Meet GFF International Talent, Alice Piscedda, a fashion and costume graduate from Accademia Costume e Moda. Alice was inspired by photographs of children growing up in working-class communities of Northern Ireland and England, looking at themes of class divisions, peace and unity. Her collection is called 'Briseadh' (meaning fracture in Irish Gaelic) and it focuses on the relationship between clothes and the artistic process. Read on to learn more about Alice’s work and her plans for the future.
Contact Alice Piscedda:
Email: alice.piscedda@libero.it
Tell us about you, where are you from, what lead you to fashion and choosing that course?
My name is Alice Piscedda and i was born in Rome. Attracted from childhood to the world of art, I attended the artistic high school “Alessandro Caravillani” in Rome, following a pictorial course. At the end of the 5 years I enrolled in the university of Art History in Rome but, lacking that more practical and artistic aspect that I have always loved, I understood that I had made the wrong choice. So I decided to change my life path.
Fascinated by the world of costume, I chose to enrol in the “Accademia Costume e Moda”. Over time I started getting interested in the universe of fashion, deciding to follow this passion for the future. During the third year, I was selected for the realisation of the project "My man outerwear" in collaboration with Woolmark Company and Maison Valentino, creating a coat that was exhibited at the "Pitti Filati" fair in Florence. In July 2019 I was selected for the development of a final collection consisting of 6 garments, which paraded in February 2020 during Altaroma. In the same month, I discussed my degree thesis with a final mark of 110 with honours.
Describe the inspiration and concept behind your work. Talk us through your final project and your research process. How did that come about?
“Briseadh” (“fracture” in Irish Gaelic) is a menswear and womenswear capsule collection inspired by the film “Sing Street” and its relationship between adolescence and the hostile reality of Ireland in the 80s. The same atmospheres of the movie are evident in Rob Bremner’s photos. He’s an English photographer who recently published a book “The Dash Between” in which he collected the portraits of young adolescents and children belonging to the 80s Liverpool working class. From these pictures derive the combination of clothes, the oversized fit and the childish aspect which is evident in every outfit.
These elements are mixed with two-dimensional shapes inspired by the collages of the English artist Peter Clark. Then I created the prints elaborating the murals of the “Peace Lines” in Belfast. This wall is still present and during years people started to express their feelings by creating street artworks above the wall. So I used murals dealing with themes of peace and union, to create prints that communicate the idea of fracture. In this sense I was inspired by the decollage technique and, in order to give to the collection a material appearance, I worked directly on the textile, tearing up a non woven fabric, which looks like paper, and overlapping the layers. I also painted on fabrics in order to recreate the painterly aspect of my drawings. Finally, there’s a reference to aran knitwear in a sweater made entirely with paper yarn.
Tell us about your design process. How do you work? How do you take your research and develop your own designs?
In my creative process, I often draw inspiration from films because they are full of elements from which a collection can be born. Usually, if I’m attracted to a particular movie, I start studying the era and the place in which it is set, the events, the prominent characters (artists, celebrities, photographers, historical figures), the trends of the moment, and then I develop a series of connections that allow me to obtain various stimuli in the creation of a collection. I like to tell stories, so I often look for elements connected to each other, that communicate a message. Photography, in particular, stimulates me, giving me many ideas in order to create interesting shapes. I often draw inspiration from artists to create prints or fabric manipulations that enrich the garments. As I proceed with the research, I combine the various elements on a sketchbook, simultaneously making sketches that subsequently become the final drawings.
Tell us about your Collection Development. How do you toile, how do you like to pattern cut, do you like to drape?
Having created particular shapes, the tailoring phase was entrusted to a seamstress with whom I collaborated. Before proceeding with the actual realization of the garments, prototypes were made with a very rigid canvas to understand how they could support that type of structure. After a first phase, in which we thought of using shoulder supports, we noticed that the fabrics were able to maintain the desired shapes. During the final realization of the items of clothing, I first made the decollage or pictorial works on some pieces, after which the seamstress took care of assembling them together.
Talk us through your final collection and each outfit. Why were these the final designs?
'Briseadh' is a project that focuses on the relationship between clothes and the artistic process. Each garment tells the story of Northern Ireland’s fracture, present not only geographically but within every inhabitant of this land. However, I didn't want to give a tragic connotation to the collection, so I decided to draw inspiration from the period of our life which allows us to escape from reality: childhood. In Rob Bremner's photographs, the young protagonists came from the difficult reality of Liverpool in the 1980s, but they express a sense of light-heartedness. These photos inspired the details of the shirt collars evident under the over jackets or under a sweatshirt as in outfit 2 (following the order of the final lineup), the pleated skirt combined with the blouse of outfit 3 or the socks always present.
