“Collezione del Cuore”, despite its almost honeyed and romantic name, is intended as a statement, a shimmering manifesto for self-expression and the courage to live and be present in the moment. The sparkling, bright, and somewhat pop colours animating the collection seem to be chosen to mirror the multifaceted nuances of our current reality, which is permeated and influenced by a highly eclectic palette of narratives. Recent times are crossed and enlivened by a plurality of dynamics simultaneously, like a con-stant vortex of impressions. Fashion is a vessel to illustrate this condition of evolving li-quidity.

The subject that gives birth to the pieces designed by Salvatore Vignola is the woman: both controversial source of inspiration and delicate receiver of his creations. The con-cept of femininity is one of the designer’s initial interests: he aspires to revamp the norms and perspectives, eventually exceeding the conventions, to give the female entity fluid independence. Like a gush of fresh breeze, a liberating moment seems to emanate from the designer's playful but far from the naive approach. Scintillating enthusiasm and an aware stance nourish the collection presented for the SS22 season.

Would you like to tell us how your creative process is evolving over time and how you came to the conception of your latest project, “Collezione del Cuore”, for the SS22 sea-son?

“Collezione del Cuore” is my personal diary of the last couple of years, as I did for the past projects. I tried to merge flavours and smells of a lifestyle unfortunately opposed to the previous collections. The woman I’m portraying here run the risk to be illegal and was forced to recreate beau-ty and social life in un-conventional ways.

What is, usually, your most enjoyable moment during your catwalk, and how do you approach backstage?

The most beautiful moment is when I finally see all the girls dressed up. With the combi-nation of accessories and makeup the outfits finally come alive. In that moment I can see the project in itself take a concrete form. I do not have moments of relax throughout the whole project conception as I need to be fully focused.

What does the latest collection reveal about you? And how does it link and, at the same time, contrast with the previous ones you realised so far?

As I mentioned above, no collection can be similar to another one. The connection be-tween them is my taste and the things I appreciate, but I try to describe time, always changing and never resting.

According to your perspective, how can femininity disrupt established canons?

Femininity cannot be seen as a limit: I’ve always seen it as an extra value. Unfortunately not everyone shares my opinion, and even today, especially in work related environ-ments, a woman that isn’t afraid to show her femininity can be sometimes taken not so seriously.

My idea of woman fights on high heels.

What do you think is the most essential thing to express with a garment?

An outfit embraces the body, and make it beautiful. The vision of the designer is just a creative direction meant to realise the collection, a sort of subliminal message. It is the wearer that with her/his identity, expresses feelings and emotions through the garments. It is a process which I find unique and very personal.

Time and fashion seem to be two concepts that run parallel, two entities constantly holding their hands. How do you think they engage in dialogue? Do you feel one is con-ditional on the other?

Fashion narrates and dresses the times. I believe the success of a designer resides in this: being able to plan out, with sensibility and empathy, - with six month of advance -, what will happen from an historical point of view once the collection will be presented on a catwalk.

In your opinion, which is the most unconventional current trend?

The current times are heavily individualistic and people have the tendency to be them-selves as much as possible. I try to describe a time where the buyer can find himself and not a pre-established identity.