A visionary who reuses – but never reduces – vintage leather prints and textiles, Chiarissima Takeaway’s founder Chiara De Nigris creates one-of-a-kind pieces that speak to real people and stand out in every way possible.

Let’s get real for a second – despite how heartbreaking it is to admit, most of our closets pale in comparison to our Pinterest boards. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, however, as it allows for us to treasure and appreciate our statement pieces even more. In a world full of basics – plain white tee’s, casual blue jeans, and a pair of trusty sneakers – an exceptional hat, purse, or keychain can make all the difference. Chiarissima Takeaway is a brand which caters to exactly that: adding a spark of individuality and character to virtually any outfit, utilizing and transforming up-cycled, vintage leather prints.

Founded in 2020 by the exceptionally talented and celebrated designer, Chiara De Nigris, what started as a graduation collection from her time at the NABA fine arts academy in Milan, quickly turned into a grass-root design project. Gorgeous campaigns in collaboration with friends gave birth to 3D and illustrated models displaying her pieces, highlighting and showcasing the unabashed and free-flowing creativity embedded into all of her pieces. Kitschy, bold, playful, and fun, each piece is completely original and constantly in dialog with the wearer – bringing these qualities out in everyone who sees them.

Whether you’re channeling a Honeymoon in Venice, or wanting to feel like a fashionista barbie doll, Chiarissima Takeaway’s pieces are equipped with the power of total transformation – regardless of age, gender, or size. Hand delivered and handmade, Chiarissima is revolutionizing the design world every step of the way.

Hey Chiarissima! How have you been doing?

You too called me Chiarissima, it makes me laugh cause I feel like a pop star without a surname!

Hahahah I mean in my opinion, you are on the right track to act as a pop star in the design world. I love both the focus on individuality in all of your pieces, as well as the slow-fashion approach you take to your production. I was wondering, do you remember the first borsette you ever made? What was the chapter of your life in which you decided to start creating these pieces?

Sure! It all started in 2018 when I presented my graduation collection, which included accessories, and a friend of mine asked me to make a bag he could wear at his birthday party. After posting pictures on Instagram, people started ordering bags through social media. Then in 2020, I decided to launch Chiarissima Takeaway. I was stuck at home with my parents, and I had the time I never had before to do everything needed to release the project, pan the communication, and prepare all the matches for the bags. I am really lucky because my mother used to buy a lot of fabrics from companies' stocks by the lake (Maggiore, where I come from), so I have a lot of materials to play with. In fact, my sustainable approach comes from a family attitude: since I was a little kid, I was taught to reuse and not waste. My grandmother experienced the Second World War, in which she and her ten brothers and sisters lost their house and all their belongings. This experience shaped her mindset and her attitude towards objects. In a world in which garments become garbage quickly, giving a second chance to existing fabrics is a priority, not a choice anymore.

I think that approach and the history behind it is so real and also super genuine – of course, every approach to sustainability is a useful one, but I think the context of necessity adds a completely different aspect to it. With your drops and pieces being so informed by your own spirit and interest, it must also be so sweet to see the people you know wearing and styling your art. How do you hope your energy mingles with that of the wearer of your pieces? I love the kitschiness and boldness of it all!

I have always been passionate about accessories in particular because most people don’t wear bold or extravagant looks daily, but when it comes to accessories, everyone allows themselves to dare a little more. The fun fact is that my customer's audience is actually that variegate! This is the concept I worked on with Rujana Cantoni for the first Chiarissima campaign realized by 3D artist Joyce @ Miu Vermillion Studio. It features women of different ethnicities, sizes, and ages, as well as reflects the reality of my community: mothers and grandmothers of my customers started buying my accessories. I am always happy and curious when people send me back pictures wearing my pieces! We are used to the concept of total looks because of what we see in magazines and editorials, but it doesn’t reflect reality, and real people is my main focus and source of inspiration!

So true! You hardly see ‘Ready to Wear’ pieces that would fit into the real world, but at the same time, you see so many amazing, statement pieces in everyday life. I think that Chiarissima Takeaway is also so amazing because of its ability to give old textiles a completely new life through your careful curation and production process. What has been the strangest or most memorable material you’ve ever up-cycled into one of your pieces?

