Designer name: Maria Francesca Pepe
Career Highlight: “I started my own label MariaFrancescaPepe, showing my jewellery-wear in London, Milan and Paris. I sold to Dover Street Market, Henri Bendel and Space Mue amongst others. The most respected international press and magazines have been featuring MFPepe since the very beginning and amazing editors such as Marie Chaix, Patti Wilson, Vanessa Coyle, Edward Enninful and Suzanne Koller have been requesting MFPepe pieces.
I have been collaborating with talented young photographers such as Matt Irwin, Mari Sarai and Daniel Sannwald. Personalities such as Roisin Murphy, Alice Dellal and Agyness Deyn have been wearing my creations to my great honour and pleasure. Since spring/summer 2009, I have also been designing a jewellery collection for Roksanda Ilincic that debuted on Roksanda Ilincic’s catwalk during London Fashion Week.”
Design background: “I studied Literature at Milan University for two years before heading to Istituto Marangoni in Milan to pursue four years in a Womenswear Fashion BA.
Two years after completing my BA I applied and achieved my MA in Womenswear at Central Saint Martins. I also took short courses of Fine Drawing at the Royal College and Styling, Digital Design, Experimental Fashion Design and Professional Sewing at Central Saint Martins.
I worked alongside Jens Laugesen for the spring/summer 2008 season and enjoyed a brief period at Vivienne Westwood. I also worked for Pap Luciano Soprani and a well respected European high street label after my BA. This provided me with the demanding training you need in order to understand how fashion works at all the levels. Since starting my own label I have also been consulting for some commercial brands.”
Design signatures: “The concept of jewellery-wear, which means jewellery becomes the primary focus of the outfit and features within bags, jackets and dresses. Most significantly though, my chunky tubulars have become iconic and I will present them in new colours and materials for the forthcoming seasons.”
How would you describe the MariaFrancescaPepe woman? “Anyone who desires both traditional quality and design originality. I sell objects of desire, made in Italy, using the oldest handcraft techniques. But my research is about a changing, avant-garde aesthetic which is far from obvious. This allows the collections to be appreciated by a variety of customers, either ‘punkish’ types or those with classic tastes, regardless of age.”
What do you hope the new decade will mean for your brand? “If the world doesn't end in 2012 then I'm fine: I'll still be working hard. I hope people's attitude will be strengthened by the idea of a new, positive start and the financial crisis will benefit from this.”
Name three things that are inspiring you for spring/summer 2011:“Romanticism, the shop ‘Evolution’ in New York and religious jewellery.”
What's new for you this season? “Chains made ready to wear.”
Where do you go in London to seek ideas for a forthcoming collection? “Hardware shops and pharmacies are my favourite places to shop. Also, I just discovered Sunbury Market in Kempton. You need to arrive at 6am though!”
As fashion fuses ever closer with art, film and music, how has London's vibrant cultural scene influenced your SS11 collection?“London’s the best place to meet great creative people for collaborations; I always take my chances. For spring/summer 2011, we’re going to shoot an interactive 3D film with ‘Spunfilms’. I’ll also use it as a digital look book. All this is going to be shot live during the presentation at London Fashion Week – great fun!”
