Caterina Grieco is 24 years old and has very clear ideas. Her determination and social friendly character have led her to acquire a loyal and devoted community over time.
This is precisely why when he decided to launch her brand Catheclisma, was immediately successful.
Visualizza questo post su Instagram
Hi Cate. First of all, where are you?
Hi Fabi! I'm in Paris right now, I'm on Erasmus at the Ecole Duperrè. What a crazy city this is!
Well, vive la France then! Listen Cate, let's start at the beginning: what does Catheclisma mean?
Catheclisma is the perfect summary of who I am: a mix between Caterina, my name, and cataclisma, what I am (ironically eh!).
Curious, but why do you consider yourself a cataclysm?
I am literally full of energy, always evolving, never still. If I had to illustrate myself I would be a dynamic, electric cloud.
Visualizza questo post su Instagram
It is also the name of your profile as a creator on IG.
That's right, it was always the name of my personal profile, on which I then started to share my passion for fashion, which was turning into a job. The name, the style, everything was part of me so I decided to have one profile for everything about me.
Passion for fashion and then work. Where did you study to make it happen?
I studied at the Milan Polytechnic, attending the Fashion Design course in both the three-year and master's degree programmes. I am now concluding my studies at a fashion school in Paris, to broaden my vision and enrich myself with new stimuli.
What is the difference between studying fashion in Milan and studying fashion in Paris?
The approach is totally different. In Paris, the school environment is more artistic and free, less didactic than the Italian academic method. I am not used to working this way but I am settling in!
Visualizza questo post su Instagram
Looking at your profile and your brand I wouldn't have guessed that. You seem to have a fairly international aesthetic. Was I wrong?
No thank you! My goal would be to expand in Europe and the Scandinavian countries in particular. But... I still have to finish university!
Of course it's a big commitment. I see from your social networks that you have a lot of support from friends and family in carrying on the Catheclisma brand. Can you tell me about it?
First of all I have a super mum and a very supportive family. The approach is very familiar and restrained, but gradually the team is getting bigger. In the beginning I used to design and sew everything myself, now I have a tailoring workshop that supports me.
What was your first Catheclisma garment?
Camille was my first dress. We were in a pandemic and I couldn't do anything else, like everyone else, but stop. However, I didn't do that at all and used my spare time to design a simple, one-size-fits-all dress.
Visualizza questo post su Instagram
And then?
Then I posted it on my Instagram profile and first my friends, then my community started asking me to buy it. Then some time later, in 2021, I opened my e-commerce and from there the brand started to grow.
Catherine, indeed cataclysm: but why do you only choose French names for your clothes?
It is the most romantic language in the world, I love it. The first dress was inspired by the camellia, the flower, hence the name Camille. All the others I chose together with my community by having them propose names in my interactive stories.
Let's talk about sustainability: how do you produce in an environmentally friendly way?
I only use stock fabrics that would otherwise be disposed of in other ways by companies. Clearly this has its limits: stockpiles are not infinite, so with a particular fabric I can produce a finite number of garments.
In my opinion, one can only remain sustainable with small productions, scalability inevitably leads to having to make less planet-friendly choices.
.jpg)
Images Caterina Grieco
.jpg)