FALL '06 DESIGNER INTERVIEW
Since they were children, designers Kean and Veronica Etro, aged 42 and 32, have been immersed not only in their family business but in their parents’ passion for art, antiques and the delightful beauty in the world at large. Now brother and sister are at the design helm of the men’s and women’s collections, respectively, of the company founded by their father Gimmo Etro in 1968 – originally as a textile house. The pair have transformed Etro’s colorful, whimsical aesthetic into a serious must-have for fashion lovers. Americana Manhasset caught up with the siblings to chat about books, adventure and their unexpected paths into the family business.
KE: Our parents took us everywhere. We went traveling to Africa all together. There’s nothing better than going around at a young age. Both my father and mother are also collectors. I like all of their pieces from the Futurism period, the de Chiricos and all the tribal art. We grew up having lunch and dinner with curators and dealers coming over. That certainly made an impression.
VE: I remember going to the office. For me, it was a playground where you could mix and match swatches with a glue stick and make a collage. I also remember going around with my parents to Christie’s, Sotheby’s, the V & A [Victoria & Albert Museum]. It was quite boring at the beginning. But at the end, I began to appreciate it. It’s good for a kid to be surrounded by art.
KE: No way. No way. (Laughs). I came back from Cambridge where I was studying history, then I studied two years more in Milan. I was working in the antique business, but then decided, "Okay, I’ll start.” When I joined my father said, "I want to do some ties and other products.” So I started off learning how to make a tie.
It was the beginning of Etro as products and not just fabric.
VE: No, no. Me either. I understood it when I was in London at Central Saint Martins. I tried to stay for two more years to do my masters. But that’s not my thing to study for ten years. Working is much more useful in a way. At the end of the four years, joining the business was the natural thing. But I didn’t really plan it.
KE: That’s the best part. To get surprised every time. I always go through books of poetry and literature. We have a very big library here and at home. We’ve always been collecting books on curious subjects. Every time I travel, I always come back with a suitcase of books that have nothing to do with fashion.
VE: I call it very animalistic because I let myself be guided by my instincts.
I never begin with a theme. I go brainstorming and do some trips to London or Paris or wherever. And then go to museums. It’s very personal in a way. The inspiration could come from anything.
KE: Ironic. Witty. It’s taking tradition with humor and wit and irony. Through color. Through a lot of details like phrases embroidered inside the trousers, like, "Do you want to make a family?” or "Good morning.” We’re a bit edgy with a bit of culture. It’s like working in a chemistry lab.
VE: It’s very energetic. Very positive. I really love to see people when they mix the clothes up and really personalize their looks. We don’t take fashion so seriously. You can break rules. You can do anything.
KE: It was the idea of a no-time zone. The light that we did for the show was red and orange at times. You know, when the sun goes down there’s a moment when everything freezes. That was the spirit. Then it was this 1950s gentlemen’s tango in Buenos Aires with gaucho roots. It’s Che Guevara at the age of twenty-two, living as a doctor and starting his motorbike expedition with that leather jacket and so on.
VE: I was impressed by the 16th century. I came across a painting of Catherine de Medici and of Elizabeth I. I was amazed by the color and the decoration. They were wearing also a lot of paisleys and fantastic colors. I also loved the cut of their jackets but I really wanted to highlight the ornamentation, the decoration and the textiles.
KE: She’s very sweet. She was our fourth. Our piccola sorrelina. And she’s working in a company with three brothers and a father, handling the most important division. If she has survived up til now and with a big smile, she must be amazing.
VE: Kean is a dreamer. It’s nice because he can be on earth and fly the next moment.
KE: Well, the biggest adventures are the ones that happen within. They are linked more to your heart than your mind. But geographically, I would talk about places in Mexico and Argentina. Like Calafate, the glacier down in Patagonia.
I made this collection on this idea of Argentina and I had never been there. So the same night I had the show, I left to go there.
VE: Having a baby actually. He’s a boy. His name is Filippo. Filippo Leone, lion because he was born in August.
KE: Mandala shirt (banded collar shirt) and combat (cargo) trousers.
VE: Etro "Shaal Nur” (over-size cashmere shawl).
KE: South America, especially
Mexico and Argentina.
VE: India.
KE: Fioraio Bianchi Caffé, the flower store and restaurant at Via Montebello #7 in Milan, around the corner from my house.
VE: Home.
KE: Curry.
VE: Risotto Zaferanno (saffron risotto) followed by Cotoletta Milanese (breaded veal cutlet). with a chocolate soufflé for dessert.
KE: A cold beer.
VE: Milk.
KE: With the kids, listening to music and reading!
VE: With the family.
KE: 'The Baron in the Trees' by Italo Calvino.
VE: 'Le Petit Prince' by Antoine St. Exupery.
KE: Zorro.
VE: Mozart.
KE: An explorer or traveler.
VE: An artist, architect, sculptor,interior designer.
