fashion colleges to perfect their unique aesthetic, others are simply born into the industry with a genetic predilection to create. Milanese-born Gabriele Colangelo, whose family has for generations been involved in the luxury textile and fur trade, was, without a doubt, destined for a career in the sartorial sphere. Colangelo’s first passion was for the classics and was studying for a degree in Ancient Literature when he entered a competition organised by the Italian National Chamber of Fashion, where his triumph endowed him with a fashion styling scholarship. In the years to follow, he worked with empires Versace and Roberto Cavalli before ultimately flying the proverbial nest to launch his own independent label, which debuted in February 2008 during Milan Fashion Week.
Renowned for a sophisticated, pared-back aesthetic focusing on high-quality craftsmanship and unconventional textiles, Colangelo muses that experimenting with new textiles and innovative materials represents the fundamentals that shape his ideas. “Complex fabrics mean the opportunity for me to test new and extended applications in textiles. It’s extremely important that you understand the fabrics and structures you want to use, and which best communicate your ideas.” With a propensity for unique and innovative embellishments, Colangelo says his design’s signature is “a sort of ethereal equilibrium, suggested by the understanding of a chromatic language, which is not immediate but revealed through attention to detail.”
This attention to detail is unmistakable in Colangelo’s Autumn/Winter 2010 collection (coming soon to Milletré), which was inspired by his reflections on the metamorphosis of rocks generated by erosion and corrosion. “Light, silky textures in grey and lime, embroidered with micro-crystals and beads appear as metallic sediments upon the textiles, and sections of chiffon are embroidered with oxidized crystals. Extra-light leather is gently undulating, as though moving in a breeze. The fur I used is unique and precious; mink, suede and hand-sewed broadtails worked into comfortable and sporty shapes.”
With graceful hourglass silhouettes accentuated by cinching waist belts, it’s clear that Colangelo designs with an elegant femininity in mind. He aspires to a woman “in search of detail and quality, who never exaggerates or overdoes it, but always expresses grace in her movements and style.” However, he cherishes the idea of his clothing being universally attractive to every day women. “As a form of art, clothes have a character and many facets. I believe that modern, harmonic and lively fashion design is the visible proof of meeting women’s needs in expressing their personality, and being functional.”
Colangelo’s Spring Summer 2010 collection, in shops now, was inspired by abstract artist Hans Hartung’s acrylic studies of lightning. “Light dominates the entire collection, shaping textures and volumes.” Employing Grecian-inspired draping and pleating to create organic shapes, it comes as no surprise that Colangelo counts Madeleine Vionnet as one of his greatest influences. Soft silhouettes balanced with understated embellished accents beget a flirtatious yet minimalist collection that will add a touch of airy elegance to hazy summer days.