Rome and the anima of its designers

This first tale is not necessarily about the designer herself as she was not present in the shop, although her work is amazing and we did buy one of her origami bags, but about the one person that is probably even prouder of her work than her and that is: her husband. Elena Kihlman’s husband could explain to you how each product was made with the names for every technique used to make it. His explanations were filled with so much passion, but he explained it in such a gentle and almost shy like way, that it’s almost like his love and admiration for his wife was translated in his explanations of the products, so much so that we bought many of her designs. In addition to the origami bags, we also bought one of her cushions. They are made in a way where the wool is not sewed in the pillowcase but rather hugged to the pillowcase - it’s a technique called Nuno. I highly recommend for you to go to the Mom&Pop shop where you will find the madly in love husband of the very talented designer Elena Kihlman and where you will be able to see and buy her products but also have the explanation of their creation.

The second shop we went to was JAJO made in Italy, we had the pleasure to meet the designer Rosario Migliaccio at his store. Currently the store is divided in two, half with in the products of Thisissacrante di Saraeluka which is a brand that revamps vintage clothing, and the products of JAJO made in Italy from Rosario. When I say that the clothes were amazing, I mean it. Rosario’s specialty is mixing and combining very different fabrics on the same garments which creates a sort of synergy. His fabrics are very technical and the colour palette of the SS25 is very earthy/neutral tones. The style is sporty, clean and the vibes are very innovative. You can see the amount of research and prototyping put into the clothes he has. The shop is called JAJO made in Italy and it is literally 2 minutes walking distance from the Mom&Pop store in the most gorgeous neighbourhood in Rome: Monti.

Cinzia Rossi is the designer of the brand CINZIAROSSI. If I can describe her clothes in a few words, it would be colourful, thought out, and one of a kind. Cinzia was explaining how even every individual button of her jackets is carefully chosen. She explained that the buttons are made from coconuts, making every jacket one-of-a kind. She even makes leather bags, and she explained to me that in her studio she has her sewing machine for her clothes and then her machine to create the bags, it is apparently the size of a 6 people dining table. She then went on by showing me her different patterns, some are in the fabric itself and the patterns on other pieces are hand painted by her. In addition to that, some of the fabrics used are vintage materials of luxury brands that weren’t used at the time, so when she uses them, she has to clear all the names of the brands. But, if you look carefully, you might be able to spot some brand names in between the inseams. If you were already heading to JAJO made in Italy, then you can’t miss this store (it’s literally 5 minutes walking distance) called Materianuda where you will find all of Cinzia Rossi’s designs and beautiful jewelry made by a Milanese designer.

In conclusion, I really liked my trip to Rome because I realized that its designers and the owners of the shops have such a vibrant and pure soul. You see their love for their art through their explanation of how they made it, and I think that is something you see less and less in today’s world. People – especially in luxury - are obsessed with “craftmanship” and using top materials but this obsession destroyed the actual love and compassion for craftmanship and materials. Elena Kihlman’s husband, Rosario Migliaccio and Cinzia Rossi are in love with how their garments are made, and so will you be once you check them out!

P.S.: we also went to Grooving concept store which is a shop that has brands like MISBHV, Ottolinger, Charles Jeffrey Lover Boy and AVAVAV (cutest rings ever!). There, we met another designer called Gian Marco Costella that creates the gnarliest artworks with dental typodonts used by past dentistry students.