ITS # THE JURY
Biographies
ITS#THREE International Talent Support
15th - 18th July 2004 Trieste
July 09, 2004
- ANTONIO MARRAS - Designer of Antonio Marras and Artistic Director of Kenzo
- Antonio Marras was born in Alghero, Sardinia on the 21st of January, 1961. He took his first steps into fashion in 1987. There was no official schooling behind him but an irrepressible need to express himself and a bit of good luck. Having grown up amongst the fabrics and remnants of his father's shop, Antonio develops a passion and a sensibility towards textiles which persuade an entrepreneur from Rome to entrust him with the creation of a ready-to-wear collection.
With "Sanstitre" in 1988 Antonio Marras started to transpose his concept of dressmaking to ready-to-wear: a collection made up only of white shirts, ruffled, pleated, deformed, extended and transfigured. He made his proper début in haute couture in July 1996. It is the first of a series of trips through tradition, an individual and proud re-examination of collective memories.
In March 1999 Antonio Marras presented his first ready-to-wear collection in Milan to bear his name. In June 2002, during Pitti Uomo in Florence, his first men's collection was presented. Starting from January 2003, menswear collections are regularly presented in Milan during the Fashion Week.
In September 2003 the French group LVMH appointed Antonio Marras as the artistic director of Kenzo's womenswear: an encounter prompting a combination of intellectual nomadism and sense of one's origins that Marras shares with the Japanese designer.
Even though he is often travelling due to his job, he insists on living in Sardinia aware of the fact that his strength comes from his island. He lives in a big house-workroom in Alghero, on a hill which overlooks the sea with his extended family which takes active part in his creative work. - BARBARA FRANCHIN -Talent Scout
- Barbara Franchin was born in Trieste in 1967. Living in a border zone has led to her openness and curiosity in terms of interfusion in all its forms.
She took her first steps in the fashion world establishing an atelier with a friend aimed to the creation of extravagant womenswear clothing.
Her propensity for exchange, comparison, curiosity and the search for the creative spark lead her to create and organise in 1993 Mittelmoda, a projects created to provide space for the elaboration and search for talent within the fashion world.
Barbara left it after the 2000 edition to launch a new and autonomous entrepreneurial project in Trieste; an agency, EVE, of which she is Director & Project Supervisor.
As director of EVE she is now organising the third edition of ITS - International Talent Support. - CATHY PILL - Fashion Designer
- Cathy Pill was born was born in Antwerp, Belgium. She graduated with distinction in May 2004 from the fashion Design & Creation course at La Cambre Ecole National Superiere Des Arts Visuel in Brussels, Belgium.
09/2003: Internship at Vivenne Westwood
06/2002: Internship at Xavier Delcour Production Department
2003: Winner Best collection of the Year at ITS#TWO International Talent Support, international fashion design competition, and WGSN Award. - DEANNA FERRETTI - Entrepreneur
- Deanna Ferretti Veroni started her career in Reggio Emilia, Italy more than 30 years ago. She has since then successfully collaborated with some of the most important designers of this past century. She met Kenzo when she was barely 25 years old and with him she worked successfully for over 20 years. During the 70's she collaborated with Yves Saint Laurent (Tricot e Variation), Rena Kraft, Chiwitt, Frapp, Luis London, Blaky Dress, Giorgio Correggiari, Popy Moreni and Michelle Bruyere.
In the 80's she started to have her first licences with Adrienne Vittadini, Armani and Joseph. Their collections were drawn by John Galliano and John Richmond.
In the 90's, she worked for Martin Margiela, Gai Mattiolo, Valentino, Neil Barret and for many others brands. She has a wide experience in textiles and knitwear but she cannot be called neither a fashion designer nor simply a business woman. Actually, she is an atypical figure born for realise almost every designer's dream. Now, every three or four years her company supports a new young talent, because Miss Deanna is a symbol of originality and quality. - DAVID SHAH - Textile View
- David Shah was born in 1951 in England. He received an honours diploma from Classic Kings College. In 1978 Shah was honoured as European Fashion Journalist of the Year. At age 30, he was already managing editor of International Textiles BV Colour Authority Shah has served a consultant for such companies as Puma, Footlocker, BMW, Philips Electronics, Etienne Aigner, and even the United Nations. In 1993 Shaw was made an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Arts.
