The end of May commemorates one year since this blog published its
first post. And I can't think of a better way to celebrate this very
special occasion than by introducing Nadia Albertini.
Nadia's
mom is one if my dearest, oldest friends (a gifted book
artist and special art projects director), which means I met Nadia when she was just
an adorable little girl, along with her just as adorable baby sister.
Fast forward a couple of decades, and you will find Nadia as one of the top representatives of the next generation of extremely talented textile/fibre artists. And that just makes me deliriously happy. For someone so
young, she has had an impressive trajectory, everyday adding magnificent pieces to her already awe-inspiring portfolio. She has worked in
unbelievable projects for many design houses and designers in the couture industry world wide, while continuing to keep an extremely grounded, hard working, professional and generous work ethic.
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| ©Nadia Albertini. |
IN HER OWN WORDS: AN INTERVIEW
Ana: WHAT LEAD YOU TO A CAREER IN TEXTILES AND FASHION?
Nadia: I was born in Mexico City
in a family where art and design are very important. My parents had a
book-binding atelier, so I always saw them making things with their hands. I
think seeing my grandmother doing embroidery was also very inspiring, even if
I wasn’t aware of it at the time. As a kid, I could spend hours drawing,
painting. I enjoyed silk painting too but I never thought about studying
textiles or fashion. That world was very far from ours. It all really started
when I was 15, when I participated in the International Swarovski Elements
Accessories Design Competition. We were to use their materials to embellish a
fashion accessory. I remember I could have all the stones and beads and
rhinestones I wanted for my project. I fell in love with their shine. After
graduating from high school I moved to Paris to study textiles and fashion at
the Duperré School of Applied Arts. I didn’t know what I wanted to do exactly
but then, I had my first internship at Chloé. And they needed help in the
embroidery department. So I helped with the making of samples, hand embroidery
swatches, fabric manipulations. It was a mix of a lot of techniques, some of which I learned from my grandmother. We had the chance to work with different materials from the best suppliers. After two months there, I knew I wanted to be an embroidery
designer.
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| ©Nadia Albertini. Detail. |
Ana: WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION FROM? DO YOU FOLLOW A DESIGN PROCESS?
Nadia: The inspiration really
depends on who I’m working for. But the design process is similar from one
brand to the other. I usually discuss the main inspiration with the head
designer or creative director. They give me their main inputs, like “China” or
“mosaic” or “Versace from the 80’s” or “Marie Laurencin colors”. Inspirations
are complex and very different from one season to the other. Then, once I have this
guideline, I do my own research. I can spend days in the library, it’s
probably one of my favorite parts of the job. Sometimes you are looking for a
certain type of image and it happens that you find something else, completely
opposite. But then it works! We must always be open to new things. I often go to London for the day to do
research at the Central Saint Martins Library or at the Victoria and Albert Museum. I come back with about 600 images that I submit to the studio. Then we
build “the stories”, the main ideas that we would like to develop in the shape
of swatches for the season.
This part is nice too, but
it’s much more technical and you have to be very focused. You have to be able
to imagine a sample in advance so to know what to ask from the embroidery
ateliers we work with. Most of the time, I make small samples for them to
follow. I like making things myself, especially when it’s a subtle combination
of materials.
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| ©Nadia Albertini. | |
Ana: DURING THE DESIGN PROCESS (THOUGH YOU ALREADY MENTIONED IT IS CLIENT SPECIFIC), IS THERE A SUGGESTION OF YOUR MULTICULTURAL BACKGROUND IN THE WORK YOU PRODUCE?
