Interview with the designer Caterina Moro: passion, made in Italy and creativity

I had the chance and luck to have a wonderful, interesting and stimulating chat with Caterina Moro, a designer from Rome with a great passion for her work, as you can see.

Hi Catherine, thank you for accepting our invitation. Are you the designer of a beautiful brand that bears your name, how did you get here?

I have always loved fashion. I have a diploma in conservatory and a degree in musicology but, after years of life as a classical musician, I decided to follow my true passion. I allowed myself a sabbatical year to be able to follow the master’s degree in Haute Couture and Fashion Design at the Academy of Costume and Fashion in Rome, and from there the adventure began!

What are the main features of your clothes? How would you define your style?

I like to define my style “Daily luxury”, daily luxury. I imagine to ennoble daily clothing through my clothes, to be able to add a note of exclusivity and poetry to what we wear every day. I always imagine the women I draw for in their daily activities … Maybe at the metro station, or in the office, who feel special in a pleated trench coat or in an exclusive print.

What theme did you choose for the latest collection, the FW 2020?

My FW 2020 is called WOOD: I chose to start from a natural element, and I imagined a collection that would give the feeling of a walk in an autumn forest.

I designed a foliage print, reminiscent of the sun filtering through the leaves of trees in a wood, and I brought it back on the silk twill, on the silk poplin, and also on the jacquard knitwear. I created fringes and embroidery with recycled and certified woods. I found a plissé that resembled the bark of trees, and I chose warm, enveloping and autumn colors.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

From everything around me, from the things I love, from music, from sensations and moods.

What does being a designer mean in 2020? What do you like most about your job? What, however, do you find more difficult?

I love the creative process. What I love most is to see the collections that I imagined that slowly take shape thanks to the excellent craftsmen we have in Italy and that materialize in a real place, different from my fantasy and my designs: when I see the first tests print, knitwear, pleats, when I see the first garments made it is a beautiful feeling.

What I perhaps love the least is the frenzy and being always over the top that sometimes sets us apart. I don’t feel like an artist … I don’t think I create works of art, I simply want to create clothes that women can love and wear. Some slightly excessive attitudes make me smile ….

What are the goals you feel you have achieved? Which would you like to achieve in the future?

My personal fashion show in Rome was an important milestone, which even two years ago I would never have thought of reaching. Now I want to grow my brand, I would like to open my e-commerce, and maybe, why not, even my own brand. But a little at a time ….

How have you dealt with the past few months?

The past few months have been very difficult. The coronavirus arrived in Italy during the fashion week and interrupted the sales campaign, and also some deliveries of the SS 2020. We were closed months at home without knowing what would have happened to our sector, asking us if it made sense to design new collections or not . We all felt on the quicksand, we designers and consequently all the people who work with us and who contribute to making Made in Italy something famous and appreciated in the world: weavers, manufacturers, suppliers, producers, and also the shops that they distribute our collections, models, photographers, stylists. Do not imagine how many people contribute to making fashion the second manufacturing sector in Italy, how many people put heart and soul into this work day after day.

Many of my suppliers have seen canceled orders, canceled collections. Many workers are on layoffs, and the owners of Made in Italy companies are doing miracles to be able to ferry everyone into this storm and keep jobs, and the know-how acquired over the years. Here, I would love that there was more talk about this. Fashion isn’t just sequins, that’s just a small part of our job.

What would you recommend to a young designer who wants to establish himself in the world of fashion?

To be prepared and to believe in what he does.

Where can we buy your clothes?

At this link you can find the list of my distributors. Most of them ship throughout Italy and Europe

//www.caterinamoro.it/en/stockist-en/