The Chamber of Fashion recently organised a night of fashion and culture at Verdala Palace, in aid of the Community Chest Fund. Among the designers showcased was Giada Curti. She tells Anna Marie Galea about her passion for empowering women through her designs.
People often describe the love that they have for something as a trait which they have been born with: something which is in their blood.
For Giada Curti, this is certainly the case, thanks to her grandmother Eva, who was the owner of a prestigious atelier. Having literally lived and breathed high fashion since she was a child, Giada’s passion went from strength to strength and fuelled her desire to make dresses fit for the fairy tales that she was so inspired by.
On the eve of the International Evening of Culture through Fashion event, where multiple designers of international acclaim were invited to show their beautiful pieces, I spoke to Giada about how her travels have inspired her and why it is that so many strong, iconic women keep making appearances in her collections.
“When I started designing, I just did haute couture, but over time, I decided I wanted to work on clothes which were more affordable and accessible. I always seem to be drawn to telling the stories of strong women: women who are very feminine and elegant, yet who are also very bold. I’ve always felt that it is these kinds of women who have marked history and fashion. When I went to Mexico, I completely fell in love with Frida Kahlo. She was not only a woman who had left her stamp on history but by doing so, she created a historic fashion moment. I was so enthralled by her that my Spring/Summer 2018 resort collection paid homage to her and was simply named ‘Frida’.”
Although Curti launched her last collection but a few short months ago, she is back with a bang, with her collection entitled ‘Jackie’, which was shown for the first time during the International Evening of Culture through Fashion: “This is the first time I’m showing a collection in Malta and the first time ‘Jackie’ will be seen. Like Frida Kahlo, Jacqueline Kennedy was another great woman who had an innate elegance, which is very rare.
“I called it ‘Jackie’ and not her full name because I wanted to focus on Jackie the woman, not her role at the White House or her role as a wife or mother. My Jackie is the Jackie of the 1970s: young, fun and dreaming great dreams in Italy. The Jackie I was inspired by is the Jackie on a yacht in Capri, the romantic lady who loved walking down cobbled streets and who adored Italian squares. Jackie’s look in the 1970s was extremely minimal but very chic and the whole concept behind it did not revolve around a dress, a hat, or a piece of jewellery but it was her attitude which made her the icon that she is. Keeping all this in mind, I have put together a collection which is made up of geometric and floral patterns, lace, and delicate transparencies. In this collection, the silhouette of skirt I have chosen will enhance the waist.”
It was Giada’s skirts which first put her on the map with Italian superstar Laura Pausini donning many a Curti skirt on one occasion or another.
“For me, to wear a skirt is to celebrate one’s femininity. My muses and the inspiration for my collections are always women who have left something special behind them.
“Frida Kahlo was a woman who challenged the time she lived in and did not allow her body to limit her. Jackie was a modern woman ahead of her time that exuded both strength and elegance. They are women who were not bound by the context they lived in.
“The ultimate message I want to send through all my collections is that we should never be shy of our potential and that we should embrace being women who can create anything we set our minds to. I don’t think there is a more powerful message than that.”
