A KAKTBLUT exclusive editorial. Photography by Mirea Papotto. Models are Giovanni Profeti and Xuyongxin. Fashion by Francesco Malandrini. A sense of loss and feral melancholy is the main thread running through the collection. We sometimes experience sorrow almost by chance, without any clear reason or trigger: this fragile potential of ours tells a lot about our role as animals in this world.
The love for construction is what mostly informed the whole work, where classical menswear finds new tailoring features in foam suits layered with flemish still life prints from XVII century. Foam garments become both a protection and an obstacle to the movement, while still-lifes, reworked in vivid unnatural colours, remind our belonging to the “herd” and our common fate.
“Francesco Malandrini, born 1993, Montevarchi (AR). After attending a local scientific high school, I enrolled in Mechanical Engineering at University of Florence for three years. I really struggled during those years, trying to fit myself in an environment I definitely didn’t belong to, so I switched in favour of Fashion Design at Polimoda, where I got my degree on June 2019. However my past studies somehow left a mark, i guess, since I show strong interest in the concepts of structure and surface. Generally speaking I usually like to try to push the boundaries of a garment, searching for its identity and its disembodiement. I tend to love things with a shade of melancholy. Among my “obsessions”: Italian poet Eugenio Montale, orchids, algebra and Flemish painters My favorite designers include Craig Green, Stefan Cooke, Ximon Lee and Melitta Baumeister, even if i’m really into majors like Jil Sander, Dior Homme, Margiela or Prada as well.”
