Q&A: Ethically Sourced and Bold, Luxury Leather Brand 0770 Makes Its Mark on Fashion
AT THE AXIS OF MUSIC, ART, AND FASHION — Naples luxury leather brand, 0770, captures a seething life embedded in the structures of each hand-crafted piece. In every garment, an understated sexiness, power, and fearlessness weaves its way into physicality. On a global scale, 0770 has unearthed a universal appreciation, proving a perpetual allure toward the art of fashion. Featured in Vogue, Billboard Magazine, worn in Eurovision and by renowned names such as Nicki Minaj, the brand has claimed a uniqueness unseen in a vast majority of the visible fashion market. The multiplicity of femininity drives the brand’s message, where power is both strong and delicate, beauty is rock ‘n’ roll; it is emotional and expressive. At the core of 0770 lies a desire to explore sensuality, strength, and desire.
Crafting a universe of their own — one of enrapturing sensation — creative duo Irene De Caprio and Enzo Pirozzi stand at the onset of a necessary shift in the fashion industry. Diverging from concept mass distribution, each 0770 garment begins with ethically sourced vegetable-tanned leather and cautiousness of the fashion industry’s environmental impact. Utilizing cutting-edge technological methods atop a core fascination of ancient techniques and structure, 0770 upholds the notion of fashion as liberty and captures the nature of creation as human instinct, yet grander than consciousness itself.
Read on to learn about the vision and life behind 0770 and its mark on a continuum of fashion.
LUNA: I love your brand — the sensuality; the subversiveness. It’s so original, and each piece balances this dichotomy of delicateness and strength. Could you tell me about the origins of the brand’s name, 0770?
0070: 0770 is July 1970. The one we mentioned is the last summer in which the three big Js of rock — Jimmy Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and Janis Joplin — were alive. For us, it was the summer in which there was something very lively, throbbing, and revolutionary. It is a tribute to music, life, and art. Creating with that lively and transgressive spirit is close to us. We feel the power of summer and rock 'n' roll life as an integral part of our creative process.
LUNA: What was the genesis of 0770 as an entirety?
0070: 0770 was born for a creative need, for the urgency to tell our vision of beauty; our emotions with garments/accessories. To have the opportunity to experiment with new materials, new shapes, and processes.
LUNA: What values do you aim to create and emulate? Are there any themes that connect across and throughout 0770?
0070: We aim to emphasize beauty; we tell our woman through sculptural garments that enhance the female figure and the strength of the woman. The woman has a lot of strength and we believe we highlight her with our accessories.
LUNA: The basis of each piece is artistic and somewhat architectural. What inspires the designs?
0070: We live in Naples, southern Italy: it is a city of various influences, a melting pot of cultures. We have had many different ruling powers, and this can also be seen in our architecture. Wandering our streets, there is always something we hadn't noticed before and that we somehow bring back into our pieces. It is inevitable to be captivated by the shapes — not just by the atmosphere of our city.
LUNA: Italy is so ripe with culture and art. Do you draw from different art forms?
0070: Inspiration arises in the most unexpected ways, so much so that you are fascinated by a detail of a Renaissance or contemporary art painting so much it seems as though you are struck by a guitar riff.
LUNA: Where do you look for creative inspiration, personally and as a team?
0070: Many times the inspiration comes from music. The evocative power of music can make you travel without leaving your desk; it can create images in your subconscious that will become ideas for the next collection. Just follow the thread to unravel the skein. In our laboratory, there is always music — having a background helps us to create, to make our accessories. We've been listening to Michael Nyman and James Blake a lot lately. Different beats and ideas that emotionally overlap each other.
LUNA: Your pieces are created from ethically sourced leather. Could you explain why you were drawn to leather?
0070: The choice to work with leather has matured over the years. We were looking for a key to our story and we found it in this material. It is also a perfect material for laser cutting, with which we can always experiment on new cuts and new textures.
LUNA: Does the material align with your grander vision? What pulled you into utilizing the materials and processes that you do?
