Andrea Grossi Talks “Welcome to DeusLand”
Image by Dario Cerisano, Styling by Luca Paolantonio, and Make-up by Sofia Foiera
Italian designer Andrea Grossi made soundwaves throughout the world with his collection "Welcome to DeusLand" at the Hyères festival final. The collection featured skin color printed leather pieces, imitating tattooed bodies.
Fusing together technology and craftsmanship, Grossi created the appearance of the human body, face, and muscles in his designs through skin processing techniques.
We talked with Andrea Grossi about his prominent collection, his creative processes, and his philosophy toward fashion and sustainability.
gggaaallleeerrryyy: Can you tell us about your research process? What inspires you, and how does that translate into your work?
Andrea Grossi: The creative process itself is almost impossible to transcribe or episcopate because it's very constant leads it to explore new ways of expressing itself. I can tell you that the latest collection was inspired by Yuval Noah Arari's trilogy of books, which led me to wonder what directions our society has today and how to interpret the near future.
ggg: Your new collection, "Welcome to DeusLand," is about an alternative world. How did the theme come up, and in what ways is this different from our world?
AG: Welcome to DeusLand is a three-season series. At the moment, I made the first two, and the concept of an alternative world is linked to the passions of my childhood and that I still have for video games, anime, and manga. I have always been obsessed with the idea of recreating a virtual world and the characters inside it, so I decided to approach the collection with this mindset. Welcome to DeusLand is a utopian world in which human society has achieved its goals and looks at the present day with the same incredulity with which we look at the past, thus believing our superiority.
ggg: In your own words, how would you say your works comment on social or political issues?
AG: As I said before, the point of view on society is central. I try to understand how our way of life will change, but how the narration gives meaning to our life will change. Will we continue to live in a liberal world? Will we continue to kill other humans to eat? Will we continue to destroy the planet because of capitalism, or will capitalism itself save us thanks to its technological innovations?
I believe that today, more than criticism, it is really fundamental to ask ourselves the right questions. I believe a good designer should always try to ask himself good questions.
ggg: A common theme we see throughout your works is sustainability. What does sustainability mean to you?
AG: For me, sustainability means being able to bring together past, present, and future. It means exploiting the value of Made in Italy craftsmanship and savoir-faire, mixing it with the best technologies from all over the world, from 3D to innovative fibers, to create products for the present.
Beautiful products make the consumer fall in love, sustainable but at the same time technological and innovative products. This is my formula of sustainability and values.
ggg: How does that work in practice?
AG: I am currently working to create a fabric recycling system. From leather to denim to jersey, I'm collaborating with a company to industrialize a system that allows you to create a new type of fabric from large companies' processing waste. I am also working to recreate some technological design systems for sneakers and sportswear inside a ready-to-wear world. The next collection project is precisely not to use new fabrics but to have only this fabric created by me as a basis. I would also like to start a fundraiser to develop a machine suitable for this process's industrialization, but everything in its time.
Image by Emilè Kirsch
ggg: Do you think that your works are an extension of yourself?
AG: I think my work is an extension of the values I believe in. I give my all to this project, and I hope that he can give it back to me one day. At the moment, I love what I do madly and would never want to change it.
The thing that motivates me is that my work always pushes me to create the best version of myself and mirror it. Honestly, I still haven't figured out if it's me who defines my job or if it's my job that defines my personality.
The future that Grossi describes doesn't seem too far from what reality will bring, but it also raises questions about a masculine ideal—the place of a man in today's society. Will humanity fight for social change? Only time will tell.
