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Face to face with Silvia Valli Bridal High Fahion Designer
As you know, we are great supporters of Made in Italy, of the attention to materials and details in packaging. We love sustainability and transparency, values we share with suppliers, customers and friends.
Silvia Valli is one of them: designer born in La Scala, Milan, designer of wedding dresses and creator of unique and tailor-made experiences. We asked her a few questions to get into her fairy-tale world.
Silvia, would you tell us how your adventure began?
It all started with a great passion for theatre, so strong to convince me one day to abandon my previous life (computer science in a multinational) and take a course of Theatre Tailoring.
At first I followed an instinct that showed me lines, customs, history. Then I started to sew, to work for theatres and academies, to land (and I landed ) at the brides in 2004 that allowed me to reconcile work and family.
The world of marriage is the only one, in addition to theater, that allows you to test shapes, volumes and applications, albeit in a softer version. In addition, unlike the entertainment industry (too focused on Milan and Rome) also allowed me to be a mom.
What distinguishes your wedding dresses from those of other brands?
I think what differentiates me is the type of service, or rather the real path I take with the bride, until the participation in her most beautiful day.
It’s a long process of getting to know the person I’m going to make a dress for, which, yes, will only be used once, but which has a very high emotional value.
The other main difference compared to my competitors is the maniacal selection of materials: I'm obsessed!
I only use KM0 materials, of which I know the whole production chain. Each dress is designed especially for my bride, it is a unique piece made on his physiognomy, and on the style of his wedding. Girls are involved in every choice, because it is the dress that adapts to the person, wraps around them, and not the other way around!
How do you choose materials? (Your activity is also linked to Lake Como; what is its influence in terms of materials and inspiration?)
Initially I worked between Como and Lecco, and then settled in Como, in the center.
Having an atelier here is a great privilege! It is here that the finest materials are produced, as well as the most innovative and experimental in the area.
Needless to say, the aesthetic inspiration is constant! Walking through the center and looking around you you absorb beauty, a "living room elegance" that attracts me and guides me. However, I do not deny that I also need trips, exhibitions and museums to continue to stimulate and accustom my eye to beauty.
As for the materials, of course Como silk is the ultimate. Cool in summer and warm in winter, it is the main ingredient of my every dress, that I also use inside instead of the classic lining. The only addition not from Como is the embroidered tulle of French lace, a specialty of the North of France near Calais. Of course I only address certified weavers of that specific lace!
My attention to origin is not only a matter of quality, but also of ethics: I am interested to know that workers are treated well, with fairness, and that companies meet safety requirements and are compliant in the area of production waste disposal.
Also for this reason Como and its historical chain represent me completely.
What did La Scala give you?
La Scala’s theatrical tailoring goes far beyond simple tailoring. It is a fairy-tale and magical world, from materials, shapes and combinations, completely out of the ordinary! There are things you can only do there.
The theater has stimulated in me an eternal experimentation, which I report for example in applications and bridal trimmings. I like to find that detail that makes the dress more interesting and unusual, albeit with a limit: it is not carnival 😉
What style does the bride Silvia Valli have?
Light, delicate, sweet, like the soul of the person who dresses it. It is a style that is not flashy but refined, tailor-made, attentive to details and materials. The girls who choose it are looking for something more than a dress: they are looking for an experience.
With all my brides in fact you create an affinity, you share moments... and some coffee!
I'm not interested in having a super business, I want to keep my slow, careful and selected perspective.
What is the most special moment you keep in the projects shared with the girls?
It is beautiful to assist the brides during the wedding day! The goal is first of all to relieve their moms from dressing, but it is always special to know their whole world.
The moment I absolutely prefer, however, is also the most melancholic one: the delivery of the dress. Months of sharing come to an end, and the great happiness of the approaching marriage is combined with the sadness of the end of a beautiful moment.
I’m happy if the girls keep a good memory of me... I definitely can never not get attached!
How is your ideal wedding? Is there a particular location that represents you?
The components of a marriage vary according to who you are, your character, your age. My favorites are intimate weddings, the most suitable also for this historical moment: they are the truest and most refined.
If I had to choose a location that represents my mood it would be Villa Regina Teodolinda on Lake Como: trendy but characteristic, small and delightful with its vanilla color, the small shutters….
A message you want to send to future brides or lovers of love?
I wish all girls the courage to get out of their comfort zone and find a way to be themselves, listening to their voice and forgetting the expectations of others.
Marriage is an opportunity to express yourself without external conditioning, to declare to the world the person you are, without having to prove anything to anyone. Be aware of the passage you are making and create a unique moment that is tailored to you.
In marriages, as in life, the person always comes first: we must focus on strength and not on weakness.
The greatest pride of my work is the growing awareness and pride that my brides assume along the path that we do together: first timid then more and more convinced of what they want, are a fundamental contribution to the right creative mix suitable for them.
I must say, it’s a lot of fun 😊
To learn more about the project, follow @silviavalli_ on Instagram.
#onesoul #onedress #nosettastories
Check out the interview with Tabata Caldironi, former dancer and author of Puccini's The Wounded Women. We explore with her the role of Puccini's heroines, the influence of art on social change, and the connection between creativity and femininity in the modern world.