0070: It is an extremely fascinating material — it can be molded in a different way from the fabric and allows us to build our garments in a unique way. We can give the volumes we love but also to wrap the body. Leather as a second skin is an intriguing idea. Our corsets hug/protect bodies and sometimes create the illusion of new shapes. Each piece is unique — it is not possible to recreate the exact same piece because every centimeter of leather is different; it is a living material that evolves over the years.
LUNA: Your process is complex and highly nuanced. Could you unpack how you design and construct?
0070: We always start from the sketch, then do tests on mannequins to try out new volumes and new shapes. The new perforations or carvings are tried on the leather, or a new way of dying or painting. Then comes the technical phase of making the flat model, where we then move on to the choice of the leather that we think is most suitable for that model. We choose in what color, with what shine, and with what texture we would like to see it made, then cut the first prototype and hand sew. We do the first test with a model and finally the realization of the finished garment for the collection.
LUNA: Each piece is hand-stitched and crafted with such detail. Do you find that there is beauty in the hands-on nature of your designs?
0070: We absolutely love hand-stitching — it allows you to impress your emotions on each garment. We always find it to be a magical moment to be able to give the shape you want to the leather with only your hands. The hand-stitching leaves a poetic imprint on the piece. We spend many hours of work on every single one; each garment is different and tells our story. No piece will ever be the same as another one.
LUNA: Your work has been featured by such pronounced names internationally, featured by the likes of Vogue, Billboard, and worn on Eurovision, as well as by marked names such as Nicki Minaj. How do you balance the see-saw of being unique and having commercial appeal?
0070: Our uniqueness has allowed us to enter the world of widespread communication in an unconventional way. For some artists, we have created ad hoc things for the occasions in which they wore them; others have selected our garments because they believed that uniqueness was a point in favor of the appeal they sought. The collaboration with many stylists has shown us our creations in different ways and this has brought us new energy and new ideas.
LUNA: Do you think these two things go hand-in-hand, that uniqueness creates appeal?
0070: Uniqueness is certainly fascinating. We are strongly convinced that the unusual can go hand-in-hand with the commercial.
LUNA: The growth of 0770 has been astronomical. How was the journey to the brand today?
0070: Our journey starts from Naples and, in our opinion, it is only at the beginning. Over the years, we have accumulated many experiences that are making us mature more and more. The path has not always been easy, but certainly overwhelming.
LUNA: Are there any pieces or collections that are particularly sentimental to you?
0070: The basic rule of creative work is "Never fall in love with your ideas," but it is not always possible. Let's say we have strong infatuations with some of our accessories ... until the next collection, which obviously will always be the most beautiful!
LUNA: Fashion is inherently a symbol of its zeitgeist, a form of cultural documentation. Do you think fashion is a vehicle for change? Has it served this purpose for your brand?
0070: Fashion is a manifesto of the times. It is a vehicle for change, but it is also a way of describing change.
LUNA: What are some of your favourite fashion moments, pieces, designs or designers in history?
0070: The world of fashion has so many incredible moments. Some of the designers we love most are the ones who have “shouted” their vision to the world. Fashion is innately vocal, for sure — it can start dialogue, and the greatest designers are unafraid. It is liberating to witness.
LUNA: In this larger tapestry of fashion, where would you say 0770 sits?
0070: We deeply love all of Alexander McQueen's work, but the “Plato's Atlantis” show is the one that has stayed with us the most. We continue to love it deeply. Among the others we love very much is Thierry Mugler with his ultra sensual and ultra earthy vision, Alaia for elegance and craftsmanship, and Martin Margiela for deconstruction and innovation of the cuts.
LUNA: Lastly, what can we look forward to in upcoming collections and moving forward?
0070: Certainly there is a plan to combine our leather garments/accessories with fabric clothing collections. Going back to our origins by working the fabric; keeping the allure of the leather pieces making us overwhelmed by new shapes. Always keeping the craftsmanship and preferring manual work. We can't wait to do it to make our story complete.
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