DSCENE INTERVIEW: Giada Forte on the Evolution of forte_forte

Born from the rich tapestry of Italian craftsmanship in Veneto, a region synonymous with the revered “Made in Italy” hallmark, forte_forte has emerged from humble beginnings with a small collection of hand-finished T-shirts in 2002 to a brand celebrated globally for its unique blend of artisanal integrity and contemporary design. Giada Forte, along with her brother Paolo and life partner Robert Vattilana, has infused the brand with a profound ethos drawn from their early experiences in the family’s knitwear factories. This foundation has fueled a journey of creativity and business acumen, navigating the brand’s evolution with a focus on the intrinsic beauty of creativity as a bond between creator and consumer.

INTERVIEWS

Giada Forte, the creative visionary at the helm of forte_forte, sits down with DSCENE Editor Katarina Doric to talk about the brand’s ascendancy, sharing the challenges and milestones of transforming a vision into an internationally recognized brand. With a commitment to authenticity and sincerity in creative expression, Giada discusses the delicate balance of preserving emotional authenticity within the design process, fostering a successful collaboration with her brother Paolo, and steering the brand away from the ephemeral nature of fast fashion.

Your journey from a small collection of hand-finished T-shirts to an internationally recognized brand is inspiring. Looking back, what has been the most challenging aspect of this growth, and how have you navigated it? – This is a beautiful, emotional question, thank you! Many times, when I look at our stores now, and all the special projects we have done over the years, I cannot believe it all started from a cross-hand stitch on a white T-shirt… what a special journey. To answer your question, I believe that always being sincere and authentic in our creative expression has allowed us to grow honestly, step by step and organically, maintaining that same emotional perception that always characterizes our clothes. We always take a lot of care and energy in transmitting the idea of pureness and uniqueness that define every piece to our entire team and suppliers, making them feel an important part of the process, feeling forte_forte as their own world.

Listening to your creative soul and being sincere in your creations is what will make your universe valuable and visible to the world.

forte_forte is a family affair, with you at the helm of design and your brother Paolo managing business strategy. How do you balance the creative and business sides of the brand, and what has been key to maintaining this successful collaboration? – Yes, my brother Paolo is the strategic mind of forte_forte, I am the creative soul. He is a more intimate, rational person and he likes to work behind the scenes. I’m more instinctive, passionate, and emotional.

Being brother and sister is a privilege: you can always be very sincere to each other, and you know you will always have a person you can totally trust. I believe honesty and transparency, even in discussions sometimes, always make your vision stronger. The love of our territory and the passion for ethics, and intimate creativity have always been our common credo.

Your collections often feature timeless pieces that defy fast fashion trends. How do you stay true to this ethos in a rapidly changing industry, and what advice would you give to emerging designers who wish to do the same? – The rhythms dictated by the current fashion system are increasingly incessant and lead to ever greater production. We must find a much broader path without forgetting to protect small artisans, and support those who bring healthy values to this industry. Listening to your creative soul and being sincere in your creations is what will make your universe valuable and visible to the world. I believe our clients can feel this when buying something from forte_forte; they can feel the energy, the soul, and the care that has been put into creating it. Designing precious, timeless garments whose value grows with time will make them become part of a person’s history, accompanying them for years in their travels, their stories, and their encounters.

The ss24 collection, “le baiser,” draws inspiration from the eternal beauty of a kiss and Klimt’s iconic painting. Can you share the moment or thought that sparked this romantic and sensual theme for your collection? – We live in a time where digital addiction to social media has prevented people from real encounters and real human expressions of love and affection. That incredible, emotional, timeless Klimt painting portrays in its magnificent golden light the beautiful sensation of simply abandoning yourself in total confidence to an endless embrace and to a kiss: this is all we really need today.

With “le baiser,” you’ve created a blend of masculine and feminine elements. How do you approach balancing these energies in your designs? – This has always been an iconic characteristic of my forte_forte universe. I like the strength, the structure and the authenticity of matter, as well as the pureness and the delicacy of sensuality and feminine light. I believe every one of us is personally fulfilled when there is a good, well-searched balance between our male and our female nature. The same thing is for our creations, you will always find this harmonious balance. And again, in the design of all our boutiques where strong, tactile materials merge with delicate, elegant, oneiric elements.

Your collection features a delicate palette with light yellow tones, silvery touches, and hints of light blue, alongside the purity of white and black. How do you believe color influences the emotion and feeling of a garment? – I believe color completely influences the feeling of a garment. It is an essential aspect of the piece itself when we design it. I always dedicate a long time and deep attention to creating the perfect color shade… colors speak their own language through their hints. I have always been very respectful to colors; when I first started, forte_forte collections used to be either all white or all black, just because these were the only two colors I used to wear at the time. Then, little by little, I started to discover new shades, step by step. At the beginning, they were pastel light colors and then, brighter and more colorful ones. This is also what forte_forte is recognized for today: unique, precious colors.

 I like to think that our clothes can make people feel who they really are.

In this collection, gold glimmers and flower petals narrate a new rediscovered femininity. Could you elaborate on the role of texture and fabric choice? – Our collections always portray an emotive voyage. Emotions are then translated into profound research for textiles and finishings that become little by little a real garment. I believe in the importance of special, precious details that make a piece unique.

In this collection, light satin and silk crepon are mixed with the purity of linens and cottons, drawing a new harmony. Micro–jacquard motifs with flower petals in gold glimmers and light embroidered voile narrate this new, rediscovered femininity. Refined tulle is a symbol of purity, textured jacquards and prints evoke dreamy atmospheres. All these textiles refer to a magical symbolism that inspired the collection, the ethereal sensation of a surreal kiss where iridescent taffetas and shimmering lurex chiffons are worn as impalpable shiny surfaces.

The ss24 collection showcases a variety of accessories, from bijoux resembling rough sculptures to vibrant satins in footwear. What role do these accessories play in completing the forte_forte look? – Our accessories perfectly complete the forte_forte universe: sculptural, gold-pleated jewelry hand-produced by local artisans near Venice and all our shoes are manufactured in a small artisanal factory in Tuscany. Again, the aesthetic and design of these objects convey the same artisanal, intimate idea of wearing something that has already belonged to you, which is already part of your special wardrobe.

Forte_forte aims to dissolve the distance between the clothes and the wearer, focusing on emotional authenticity. How do you ensure each piece connects emotionally with its wearer? – I like to think that our clothes can make people feel who they really are. Each collection is a dialogue in which each of us expresses a part of humanity. The garments are created with care, worked one by one and crafted with dedication, always leaving the freedom through their fabrics to express themselves, both in shapes and colors. Real protagonists are materials, they are left free to express their character. Color and pure forms welcome the body without constrictions, shapes of garments always show little imperceptible imperfections which I search, and I love. A forte_forte garment never wants to be perfect. There will always be a small detail that makes it unique and different, to convey this sense of warmth and humanity.

Looking forward, how do you envision the evolution of forte_forte in the next few years, both creatively and in terms of your brand’s global presence? – Our path has always been characterized by an organic growth that develops far from fashion and closer to style. This has led us to build results that come from true and palpable values where the production of garments is followed with care and dedication. The meeting with style capital fund in 2017 confirms the solidity of our choices and has offered us new tools for a more qualitative development, always respecting our own identity. What we expect in the next few years is to continue this positive path, through the opening of new single-brand stores at international level and increasing the wholesale points through new partnerships and customized corners, to make our client experience completely our forte_forte universe. forte_forte keeps evolving with the same authentic spirit as it was at the beginning.

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