Swide Magazine by Dolce&Gabbana

Alienina is about dressing yourself with ecological messages, not letting anything rot on wasteland but giving it a new life. Of it's own, in an alien world. Or your own.

Showing at Sparking during the Fuori Salone during Milan's Design Week: Alienina. Last year they had occupied an apartment and turned it into a laboratory of everything Italian: from design to gastronomy. This year they (or the one person who owns, produces, creates, communicates) will have a proper space in an exhibition dedicated to eco-oriented designs. One might think that to be ecological you only need to produce eco-consciously, however Alienina shows that nothing goes to waste: beauty can be found anywhere, even in the most disorienting things. Materials our society has produced and take years to disintegrate, the face of our contemporary world: something we should wear at least to be aligned with our times. 

 

In Alienina's words:

What is Alienina?

Alienina: alienina is a contemporary jewelry collection of “one of a kind” handmade pieces, created with the aim of inspiring people to discover that items can have an extra life and new functions. It represents a different point of view, made of a creative mix and match of design, art, fashion and madness.

How did it start? What made it come alive?

Alienina: I think, as Patrizia Calefato (an Italian writer and semiotic scientist) says in one of her books about fashion, nobody - even the most absent-minded person - wears the first clothes they find in their wardrobe. Clothes always represent a language and tell something about people who wear them. This was my first inspiration. I tried to create something unique, something with a strong personality, dedicated to people who are looking for a creative and personal style that tells something about them. The most interesting way I found to realize my idea was to experiment with uncommon materials, something that is not usually defined as "fashionable", giving to this materials new aesthetic and semantic values, and for looking at objects in a different way. 

  

What do alienina objects stand for, how do they relate to the environment?

Alienina: Alienina’s key words are recycle, second life, recuperating materials… the predominant theme is “eco”. Alienina wants to transmit the idea of a sustainable lifestyle without forgetting style!

Fashion or design? 

Alienina: The name alienina means that these jewels are “alien” to the fashion world. They have been lost, found, and given new lease of life through different techniques. It’s not fashion, design, art, but contamination. 

  

Handmade, self-produced, self-promoted… How is it possible? Can you explain the process behind making your designs?

Alienina: I like to be part of the world of design, art, fashion, not only as a designer but by communicating something because I believe inspiration comes from multiple directions, contaminations is fundamental, the success of a brand doesn’t depend solely on the product itself but mostly on its strategy, promotion, communication. I like to follow the collection at 360°. I don’t have a background in product or fashion design, but this actually gives me more freedom, it doesn’t trap me in a mold, trend, pre-defined direction.

Do your ideas come directly from the materials you find?

Alienina: I always start from materials, I must see and touch them, I fall in love with them, and they inspire the design of the collections. Discovering new materials is one of the most interesting, difficult and -at the same time- fun parts of my work.

  

The materials you use are not at first connected with the idea of beauty, but still are worn for as an adornment. Does eco-jewellery work in multiple ways?

Alienina: I think that alienina does not only work as an adornment, because wearing this kind of eco-designs means sharing a way of life, made of a sustainable, productive and respectful attitude.

What will you be presenting at the Fuori Salone during Milan’s Design week?

Alienina: For the Milan’s Design Week, I’ll present some new pieces realized exclusively for the event. There will be a neckpiece realized with a sailing cord that can be worn in 3 different ways…  I’ll present my new designs at “Sparkling, ecologically correct!”, an event dedicated to eco-design that is considered both an ‘observatory’ and a qualified consultant for ‘green’ proposals and ideas being presented on an international level. 

  

Projects for the future, perhaps using these materials for other purposes such as home decor or other?

Alienina: I can tell you in advance that I’m working in an “alienina bondage collection” experimenting with some of my materials to create new exclusive bondage stuff. I would like to launch this new collection during the 2012 Milan’s Design Week.

In a word your work:

"Organic"

Interview by Acelya Yonac

Source: alienina.com

 Sparkling 

*Milan Design Week (La Fiera del Mobile) will be taking place between 12-17 of April 2011.

TAGS: dolce&gabbana dolce & gabbana d&g d & g luxury online magazine alienina eliana venier jewellery eco design sparkling milan guide fuori salone salone del mobile milan design week environmental friendly cord waste recycle necklace organic