egantly faded quilted pieces, via brightly coloured designs and un- expected contrasts, to metallics. A civil engineer, musician and interior designer by training, Rod- rigo Basilicati-Cardin took over the helm of the Pierre Carden company and design centre, which prompted us to start this interview by asking him how he manages to channel all his various interests... - Some part of my interests is reflected in everything I do. When you look at the material, you will see an engineer. I seek something new every time, a new creation, and particularly a new material that’s suitable for the environment, that doesn’t harm it. We must pay at- tention to the energy we consume. That’s why I turned to the search for recycled materials. Every recy- cled material is a blessing to the world. And that’s the engineering part of me. But does your inner inte- rior designer come to the fore in the creative part? - Yes, in terms of the way I draw and think. In fashion you can trans- pose every piece and shape, but not the sketch. You know that its oblig- atory for our designs not to follow the silhouette, as they are like sculp- tures. Sometimes they’re even al- most like an item of furniture. Apart from that, when I work with my team I don’t want to compromise on the final look of the piece, and it’s impossible to sketch every de- tail and convey a clear picture on pa- per. That’s why I pay great attention to finding a way to implement the design, and the sketch continues its own life in the modelling shop, where it receives its definitive form. What do we gain that’s new with the applying of sus- tainable principles in fash- ion? - As I already mentioned, these materials are upcycled and recycled. As I’m not able every time to find a material that meets our standards of quality or adequately follows our silhouette, I turn to my uncle’s re- serves of materials that are 40 to 50 years old. We have a huge stock,
with kilometres and kilometres of the finest materials. I prefer to turn to them if I can’t find a material that respects our environment. I’m happy that I have something from the past to turn to. Is responsibility for the Cardin legacy a burden or a pleasure for you? - It is an absolute satisfaction, regardless of the great responsibili- ty. After all, I worked with my uncle and watched how he worked for the last 20 years. I saw that he wasn’t playing, but that he was enjoying what he did. It is very important to find a balance, though my uncle set a very clear direction. Hardly a conversation can
end today without mentioning artifi-
cial intelligence. Do you apply it? - Yes, I am of course considering it. AI is cer-
tainly a tool that can help you find something that interests you faster and more easily, but it doesn’t
help you when it comes to crea- tion. When I create, I want to come up with something completely new, never before seen. Well now, I wouldn’t be able to create some- thing completely unprecedented if I were to use something that already exists. And if you want to achieve that, you first have to clear your thoughts and sit down to draw without a pattern. And AI uses - We don’t use it yet, but we are seriously considering it. That’s why there are, among others, young designers from all over the world. We have competitions several times a year. When we pick them, they spend a month with us in Par- is. They are around 20 years old and have a lot of knowl- edge about new technologies and artificial intelligence, so they help us. And, yes, the an- swer is yes – I will introduce ar- tificial intelligence a year from now. exactly that, for example. Would AI applications in production make more sense?
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