Currently David is the publisher at Metropolitan Publishing BV- which puts out Textile View Magazine and Viewpoint, among other magazines. In addition, he is Co-Publisher of United Publishers S.A., Paris. A visiting professor at the Royal College of Arts in London, David Shah teaches MA students textiles, fashion and marketing. David's expertise are also put to use at his position as Merchandise Director of Macone S.A. wher he is a range designer of Menswear Private Label Collections for leading European and American chain stores and designer labels. Shah is also a respected speaker at International Textile and Business Conferences, as well as a presenter to industrial companies like General Electric, Ciba Geigy and Ikea. - ENNIO CAPASA - Fashion Designer
- Ennio Capasa was born in Lecce, Italy and studied at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. In 1987 Ennio debuted with his first Costume National womanswear collection. In the following year Capasa enjoyed much success with his new label, and in 1993 he launched his ready to wear and footwear collection for men, Costume National Homme which, in 1996 was the featured collection of Pitti Immagine Uomo. Subsequently Capasa has designed innovative shoes, bags, lingerie and small leather goods. 2000 saw the creation of Costume National Black Label: a limited series of garments within the womens' collection, constructed using rare fabrics and handwork. Two years later Capasa introduced to the world a line of fragrance and body products, and one year later selected eyewear. Aside from the design of the clothing and accessories, until 2002 Capasa was also designer of Costume National Headquarters, as well as the showrooms and flagship stores.
In addition to his wide range of products and the ready to wear collections for Costume National, Ennio Capsa has designed theatre costumes, served as art director and co-ordinator of an urban design project aimed at redefining the form and function of public spaces and planning new cultural and economic activities, and designed art exhibitions. - FLORIANE DE SAINT PIERRE - Head Hunter
- 39 years old, Floriane de Saint Pierre is a French citizen who graduated in Business from ESSEC (Ecole des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales) in 1985. She started her career the same year in the Finance Department of Christian Dior Couture (LVMH Group) as Controller, where she was in charge of financial controlling for 5 years at corporate level and then of the European retail operations.
In 1990, she was contacted by an executive search firm which made her an offer to join them as a Junior Consultant. The same year, she decided to start her own Company specialising in executive search for luxury companies, at a worldwide level. Today, FLORIANE DE SAINT PIERRE & ASSOCIES is the largest - in terms of turnover - independent Executive Search Firm in Europe in this industry and operates through its offices located in Paris and in Milan.
FLORIANE DE SAINT PIERRE & ASSOCIES has two departments-- the Creative Department, specialised in Executive Search for Top Creative Directors and Designers, and the Management Department, specialised in Executive Search for Managers (CEO, Sales Directors, Marketing Directors and Communication Directors).
Floriane de Saint Pierre is a lecturer at IFM, Institut Français de la Mode and at the ESSEC MBA in International Luxury Brand Management. - HILARY ALEXANDER - Fashion Editor, The Daily Telegraph
- Hilary Alexander is Fashion Editor of The Daily Telegraph.
She was named British Fashion Journalist of the Year in 1998 and again in 2003. Born in New Zealand, she is a passionate traveller, long distance walker, gardener and cat-lover. She appears regularly on television, principally on GMTV, BBC1's Style Challenge, CBS and numerous cable channels including Fashion TV and Fashion File.
In May 2000 she was awarded the title Visiting Professor by University of the Arts London, which is responsible for the fashion colleges, Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion and the Chelsea and Camberwell art colleges. - MARIA LUISA POUMAILLOU - Founder and Buyer for Maria Luisa Boutiques
- Maria Luisa's adventure began in 1988 with the opening of her first boutique in Paris in a very unconventional street - 2, Rue Cambon ? as unconventional were at that time the fashion designers' collections that she had chosen to launch: John Galliano, Helmut Lang, Ann Demeulemeester, Martin Margiela to name just a few! These almost unknown fashion designers were to become fashion icons quite immediately.
In the years to follow Maria Luisa's fame as a visionary woman spotting the most-famous-to-become designers has never stopped growing.
