Interview with Garage Nouveau's founders: made in Italy fashion between quality and research

Garage Nouveau SS19

More than twenty years have passed since Elisa Zara, head designer, and Massimo Longon founded together Garage Nouveau. In the two decades fashion, as always, has seen the birth and death of trends, as well as having to face economic crises that have affected the system, to completely revolutionize it. At least for the multinational companies in the sector. Even the smallest have suffered, but – paradoxically – some of them have taken the opportunity to focus on quality, as well as the search for fabrics and shapes. This is the case with de Venetian brand, whose women’s clothing line encompasses both values.

Elisa, Massimo, the first words you use to define fashion are ephemeral and fleeting. Starting from here, what is the meaning you give to your collections since you founded Garage Nouveau?

Ephemeral and fleeting because in this historical period the clothing is seen as a run-up to be a fashionista without looking very much at the quality and tailoring that has always distinguished our country. Moreover, with the advent of fast fashion, the speed of trend changes has become incredible. We think that fashion – reasoning absurdly – is no longer in fashion, and that is why we try to make a product that lasts over time and that does not have too many connotations of tendency and that dresses a woman confident of her own choices.

Garage Nouveau SS19

The details are the protagonists of the brand: in which aspects of creation are emphasized?

In our collections nothing is too emphasized, precisely because we want to keep a constant of craftsmanship and refinement. There is a great attention in the choice of materials, linings, buttons and a great study of wearability.

How do you make them understand to your customers?

Our customers understand the effort that is made on every single garment by wearing it. The feedback we receive is similar to phrases like: “when you wear a Garage Nouveau garment you will not take it off anymore”. I think that for a clothing company this is a great achievement, beyond fashions and times.

Garage Nouveau SS19

Each collection is made in your Vicenza headquarter: what relationship do you have with tailors?

We are a small company and everything is created and managed internally: we have staff who have been with us for more than twenty years and this leads to an incredible complicity and harmony, peculiarities that you find within our collections.

What is the first aspect you study when working on new season’s garments?

The first aspect that we study is certainly focused on what we want to offer back to our client, we always think about her and the path we want to undertake together. We have a precise vision of what we want to convey.

Garage Nouveau SS19

Plans for the future?

There are many projects for the future! We still have to grow a lot above all abroad and certainly to consolidate in Italy, perhaps with the opening of flagship stores.

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