VÌEN ITALY

“I’m fascinated by 19th-century clothes, but the 1980s are my aesthetic point of reference, with their punk music subcultures.” For Vìen’s designer Vincenzo Palazzo, contrasting styles are at the heart of his inspiration. But music has also been a huge part of his life for many years. In fact, in his native Puglia, he used to play in a band and also launched the world-renowned Kode_1 travelling music event, along with a club inspired by London’s Plastic People. Then his attraction for fashion took over. “I’d almost call it an obsession, and it comes from my family and this region. My grandmother made wedding dresses, and my hometown of Putignano was the centre of a textile district known around the globe.” In February 2017, his music club thus became an atelier. “I met Elena Nitti, who studied fashion in Urbino, and I realised that her pattern-making experience could really transform my ideas into 3D shapes.” With their seemingly 19th-century volumes, their garments certainly have something that recalls the past. But then the un nished seams, unthreaded zigzagging and deconstructed shapes present a real homage to punk, with great attention to details such as reverse sides and buttons, but above all to the fabrics which are almost always Japanese. This is Vìen, which stands for Vincenzo and Elena Nitti. “Later I found out that in Old English Vien means something like ‘the most splendid thing’,” says Vincenzo. A good omen, right? •