That’s a wrap
Italian designers Giorgia Tordini and Gilda Ambrosio redefine effortless style for today.
There couldn’t be a more exemplary case of how a brand explodes in 2017. After taking root in a New York taxi, it only took a couple of hours after the very first image of the debut Attico collection went out on Instagram in early 2016 for Net-A-Porter to request a meeting. “We were incredulous that this was happening!” say stylists and consultants Giorgia Tordini and Gilda Ambrosio. “Communication now happens much faster. There are no filters, no intermediary.”
It’s something they’d know, with their combined 260,000-plus social media following. The pair’s pre-existing profiles as street-style stars anchored the spirit of the label. “We knew we wanted to make something different; something we could wear to a show or just walking around the city.” Another very now-ism was when Tordini and Ambrosio did just that, unofficially launching the label on the streets at Paris fashion week side by side in Attico garb; a long-line military coat for the former, and a silky black robe emblazoned with flora for the latter.
A year later and the glossy shoes and jangling evening pouches from their
second collection have sold out at many of their 140 stockists. Like the world at large, theirs is one of pastiche, borrowing and reframing elements from the past, seamed together in opulent robe dresses and spangled blouses. “Attico blurs loungewear and outerwear, daywear and evening wear, elegance and simplicity,” they say.
It is tempered with their understanding of how pieces should translate on the street. There’s fur in the Attico mix, as well as crystal-studded hems and tassels, but also denim, and flat sandals, too. “[Everything is] designed to be versatile; not too dressy, not too opulent or important.”
That equation is a post-modern adding up of their two differing sensibilities. Ambrosio describes her style as “eclectic, messy, contemporary”, while Tordini says hers is “minimal, classic, timeless”. “We have very different visions, but ultimately we respect and trust each other. Our differences are our strengths.”
The power of their combined wardrobes, joint skills at hunting through flea markets and collections of 70s, 30s and 20s clothing could be why each piece has the feel of a once-in-a-lifetime vintage find. “Every component has a nostalgic start, but we twist it for today,” they say – like a burst of black embellishment on an ice-yellow cardigan or a leopard coat edged in croc.
Despite all this, there were aspects that called for a more established way of things, such as the exquisite Italian embroidery made by the same factories that have been industriously threading for houses like Valentino and Givenchy. For the future, if they could change one thing about the way women dress, they say they would “redefine effortless”. Inadvertently, they’ve already provided a new definition of success for a label in 2017.