Francesca Galfione is the soul and mind of the Cromantica brand. Born in Savigliano, a small village surrounded by Piedmontese nature, she discovers her passion for fabrics and color thanks to her grandfather's teachings: "Remember that pure colors do not exist in nature, shades make a flower beautiful, it is not pink, purple itself or white".
Thus the need to express herself with a personal collection flourishes within her. Enraptured by color and its nuances, she believes that women are a means of communicating their feelings and wear moods through clothes.
We at Acrimònia decided to ask her some questions:
Cromantica encompasses the fusion of the words "color" and "romantic", so can we identify, in the colors and patterns of these garments, the desire of the woman who wears them to communicate her state of mind?
Yes, very true. I told about Cromantica in colors and patterns because in my opinion every woman is Cromantica. For me, every woman is color and shade. When I know a person or simply observe him carefully on the meter, I always attribute a color to him for how he dresses, influencing me by attitudes and expressions.
Each woman exposes the colors of the emotions she feels. In a difficult period of my life I always wore black, which in adolescence is not chic, they told me: when you are ready you will see from the shirt you choose in the morning. It was just like that and from that day on, colors have always helped me, comforted and pampered me, and here the romantic side is born, the more sentimental side that distinguishes being a woman framed by prints.
The collection is divided into four macro themes: Decor'ami, Fiorisci, In-naturale and Namibia, what are the inspirations behind each?
The choice was mainly from contextualizing more genders of women and according to their lifestyle. The collection I designed to create Cromantica was inspired by what I had most at heart with the desire to want to communicate it in order to have a little bit of myself on Cromantica women. Decor'Ami is the most vintage and graphic theme. I was inspired by the homes of those distant aunts of mine, where my grandmother took me to drink tea as a snack where I dipped a corn biscuit and I lost myself admiring those teapots with matching cups with gold rims. Wrapped in rooms full of chitck objects and wallpapers into which you catapulted into parallel realities with abstract figures or kaleidoscopic effects.
Fiorisci is the most romantic theme in the collection. For a bucolic woman, very feminine, dressed in flowery meadows and ethereal colors. Flowers have always fascinated me for their fragility and their beauty, so powerful and so a little ephemeral, their scent so distinguishable and their mutant color woman.
Namibia is the theme inspired by Africa, distant countries scented with spices with earthy colors that brings back and reminds us of the origins. Designed for an animalier woman, who goes back to her origins wearing the colors of the pristine earth. It is born from the memory of these lands with its sunsets and wild skies, wild deserts, oases catapulted into urban practicality. In this very particular and sensitive period I re-elected the book by paulo Coelho, "The Alchemist" which was a great inspiration and courage in pursuing dreams, this theme is the thanks that I too have made a trip to the pyramids , towards the treasure that is a dream of making my first collection.
In-naturale is the most naive and even a bit provocative theme of how we are experiencing nature and the land of which we are part. Green prints, tropical leaves with skull colors like jade that bring back the virginity of the garden of Eden, however, reminding us of the earthly side of original sin, in fact altered by synthetic colors such as lemon, strawberry and aquamarine. The inspiration for this theme arises precisely in the awareness of the beauty of the nature in which we live, so green in its shades, so alive and knowing how to be totally part of it as being reborn in it, respecting it, conserving it and admiring it.
How would you define the Cromantica woman?
The idea I have of the Cromantica woman is the symbol of femininity, of the strength she has in being such. Which external, dares, colors and immerses itself in the world in which it lives, through the prints and colors it wears. A woman who loves to have comfortable shapes on her and with precious materials to wrap her up.
Why the idea of a seasonless collection?
The seasonless choice was born above all from the idea that the garments, being of value, have no time or season restrictions. I have always believed that a beautiful garment never goes out of fashion and can be worn without time, then for me there are no seasons now and I find it a bit limiting to have "rules". My wardrobe always has what it needs based on how I feel, maybe I wear a soft wool sweater on a rainy summer evening on the sofa, because it pampers me and I wanted Cromantica to be one hundred percent myself. Surely the materials will make a seasonality, if we want, but without ever being constraints.
How does the brand approach eco-sustainability?
I care a lot about this topic and am very sensitive about it. Cromantica will be increasingly sensitive to this topic. I believe we have come to a good point with advances on biodegradable materials and sustainable choices. We have to thank our planet first and for me this is one of the ways. The materials are natural and never synthetic. Everything related to packaging, from packaging, from the paper used on the tags are all made of 100% biodegradable material with natural colors. This topic in the next collections will have more and more special attention. I take this opportunity to thank the talent of "La Fiorellaia" in having contextualized the garments and prints by recreating, in a super modern and artistic way, the worlds in the shooting, fully embracing this theme.
What are the future prospects of Cromantica?
I see its future full of objectives to be achieved in line with my feelings, in ten years I will still find it with me immersed in nature. In the immediate future, Cromantica will be at White Milano 2020 from 24th to 27th September, this is a first and great step that will anticipate a series of events and projects with women always at the center of attention.
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