Structured Fragility
(Photo by Petite Robe Noire)
Santo Spada, a maestro of couture, magically transforms women into their own presence of beauty, elegance and sensuality. With the senses engaged, Spada illuminates the delicate relationship between the contours of a woman and the energy of her movements highlighted by silks and cashmere. His masterpieces are now in two collections with cascading sheers hiding or revealing the curve of small of the back, a thigh as though gently allowing the beautiful spirit to emerge on her own terms, her own way, her own style.
Spada engages the ethereal and the physical through his haute couture in an enticing dance for the eyes, a metamorphosis of the sensual language of the feminine spirit. Spada says,
“Clothes are made to enhance our beauty.”
This is true couture. Spada touches his designs from conception, formation to the final presentation. Each fold, cascade, stitch becomes his flowing work of art, a luxury for the senses. Spada says,
“my stitches become embroidery.”
Spada explains,
“my clothes feel different. Like an object in an antique store that carries charm, a care. The object has been touched for a long time, until it has reached that shape. My dresses are handmade that bring a different energy, touched for longer.”
Plus, Spada explains that there is no interruption of the lines or fluidity of the dress as there is a seem in the back, not the sides as done traditionally.
Originally from Catania, Sicily, Spada’s earliest memory at the age of three is of helping his sister choose between a bow or not for her wedding shoes. Training at Saint Crispino Couture, graduating from the Milan European Institute of Design in Fashion and Textile Design, Spada has arrived on the global stage of fashion with his own interpretation of design and even business by focusing exclusively on creating individual masterpieces. Spada is an entrepreneur in the fashion business by recreating a business model of delivering individually created masterpieces to collectors directly. Spada is not restricted by seasons, pressure to mass produce, create garments for every possible occasion or even engage underpaid sales representatives or manufacturers. Spada is free to create according to his vision, passion and love of the creative process. A Spada garment is, itself, a work of art.
When asked to explain this freedom from traditional haute couture seasons and business practices,
“I choose to make evening dresses. I play with what I enjoy. There is no season for evening dresses, most heating systems are good.”
Spada has found success following his own path, his own vision and his strong belief that as he creates, he can only infuse his love, passion for each creation into the most extraordinary garment that is discovered through the senses of touch and visual presentation.
Spada explains,
“I take a different approach to clothes creation. It starts with the same supports, playing around, like a sculptor with clay, let the chance, destiny, let it be what it wants to be and what he tells you to be. Then you discover something that you didn’t think of. That is why I don’t rely on the beginning or on anyone else. I rely on me. Because of the creative process, you have to discover something new.”
Spada studies nature, even the molecular structure of glass and filigree. Noticing to always be present,
“in a way, there is no beginning nor end. First you are who you are and what you like. People are attracted to that, because you like it.”
With two collections available, Structured Fragility 1 and Structured Fragility 2, Spada offers women the opportunity to select a style that will then be tailored exactly for them - unrestricted by seasons, geography, industry traditions of personalities, eccentricities and labor practices.
Traveling to fashion centers in London, Paris and Milan and most recently at the Warsaw Fashion Week, Spada presents and adapts the creation to the collector, ensuring that each dress is transformed by the woman’s spirit.
A Spada creation is a timeless presentation, infused in elegant sensuality.
By Keri Douglas, writer/photographers, Washington, D.C. (Please follow 9 Muses News copyright use policy.)
