Lecce Fashion Weekend 8 (a moment from the show)
Martina Franca - Martina, a Baroque land and the pearl of the Valle d’Itria. But also the homeland of artists, musicians, writers. Davide Cristofaro is one of them: 26 years old, he lives in Martina Franca. From an early age he has shown an innate artistic ability inherited from his paternal grandfather, a self-taught painter, and from his paternal great-grandfather, a sculptor who graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. We get to know him better in this interview, although there are few who have not yet been enchanted by his works.
What does being a “Multifaceted Artist” mean to you?
“It means ranging across different artistic paths, between art, fashion and design. I am a Fashion Designer / Painter, I work in art at 360°, I love always creating new things; in short, I’m never bored!”
Painting or drawing?
“Drawing is the important foundation on which to give vent to an emotion through colour. I prefer painting without a shadow of a doubt, I love getting my hands smeared with paint, I adore bringing a simple drawing to life.”
Where do you find your inspiration?
“Everywhere, anything that moves me: music, cinema, books, travel, people, etc. I even dream many of my works.”
Fashion or art. Who is Davide?
“Both, fashion and art are two worlds in collision. I contaminate both fields.”
What do you seek in your works and what do you want to arouse in those who look at them?
“Beauty, distinctiveness, and I certainly aim for visual impact; I want to arouse and spark emotions.”
You wrote on your website that the meaning of life lies not in reality but in imagining it. What does that mean?
“Dreaming is essential. For living. I know, a person who lives on dreams can seem trite, can be seen as someone who runs away from reality and doesn’t want to face real problems, a person who lives on things that don’t exist. Happiness in real life doesn’t exist, or at least it exists but finding it isn’t easy. So, I try to make people dream through my works.”
A distinctive style, yours, hard to trace back to a single trait. You really are Multifaceted, Eclectic, at times Surreal.
“I have a style all my own, I love distinctiveness, details, in both art and fashion. A style that is extravagant but not excessive, fine and refined, in good taste.”
And fashion, on the other hand, is...?
“In fashion as in art, I’m inspired by everything that moves me. My clothes are meant for a woman who must know how to dare, but with elegance, a free and enterprising woman who loves to travel and knows how to live. So an ultra-feminine woman, but never vulgar, soft, feline, mysterious and sensual, who evokes a mood of sophisticated carnality to be grasped… but to be contemplated like Madonnas of bygone times.”
Who is the icon of elegance of our time?
“I think it’s Monica Bellucci, a symbol of Italian beauty. A simple, impeccable style with absolute elegance, whether on a film set or on a red carpet. She always manages not to go unnoticed, relying on a Mediterranean beauty.”