Peter Clark’s collages evoke the figure of the child and the world of paper, central in the collection: two-dimensional shapes and folds of the clothes recall the behaviour of paper. As regards the prints inspired by the Belfast wall, the concept of fracture is made even more evident by the decollage, physically made on the garments, like in the outfits 1,4,5 and 6. I also painted on some clothes: the white canvas used for the hood (n° 1) was painted red by me, simulating the watercolor effect; I created shades on the parts with the decollage and I accentuated the shadows created by the folds of the sleeves. Finally in the outfit n°4, I realized the decollage and then I made embroidery with a red cotton thread.
What materials have you used within the collection and how did you source them? Why was this the right material for your collection?
Cotton fabrics predominate in the collection. Visiting various companies in northern Italy (Isa Seta, Ostinelli Seta, Girani), I searched for more firm cotton to make the outerwear, as more suitable for supporting structured shapes. The shirts and pants are all in cotton, except the green shirt (outfit n.2), made with a silky fabric supplied by the Italian company ‘Alesilk’. One of the prevailing materials in the collection is a non-woven fabric on which have been realized the prints. In my research phase, I discovered that the Swiss company "Schlaepfer" produced this particular material born from manufacturing waste. It is, therefore, a sustainable and tearable material with a texture and appearance similar to paper.
With this non-woven fabric have been made most of the sleeves (following the order of the lineup: n ° 2-3-5), the shoulders of n ° 6, the skirt of n ° 3 and the decollage that enrich the various garments. For the jacket n°3 and the sleeves of the outfit n°4, I chose a pipeline, realised and printed by the Italian company “Ostinelli Seta”. Finally, for the sweater n° 4 I was looking for material in theme with the collection. Through word of mouth, I discovered the existence of a Tuscan company, “Di Cart”, which fabricate products and materials also for the fashion sector using paper. Here I found the paper yarn, washable and dyeable, with which I made the garment.
Tell us about your illustration technics. Explain your final line up and what art materials and technics you use to showcase it.
I have always been passionate about illustration. I don't like extremely realistic drawings or with flat colours, I like to work with mixed techniques, using a fast and not precise stroke. In my works, I often use watercolours because they allow me to create various shades and to give a sense of lightness to the drawings. Sometimes I combine the use of coloured pencils or pantones but above all, I use the black pen with which I create shadows and define the figures.
Recently I also started experimenting with the graphic tablet, perhaps intervening graphically on previously coloured drawings but always recreating the watercolour effect. In the illustrations for my final project I used a mixed technique: watercolour as a base, after which I accentuated shadows and shades with the pencil and the black pen. Finally, to recreate the two-dimensional aspect and the clothes’ folds I used the collage technique, taking pieces of printed paper and modelling them according to the desired shape.
What part of your final project have you enjoyed most and why? ie, the research and concept or maybe the manufacturing of the collection.
In the creative process, I liked the moment in which I realised my ideas, i.e. the elaboration of the various shapes and the design of the fabric manipulations, developing the outfits by combining all the inspirations collected during the research. In the illustrative phase, I had fun because I indulged myself using different techniques and expressing my passion for the artistic part. During the production of the final outfits, I dedicated myself with passion and curiosity to the realisation of the decollage. This was one of the most interesting phases in collection development. To realise the final effect I tore the non-woven fabric into fragments, studying their placement on each garment. I painted the various pieces in order to create different shades and, finally, I glued and overlapped each piece using water-based glue.
What’s an aspect of the fashion industry that you’re passionate about fixing or having a positive impact on?
In light of recent events, I hope that the world of fashion will again be able to focus on the realisation of quality products rather than focusing on the production of large quantities or on the creation of numerous fashion shows every year, often presenting the same things and giving greater importance to the scenographic impact. In order to follow the extreme rhythms of the market, to compete with the fast fashion industries, it has come to not respond to people’s real needs. We have been talking about sustainability for some time now but I think there is still a long way to go in this regard. Being "sustainable" is now a trend and we risk defining sustainable elements that are actually not, so I believe there must be a more real and concrete commitment on the part of everyone.
What is your plan once you finish your BA? Where do you wish to be in the future?
As for my future, I know for sure that I want to work within a company in the fashion sector. Having recently finished my studies and not having had real working experiences, I don’t know all the countless facets of the fashion world so I don't feel like limiting my choices to a specific sector. It would certainly be stimulating to work in a creative team, to deal with the development of a collection, to share my ideas and above all to realise them. I would love to work as an illustrator, it is a job that excites me particularly. During the development of my final project I also discovered an interest in fabric workings techniques, it is certainly an unknown sector for me but I would like to deepen knowledge of it. Moreover, I love the costume world and, having studied it during my three years in the Academy, I wouldn’t mind working behind the scenes of a play or a movie.