PROJECT PLASTIC. INTERVIEW WITH WEST NAPLES' FEDERICO CALVARUSO

A collaboration between fashion and innovation. These are the soul of the new project created and distributed by West Naples’ Federico Calvaruso with Nicola Guiducci and Rosangela “Pinky” Rossi, respectively Plastic’s artistic director and manager: Project Plastic. A capsule collection of t-shirts and sweatshirts from the unisex style, featuring seven original prints. The most important detail of this project is the innovative material used for some of the outfit: the “Nexus Fiber”, a special technical rubber, a high-energy emission fiber, whose special patented composition produces a natural and constant infrared emission.

Federico Calvaruso told Wait! about Project Plastic:

Federico, how did the collaboration begins between West Naples and Plastic’s Nicola Guiducci and Rosangela “Pinky” Rossi?

I met Nicola and Pinky in ’93 when I came back from London and was working at a showroom in Milan. At the time I used to go to the Plastic. I’ve (re) found them last year when I started with my West Naples project and we have produced a t-shirt for the PlasMA art gallery (Plastic Modern Art) newly staged by Nicola Guiducci, an event that has been a quite successful. Driven by that, we put down the foundations for the start of a collaboration focusing on Nicola’s brilliant ideas.

Plastic is an historic Milan’s place. Project Plastic is an innovative capsule, which looks to the future of fashion. Can you explain in what terms?

The project involves more than the ideas of Nicola than the Plastic in itself although it is difficult to ignore the two. The collection is innovative because it translates the inspirations and ideas of Nicola, using also, for a limited edition, a technical material never before used in fashion.

The Nexus fiber precisely. Why did you decide to adopt it in the realization of some of the outfit in the collection?

Nexus technology so far had only been used in the healthcare industry for its benefits on circulation, cell metabolism and post-traumatic recovery; we made a spinning and found evidence that the cloth woven maintains its technical qualities and at the same time a very nice touch jersey, and not the consistency of technical fabric as often happens with this type of yarn. A clothe very useful for those attending local and want to avoid drastic temperature fluctuations. The particular composition of this fiber, patented worldwide, produces natural and constant infrared emission.

Art, fashion as well as entertainment and music. Do you think these are some of the essential ingredients to be creative?

Absolutely, everything can make a creative project. Today fashion is an evolving process that always adheres more to the various aspects of daily life, and precisely this produces inspiration to create the basis for creative ideas: total fusion of each element. Soon we will start with an art project in collaboration with a Neapolitan Institut. I have just returned from New York and I realized how much our ideas are current.

We must expect more collaboration between West Naples and Plastic?

Certainly, I think this is just the beginning of the collaboration, ideas are many and we are very “young.”

The garments will be on display inside the Plastic nightclub and affordable online on West Naples website from mid-April 2016.

ph courtesy: press office