A.A: After these two years at Roberto Cavalli, I was contacted by Zuhair Murad, the Lebanese couturier. That was the experience that I was still missing. I flew to Paris as Head Designer of the prêt-à-porter office and haute couture consultant. I was traveling between France, Beirut and Italy to meet all the suppliers. My experience gradually grew and I developed increasingly specific and complementary skills: With Franchi, I experimented with technique; with Cavalli, I gained deeper knowledge and found my direction; and with Murad, I added the haute couture element, client relationships, constant travel, and celebrities. With everything I had built, I joined Dolce & Gabbana as Head Designer for eveningwear and special projects, so I began to dedicate my time to awards shows, custom garments, and all the special projects that go hand in hand with prêt-à-porter, such as secret shows. I worked independently in a separate atelier with my tailor, although as part of the style office.
I have had many moments in which I have felt fulfilled, but there have also been great disappointments, specifically because of this specialization in evening dresses. Unlike contemporary collections, red carpets don’t follow particular trends, they are timeless, and it was as though I was considered almost second-class. Some people thought I didn’t have vision. I felt lost, trapped in this golden, ladylike cage without a way out. Looking back at my experience at Dolce & Gabbana, being in close contact with the atelier and that extraordinary artistry taught me a lot from a technical point of view. At that point, however, the social earthquake of 2018 hit the company and I switched to haute couture because the celebrity department was no longer in operation. While I was doing a consultancy in Paris, the pandemic arrived and the job fell through, so I found myself back at home in Milan without a job. To aggravate the situation, nobody responded when I reached out with proposals. With the nest egg that I had put aside, I gave myself time to think and reflect and I wondered whether perhaps, after twelve years in fashion, the time had come to do something of my own.