At 40, rue du Mont Thabor the widest, smartest and biggest space was open in 2002. It will welcome the collection of the winner of the Maria Luisa Award in the form of a dedicated shop-window.
Maria Luisa now owns and directs 4 boutiques where some of the most innovative and outstanding fashion designers ? such as Bernhard Willhelm, Lutz, Sharon Wauchob etc - are sold. - RAF SIMONS - Fashion Designer
- Born Neerpelt, Belgium in 1968, Raf Simons graduated in industrial design.
He started working as a furniture designer for galleries and private interiors.
In a radical change of profession, became a self-trained menswear fashion designer in 1995.
The most important message Raf Simons wants to communicate is pride in individuality. No wonder then he has often voiced his concern about the rigid and dictatorial stance of the mainstream fashion system. His clothes are both inspired by and designed for confident outsiders. His references to youth movements (punk, goth, mod, etc) are not meant to be retro; instead Simons tries to translate their energy and determination into modern statements about mental independence. Simons has many ways to avoid the trappings of the fashion system, most notably his choice of models. Disagreeing with the common images of male beauty and identity forwarded by most fashion magazines and advertising, Simons, from the start of his career, has used only non-professional models, often scouted on the streets of Antwerp or other Belgian villages.
Raf Simons lives and works in Antwerp, where his studio is based and continues to produce menswear, as well as extra-curricular projects in the art field.
Since October 2000 he teaches fashion at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. He also acts as a consultant/buyer to a private Antwerp art collector. - RICHARD BUCKLEY - Editor in Chief, Vogue Hommes International
- American by birth, but international in spirit, Richard Buckley has spent almost half his life abroad. Born in 1948, the son of a career US Army officer, he began travelling around the globe almost immediately.
He has been a fashion journalist for over twenty-five years and started his career as an editorial assistant at New York Magazine. From there he went to Daily News Record, the menswear industry bible, where he spent six years, three of which in Paris as the European Bureau Chief. He returned to New York in 1986 and was briefly the Fashion Editor of Women's Wear Daily, society columnist for W and Vanity Fair. In 1990 he moved to Milan as European Editor for Mirabella. This was followed by writing for House & Garden, Dutch and Vogue Italia. In September of 1999 he was appointed Editor in Chief of Vogue Hommes International. - WENDY DAGWORTHY - Head of fashion department at Royal College of Art
- Professor Wendy Dagworthy was born on 4th March 1950 in Gravesend, Kent, England.
In 1971 she graduated in Fashion at Hornsey College of Art with first class honours. In 1972 she formed her own company and two years later she joined the prestigious London Designer Collections, where she became a director from 1982-1990.
Wendy Dagworthy had huge success during the 70's and 80's selling her collections to an international market. She exhibited seasonally at London, Milan, New York and Paris.
In 1989 Wendy became Course Director of the BA (Hons) Fashion Course at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and was awarded a Professorship in 1998. In the same year she became a Professor and Head of the Fashion Department to the Royal College of Art, and in 2000 was appointed as Head of School, Fashion & Textiles, a position she currently retains.
During the 90's she became a design consultant to companies such as Laura Ashley, Liberty and Betty Jackson, a consultancy role which she still maintains, and has been invited to participate in various exhibitions.
Wendy has been a judge of many art and design projects, awards and competitions. She is member of the British Fashion Council's Management Council and of the British Fashion Council's Advisory committee, which is responsible for selecting New Generation designers for London Fashion Week. - WILBERT DAS - Diesel Creative Director
- Wilbert Das was born in Holland in 1963.
He graduated at the Academy of Fine Arts in Arnhem, Holland (which at that time was one of the three most famous fashion institutes worldwide), where he had studied Fashion for 5 years. After graduating in 1988, he joined Diesel where he started out as male designer assistant (working also on the Kids, Accessories and Leather lines).
In 1993 he became not only Head of Design (leading a style office of some 30 people) but also Creative Director of the company, responsible for all the creative concepts, from Advertising (he is one of the founding members of the internal Diesel Creative Team) to Interior Design (he coordinated the restructuring of the Diesel Pelican Hotel in Miami and the creation of all main Diesel flagship stores worldwide), from Product (design and production) to fashion shows and catalogues.