Nadia: There is, yes. My sister and I
were always educated in both languages and both cultures, which gave us a very
rich base for everything we do. I think being French/Mexican and having been
raised in Mexico City surrounded by so much color and patterns trained my eye
from a very young age. I remember wearing all sorts of embroidered and hand
woven huipiles when I was a kid. We used to make trips to the countryside very
often, especially to Oaxaca, to discover the most amazing places and crafts. I
think we had a very free and inspiring childhood in Mexico, I don't think it
would have been the same had we lived in Paris from a young age. Also, Mexican
people do think outside the box. If we don't know how to make something, we try
different things, we experiment, we explore possibilities, some of them quite
surprising and unexpected. It is what my mom calls the "ingenio
mexicano". It's a very instinctive, intuitive way of doing things and I
hope to have a hint of that in my work.
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| ©Nadia Albertini. |
Ana: WHAT IS IT THAT YOU LIKE THE MOST ABOUT YOUR CURRENT WORK?
Nadia: I love to be able to
collaborate with very different brands and designers who have very different
personalities, especially since I never imagined having the chance to work in
this field.
I like every single part
of the job, from the research, to the development, the sketching, the stressful
days before the shows, the last minute changes before the dress goes on the
runway.
I’ve had the chance to
meet and work with very talented and inspiring people, either in Paris, London,
New York or Mumbai. That’s what I like the most.
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| ©Nadia Albertini. |
Ana: ARE THERE ANY MATERIALS THAT YOU TEND TO RESPOND MORE KEENLY TO?
Nadia: Embroidery allows us to
use any sort of materials. For Balmain, for example, I designed embroideries
made entirely of raffia. Not exactly the easiest material but it was very exciting.
I like to transform a regular material so that people ask themselves: what is
that dress made of? It goes from pleated tulle, hammered cora springs (a
material often used in traditional Indian saris), folded and burnt sequins. I
like the fact that embroidery offers endless possibilities.
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| ©Nadia Albertini. |
Ana: WHAT CLASS ARE YOU CURRENTLY TEACHING IN LONDON?
Nadia: Two to three times a year,
I go to London to teach the short course named ‘Couture Embellishment’ at the
London College of Fashion. It’s a small group, about 13 to 15 students, I like
to give individual time and attention to each of them. They learn to dye their
own fabrics and threads, traditional embroidery stitches but also fabric
manipulations and 3D embroidery with sequins and beads. During that week, they
also learn the embroidery design process: selecting inspiration images,
building a mood board. They create their own design and learn how to transfer
it to the fabric and how to use a professional embroidery frame.
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| ©Nadia Albertini. |
Ana: YOU TRAVEL OFTEN TO INDIA, WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE WHILE WORKING THERE?
Nadia: I love going to India. Every project and every team is different and I learn new things every day. Funny,
when you know I don’t speak hindi and most of the people I work with don’t
speak English.
I have a fond memory about
the first time I worked directly with the karigars (the embroidery workers). In France,
only women do embroidery. There,
it’s the opposite, only men do. I was trying to explain to them how to do a
special technique but I could not find the words. So I took thread and needle,
sat down in front of the frame and then… 60 people stopped working to look at
me. It scared me a little bit, I thought they did not approve of that. But it
wasn’t that, they were just amused and curious.
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| ©Nadia Albertini. Detail. |
Ana: HOW IS PARIS INFLUENCING YOUR WORK?
Nadia: Paris is a great source of
inspiration. The city itself is beautiful and the architecture and
ornamentation is magnificent. We have some really good libraries, like Bibliothèque Forney or the library at Musée Galliera. But there are also all the exhibits,
the art galleries, the annual fairs and the new design shops.
Paris has a lot to offer
in terms of fabrics and material suppliers because of its history and
relationship to the fashion and textile industries. The Ateliers des Métiers
d’Art, with whom I have the chance to work very often have been open for more
than a hundred years. Some of them are still managed by the founding families
who are passionate about their art. They have incredible archives and have
mastered the most amazing techniques such as Lunéville and Cornelly embroidery,
fabric dyeing, mechanical pleating, feather work, artificial flowers, etc…It’s
a privilege to work with them and they only exist in Paris.
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| ©Nadia Albertini |
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