LET ME TELL YOU MY STORY FOR A MOMENT

"Our hands instead of machines.

The small local craft shop instead of the huge factory.

My passion that becomes my job. "

 

This is my conception as a craftsman. An "artistic craftsman", as I have often been called, who does not rely on digital technology, but remains tied to manual skills and high-level professional processing techniques. Techniques that are daughters of the ancient traditions of which Italy and Sicily in particular are the cradle.

There are two constants of mine: Sicily, which is love for my territory from which I draw inspiration for my creations every day; the Art, which I pour out in my handcrafted creations. Everything I do - the dresses, the scarves, the Handbags, the caftans, the flying cloths, the Moor's heads - is the result of a deep bond with the tradition of my land, which every day teaches me something more and nourishes my inspiration, and of an unstoppable research work, which guides the choice of fabrics.

I am the last of seven children, born and raised in Melilli. When I was only fourteen, I moved to the United States. I wanted to study art and, to support myself, I did various jobs: the fishmonger, the greengrocer. I have also been to the tobacco plantations. When I returned to Italy, I chose Florence to study at the American Academy of Art, while simultaneously working in a prestigious fashion boutique in the city.

A philosophy of life and style

I would like to say that, in my work, everything comes from a careful study of the market, but the truth is another: I prefer to follow my instincts. I look around and try to identify faces and bodies, but also situations, moments and environments that can embody the philosophy of my creations, capable of transmitting their spirit, energy and personality.

I create "art pieces a porter". Not simple items of clothing, furnishing elements and design objects, but small and large works of art, special and rigorously handmade, with which to dress the person and the rooms of his home. Because the place where we live reflects our personality exactly as what we wear tells something about us.

When I was in Miami in the nineties, my desire to know led me to frequent the warehouses where used clothes destined for the homeless were stored. My first patchworks were born from those dresses made with 1930s-1950s fabrics. And from that period the word remained: "rags", which are now recovered fabrics, treated and colored by me with natural products.

Naturally in my workshop in Melilli - housed in an old caponata factory - the space dedicated to fabrics is reserved for refined fabrics and processes, ranging from satin to silk, from cotton to linen, up to cashmere to brocade and jacquard.

The desire to return to my Melilli stems from the certainty of my roots and from familiarity with its wealth of experiences. A genetic heritage that receives references, suggestions, reasons of inspiration in a continuous reference to the art, culture and customs of Sicily.

The "global curiosity" has remained of my long American youth experience (working and artistic). The one that allows me to naturally combine the glories of the Baroque with poor art, the one that made me create "Melilli factory", the factory where not only clothes are "born", but also tapestries, ceramics, refined "rags" for the House. And finally, products for the kitchen, such as "Salt non salt".

Eleven people work with me today. This too is significant in my philosophy, inspired by the recovery of a still living past and creative recycling: for me, every scrap of leftover fabric is the beginning of a new story, the essential first piece of a new work of art. . I love traditional fabrics and I prefer fine silks, refined cottons, linens and velvets, but I also work with unusual fibers such as raw jute, oriental wools and jeans, which are then dyed, creased and decorated.

"Living the body and dressing the house"

 

The naked body is already a "construction" made up of meanings. And the signs of aging such as wrinkles and scars. The body covered with a dress is another set of signs that make it a cultural and artistic element. A structure that expresses social meanings. For me there is a very close relationship between the word, the body and the dress. A relationship that allows me to define fashion as a language. There is a relationship between clothing - this also applies to the home - and identity, understood as a socio-cultural construction through which our recognition of ourselves in the world and with others passes.

 

Hence the "living in the body" and "dressing the house".

Melilli Factory by Eugenio Vazzano

"Melilli Factory" is a company founded in 1992. Since the beginning of its activity it has distinguished itself for the high professionalism in the handcrafted textile sector and the high quality of the fabrics used.

It is a small and medium-sized Sicilian company that offers a wide range of products on the national and international market:

"Unique pieces" that satisfy the needs of the most refined clothing: stoles, scarves, Handbags, hats, coats, skirts, sarongs, trousers, shirts, kaftans and kimonos, sashes and slippers.

"Living the body and dressing the house": cushions, bedspreads, tapestries, placemats, table covers, curtains, footrests and carpets.

The used fabrics are personally researched by Vazzano in the markets, in the fairs around the world without ever losing the opportunity to peek into the old wardrobes.

They range from traditional fabrics, such as fine silks (the silk used is Italian, mainly Como, in plain color and yarn-dyed, descending from the ancient tradition of tie silk), refined cottons, linens, precious velvets, gauze with unusual fibers such as raw jute and jeans

In particular, the company is present on the Sicilian territory with its headquarters in Melilli, in the province of Syracuse, where it is possible to visit its fascinating laboratory.

In September 2018 the Italian Excellence brand was proclaimed and recognized.