Italian designer Valentino Buffoni believes that the material of a bag and its stitches are more important than the design itself. He tells Shrabasti Mallik that he plans to introduce the concept of overdyed bags
Growing up in the small region of Tuscany in Italy, Valentino Buffoni was surrounded by paintings, sculpture, frescos and architectural masterpieces of the place. It was but natural that when he became a designer, his design inspirations heavily drew from either the Italian architecture or the landscape. In fact, the place influenced him so much that in two decades of his profession, he has been unable to draw inspiration from any other place in the world.
“My major source of inspiration has always been Tuscany. I have travelled a lot and I have failed to find a place more interesting than Tuscany,” he said. When an accessory brand Phive Rivers asked him to design for them, he was baffled. “I had to come to India quite a number of times to understand the culture and to come up with an idea which would sell here,” he said. Even after several visits, nothing here could inspire him and he went back to designs that were influenced from his land.
“I make a design in my office at Tuscany and then I send it across to the company. They in turn do necessary changes to make it presentable to the Indian customer,” he said and added that the addition of zippers is one of the few changes that are made to suit the Indian customers. When it comes to coming up with a new design he chooses not to follow trends rigorously. “I might observe a few aspects and then incorporate them in my own way,” he said. Design is an important aspect of a bag but more than that, the designer focusses on the material, stitches and finish.
He does not believe in seasonal colours, instead he plays with standard colours like chocolate and dark brown, red, sky blue, which he feels are evergreen. The designer loves to work with leather and he feels that it is the only material which has a global appeal. His design philosophy is to introduce a new concept. As of now, he is trying to create more designs for washing bags or overdyed bags.
He explained, “The concept is same but the look is different because the bag is made in crust leather. It is then dipped in a drum of natural colours for dying. Then it is varnished a little to give it a texture.” Although he plans to introduce the line to the company collection, he has his doubts. “Indians may not take a liking to the collection because it does not look very sophisticated like the rest,” said the designer. However, he is hopeful that with time customers will warm up to the concept.
India, he said, is a country which evolves much faster in terms of fashion as compared to other countries. According to Valentino, the Indian market has opened up a lot in terms of accepting foreign brands. “The thought process will change gradually. I have seen people going to the mall and following latest trends. All brands from across the world are selling in India and it is fast becoming a big luxury market,” he rounded up.