I think that the patent leather with the Venice landscape print is maybe the weirdest material I’ve found for now. When I start my research, my first step is often choosing fabrics – mainly because I work only with leftovers I find in my parents' house storage. Many designers would find it limiting, but I find it interesting challenging instead. I like making a limited amount of pieces for every drop because it makes every product more unique and desirable – especially since nowadays you can order everything online, and have the article shipped at home in a day. If you like a piece of mine, you must buy it now, or it might be too late. Sometimes I just find a small piece of fabric, and I’m like, “God, I need to do something with it”. Likewise, vintage is an excellent source of inspiration for me. I am lucky enough to have a vast archive from my grandmother’s closet (who never threw anything away). Just opening the closet and trying clothes on, or looking for old pieces on the internet and analyzing the pictures in all their details, is very inspiring.

As someone who takes a lot of inspiration from vintage fashion in my own wardrobe, I totally feel this. Again, it’s this central message you have regarding how ‘everything is transformed’. Aside from the diversity and excitement of all of your pieces, the way that you’ve launched them has also been absolutely revolutionary. Having the pieces modeled in person, by 3D avatars, animated onto paper dolls, and even sketched into illustrations really highlights an amazing creative vision. How do you decide the medium through which to present each drop, and how do you think the artistry of the pieces and their presentation feed on one another?

It is very natural and spontaneous. I feel fortunate because I have a lot of creative and talented friends who helped me realize the different campaigns. Working together is always a chance to enrich each other's vision, and create something new while having fun. The aim is to be a storyteller of ideas, embracing a contemporary and ironic way to express my society. But when I design something, I don’t think just about the product. I love thinking about how to communicate it and create a narration around it. That’s what I love about my “creative case”: the possibility of being the narrator of my own history, expressing myself in a way that’s much more effective than words for me. Obviously, being a tiny reality, sometimes some choices are made to face limited possibilities – but that’s exciting too; being able to create a communication plan out of nothing. No budget, no studio, no models.

I think this shift is something that recent technologies have only just enabled, but you are surely one of the pioneers of the process! I admire how you’re not afraid to play with new and avant-garde patterns and shapes – your Chiarissima Grocery pieces are painfully irresistible to me right now. Even in your latest Borse Mostro drop, you start using shapes and adding elements we’ve never seen from you before. What inspired this evolution?

I don’t want to become the product I make. Owning a brand it’s not just about designing clothes anymore: you have to build a 360-degree vision to sell your customers alongside the items you make. I plan to release a “home decor collection” and jewelry very soon because, as I mentioned before, Chiarissima Takeaway is not just a fashion brand, but it’s more a way of approaching beauty looking for it in small details and objects. In the case of the Borse Mostro capsule, it comes from my passion for toys and puppets. A source of inspiration for this project was Nanda Vigo and Xavier Lalanne's works. It is about not taking themselves too seriously.

I can’t wait to see what this will entail! I’m a big believer in maximalism in the sense that it can be so fulfilling to see yourself in a world of objects that typically alienate you. Thank you so much for answering my questions! One last thing I wanted to ask you was, what has been your takeaway from this whole experience? Two years into building this brand and creating so many gorgeous pieces, what is something you’ve learned, and what is something you’re looking forward to in the future?

The word “Takeaway” comes from the fact that when I have to deliver something in Milan, I deliver them by hand using the public means of transport. People are always amazed when they see me arriving by bus! But I think, especially these days, it’s a funny way to meet my customers IRL, and also it’s much more sustainable than shipping the customs in the same city. I don’t set any boundary or limit to what this project could become. At this moment, I am super interested in design and set design. I undoubtedly would love to expand the range of products, but I am still working on capsules of a few pieces to drop on selected platforms and shops – not following the fashion calendar. I acknowledge that the future of fashion will be primarily online. For this reason, I am also working on a new version of my website that will become more virtual gallery than a shop.