I discovered the wonders of Vivetta at Harriet Pr’s press day in April, 2011. Harriet Pr were showing the collections of Fall 2011. The excitement of finding something new that you absolutely fall in love with is why I am in this business called Fashion.
I asked the designer of Vivetta if she would so kindly answer some questions; the lovely said “yes”.
Full Name:
Vivetta Ponti. Friends and family calls me Vivi.
Occupation: I am the designer of Vivetta. I founded it in September 2008, just at the beginning of the international economic crisis.
Before Vivetta, I worked at Roberto Cavalli and then at another Italian brand until I decided to stop work for big companies/corporations. I then started to collaborate with the filmmaker Virgilio villoresi ( www.virgiliovilloresi.com ), creating set designs of his animation movies.
Current Location:
I live in Milan with my three cats in a studio which is my world. It is full of old objects, animals, paintings, animals ceramics, (which I just began to collect) old toys and books.
Me: Your place sounds Amazingly Inspirational :)
Tell me about yourself growing up? Where? What did you like to spend time doing?
I grew up in a very happy way, me and my brother played all the time with all and everything. We spent the summers between my grandparents’ countryside house and Greece. I have memories of my childhood that I well remember, that still inspire my work! The sensations and atmospheres, colors and wildness…
In the countryside I spent nights with my brother looking at the stars in the garden and looking for fireflies. In Greece I have lots of memories of fishing with my dad.
What made you want to become a fashion designer?
I decided to become a fashion designer because fashion is a wearable art.
How did creating your house Vivetta come about?
I started designing what I wanted to wear. The first one was a small collection which I won the Fresh lounge “who’ s next” contest in Paris.
What influences does mostly inspire your work today?
I have many influences, but the one which still lives on is my love for the 60’s. Even if I am trying to do something contemporary, I go back to this time, I just love the colours, shapes, hair do’s, etc, etc, of the 60’s:)
How do you go about creating a collection?
I usually start thinking about colours. Then I ask myself what period feels close to me and start to look for a theme to put all the ideas together. Then I start to design.
What were your inspirations for your Stunningly Beautiful collection, Fall 2011?
I was very bored with black as my Spring 2011 collection was full of, so I thought of ” Chromofobia “,the animation movie directed by Raoul Servais in 1963.
Where do you see your Vivetta brand going, what’s in the future?
I hope Vivetta will grow up. For example, I’ve just started designing handbags.
Other than being a designer, do you explore other creative areas?
Yes, while creating sets for animation movies. I used to work with collages, paintings and other techniques as well.
A typical day for you, how does it look like?
I wake up at 8 am, a fast breakfast then gym until 10:00 AM. Back to my studio and I start to work until night if I’ m creating a new collection. If I am not too busy I usually see some friends and go out. Vivetta needs so many hours of work because I do everything on my own.
What are your main inspirations for it for your S/S 2012?
The theme of the S/S 2012 collection is an open air day together with a picnic. The Color palette is yellow, light blue, blue, pink and red. I also did two fabric designs, they were quite surprising, and 3 bags.
Me: Now some random questions.
In life, what matters to you?
First of all to feel happy and peaceful. I know the consequence of not being peaceful and unquiet. So first of all, it’s important to feel good by yourself and then with others. I love only a few people but then again I love them deeply.
My Vivetta is very important too, but after my family my friends and my cats everything is less. It’s important to live. I have lots of intense feelings and a lot of manias.
I am a very curious person so all these things, my interests, gives flavor to my life.
Secret Talents?
Haha, I m good at understanding anagrams, crocheting and building figures with heavy paper!
If you could make one wish, what would it be?
To be eternal.
Me: Wonderful.
Your favorite movie at the moment?
I have lots of favorite movies. One of them is Lolita (by Kubrick) and I feel like it’ s very close to what I m doing with Vivetta. Then there is “Maladolescenza”, by Pier Giuseppe Murgia, which shows a type of immature femininity like Lolita. The main actress of this movie is Eva Ionesco who is the daughter and the muse of photographer Irina Ionesco.
The Godard movies, A Bout de Souffle, Une Femme est une Femme, Alphaville etc etc.
The Roman Polansky’s, the best of all would be Catherine Deneuve’ s Repulsion.
Favorite song at the moment?
It’s Choade My Dear by Connan Mockasin.
What makes you angry?
I’ m not so happy with my country, Italy- because it is so difficult to start a project like mine here. There are huge taxes and millions of problems with exporting and importing. It’s like this with any artistic field here.
And lastly…
Any near future plans?
a lot!
Can’t wait to see the development of this talented Mademoiselle.
Website: http://www.vivetta.it
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/vivetta/94481909709
