The DreamCatcher Series is back and with our first Brasilian designer, Tatiana Arrigoni. Ms. Arrigoni is a jewelry designer, whose work I discovered while I was in Brasil during Rio Fashion Week. I've wanted for a very long time to introduce a Brasilian designer in this series and I'm very happy she obliged. Her work can be found in Vogue Brasil, Elle Brasil, and L'Officiel Brasil.So without further ado, I present Ms. Arrigoni.
Can you tell us a little about your background?
I graduated in industrial design, worked as an art director for 3 years in magazines, and as a hobby I started a jewelery class for 4 years. I loved it but I always thought the jewelery world too serious. I wanted to do bigger pieces, so I found brass and started working on brass instead of gold and silver. I began with creating and design runs a bit in the family. My great grandfather built some landmark building in São Paulo , the theater, the municipal market.
What inspired your most recent collection?
I
have two lines. For the T.Arrigoni brand {my the main line} the inspiration
was celebrations, such as love, luck, and magic. When I create I always
choose a small theme to reflect in the pieces and link each piece to
each other. My second line, Aselenas is a different line of creation. My inspiration lies in shapes of all kind — shapes of crystal, chains,
and leaves. Out of this I create the pieces. The process is a bit more
abstract than with T.Arrigoni, which has a more clearly defined theme.
Besides jewelry what else are you passionate about?
Family is always first. I also enjoy traveling. I like to discover new things to do, eat, see. And I love to visit supermarkets in other countries to check things out.
What's the hardest thing about creating a jewelry collection?
Waiting for the moment of inspiration. Creating unfortunately is not something mechanical, you cannot turn it on and off. Some themes and ideas just come to you, at times long before you have to come up with a collection.Then at other times, it only happens late in the race, its not a process you can force.
Who is you favourite Brasilian fashion designer, artist, and writer?
I love Lino Villaventura, the Campanas brothers, and while it may sound obvious as writer I choose Paulo Coelho.
At what moment did you feel you had succeeded since the launch of your label?
Succeeded is a big word, even up 'til today its a struggle. Being a small company, it's not easy to combine the business part — banking, shipping of orders, quality control, with the creative side of it. Give it some more time. Ask us again five years from now.
Do you have any plans to move beyond jewelry? And are you currently working on any collaborations that you'd like to share?
Decoration would be one of those areas, designing lamps, furniture. I had some very good intentions when I bought my house. I was going to take charge of designing lamps, however one year after we moved in, we are still waiting for the first draft. But as I said before you cannot force it. I did however design a shoe accessory for Swarovski. The first prototypes went back and forth to Austria and is now approved. This is something I'm looking forward to developing further
in the near future.
What kind of woman wears T. Arrigoni?
A woman who is secure in herself, knows what she likes, and is feminine. I see this a lot in the family of my husband, he is from Belgium, a lot of people there love the pieces, but when it comes to wearing it they are hesitant. They opt for the safe choice, choosing something smaller, less eye catching. Maybe the T.Arrigoni woman takes more charge, buys and wears the pieces because they make her feel good about herself.
What advice would you give someone who wanted to become a jewelry designer?
Work very hard, dare to be different, don't be afraid to fall because ultimately one moment that will happen. But it all depends on how you deal with it.You have to believe in yourself, which is not always an easy thing to do.
What is a "DreamCatcher" to you?
First before you run after your dream, you need to have a dream, literally.
That is exactly what happened when I gave up my work in magazines. If
you will catch your dream depends a lot upon yourself. Hard work,
overcoming day to day problems, and not giving up when things don't seem
to be going the way you want it. Sometimes its good to stop and
look at how far you have come. This helps you to understand where
you want to go.
Many thanks to Tatiana Arrigoni for being a part of our DreamCatcher Series. We love your work and look forward to watching you create and grow.
Please visit http://www.tarrigoni.com.br for the stockist.
All Fotos Courtesy of Tatiana Arrigoni for usage on SheBreathes. All Rights Reserved.
Vogue Brasil | Black is Beautiful {All Black Issue}
The January 2011 issue of Vogue Brasil is dedicated to "All Black Models", with Emanuela de Paula as the cover model. Apparently they've taken cues from Vogue Italia, which I'm applauding without having my copy in hand yet. As many of you who've been reading SheBreathes know, I've always wondered when this would happen. And I've always given my opinion on "race" and fashion, from a global perspective. I've never been afraid to state how I feel about the issues that continue to plaugue the fashion community. But, understand {to me} this is a far more significant move, considering that Brasil has the largest black population outside of Africa. So, of course to see the media in my country, who've always always peddled Afro-Brasilians to the back, now acknowledge the diversity of Brasilians, especially the women is no small feat. I know Vogue Brasil recently went under a new licensor, so perhaps I owe this change to them. Perhaps now the true diversity of my country will be on display. Hopefully it won't become this novelty, but integrated within the magazine monthly. This is my hope of course, that scouts would stop only scouting in the south of Brasil, and scout the north as well. For now, it seems like all signs are pointing south — South America, Brasil that is, and the diversity within! As soon as I get my hands on a copy, I will be scanning all the images. I've also been in contact with Vogue Brasil, so hopefully this will happen sooner, rather than later, as I'd love to share with you who else is made the issue. I can only hope it's all my favourite Afro-Brasileiras! So, do stay tuned as I wouldn't post about this if i wasn't truly elated! 2011 is starting off nicely, sim!
I'm back with some of the editorial fotos, that was posted on my favourite fashion forum, thefashionspot, which I've been a member of for years {smile}.So far I can confirm that Mani, Gracie, and even Jordan Dunn and Chanel are in the issue. My mum says there are other models, but she's not good with names. She did ship my copies to me today! She purchased a few for me, so I may give some away on here, to those of you who are inquiring about how to obtain a copy. I'm not that impressed with the editorials thus far, because one looks like it's been ripped from a US Vogue editorial about Bahia, but again it's a start.
Posted by DS De Carvalho on January 06, 2011 in Commentary, Culture, Discover Brasil, Fashion, Magazines, Models/Muse | Permalink | Comments (15)
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