Designer Stella Jean Talks New Collaboration With Desigual
Desigual has curated a fresh new collection with Haitian-Italian designer Stella Jean.
L'O: You work in Rome, spend time in Milan, and manufacture between Port-au-Prince and Burkina Faso. Did you ever imagine your life looking like this?
SJ: Above all, it is about not closing any doors, it's a way of keeping an open mind. As a child, I dreamed, among other things, of being a journalist or a diplomat, but now I look at the path my life has taken, I have no regrets. I say this because I believe that through my vision of multiculturalism applied to fashion and the unification of the two concepts to become one, I have also realized these childhood dreams. On the one hand, each of my collections is linked to a narrative of the countries I have had the pleasure of visiting and with which I have cooperated. On the other hand, each of our Laboratorio delle Nazioni missions corresponds to a functional cooperation in international development. Many allies are created in this dynamic, and both parties are transformed by the process of fashion. One of the proverbs that I think best explains multiculturalism is: empires that crumble build walls, empires that grow and evolve build bridges. It is important that there is a dialogue with the generations which preceded us and those which will follow us.
SJ: 2020 was definitely the turning point for global awareness. Finally, there was a great movement in history for social rights and fortunately also affected fashion. Diversity has finally become a key issue. We must be very sincere and grateful for the leadership given by the United States. In Italy, we asked global society to stop, look us straight in the eye and listen to us for the very first time. Do we have to ask how many big Italian brands that have made great promises of revolutionary change? How many of these diversity champions have used their own influence and platforms to support black Italian talent, struggling in their own country, right on their doorstep? As a creator, I think we have the right to have the choice of whether or not to tell our personal story in our work. We are immensely blessed to do creative work, which should grant us the right to express ourselves as we see fit. In my case, I started my journey with a deep attachment to my own roots, and a personal need to tell the story from both sides of my origins.
One of the proverbs that I think best explains multiculturalism is: empires that crumble build walls, empires that grow and evolve build bridges.
L'O: After Benetton and Marina Rinaldi, you decided to collaborate with Desigual. What are your thoughts on collaboration?
SJ: This exercise takes on a deeper meaning when there are common bases. There must absolutely be a common denominator at the starting point. This allows for consistent and stress-free work. Likewise, it is important that the two DNAs are easy to distinguish.
L'O: Who is the Stella Jean by Desigual woman?
Stella Jean: She can be whoever she wants, I don't like to label people. To think that the women who choose to dress with this collection have things in common would be paradoxical for me. Fortunately, there are no algorithms yet capable of defining or predicting this kind of result.
L'O: What is the moodboard for this collection?
Stella Jean: In reality, I never start from a moodboard. I rather start with stories, those of my childhood but also those told to me by the craftsmen from all over the world with whom I collaborate. The starting point of this collection is Haiti and the destination is Barcelona, and what is in the middle is of the utmost importance since it is precisely there that the incessant passage from one continent to another is found. We gave a voice to the unspeakable in Haiti, through the fascinating architecture of gingerbread houses, mixed with the native style. A small woven basket brought to mind the memory of one of my first childhood games. We paid homage to Barcelona through the ceramic mosaics created by Gaudi in Parc Güell, and we breathed a touch of Japanese philosophy, because the technique of Kintsugi is in itself a pinnacle of philosophy, even before being considered as artisanal handling. For us, this mosaic is one of the most representative of the collection, because it brings together the original meaning of Desigual. I must say that what struck me the most was the fact that in unsuspected times and, above all, keeping an important distance from the opportunism of the media and trends, this example of Spanish excellence is born precisely from a concept of upcycling. It was first applied to jeans, then it was used on various other fabrics, creating the one of the first dynamics of upcycling in the global fashion industry. That was in 1983. I was and remain extremely impressed with Mr. Meyer's progressive and bold vision, and how he applied it to this unexpected unicorn of fashion.
L'O: We read about you that you are a committed woman. Beyond ecology, what is the cause that is close to your heart?
SJ: It is important to me that artisans can count on a partner who respects their knowledge and talent, and that in the end, when they share their skills in our work dynamics, the process becomes an instrument in the fashion. It is an extraordinary example of human cooperation, which has been made possible by the creation of a virtual: laboratory of nations. In this laboratory, the traditional craft skills of artists residing in low-income countries merge and combine their strengths with those of Italian artists and, despite the distance of several thousand kilometers, dozens of women work together with the common purpose and determination to care for and preserve endangered world cultural heritages. It is a recognition of the potential of fashion as a cultural activity, an activity that has the capacity to provide meaningful decent work opportunities for men and women around the world.
