Irene Roncasaglia – Nicola Bacchilega, a young fashion and jewelery talent, founded the brand called Defaience in 2021 in Faenza. At just 34 years old, he is now known around the world and his designs have been worn by major Los Angeles celebrities.
What training path did you undertake to be able to found a fashion brand in Faenza?
«My background is characterized by sculpture, I come from the world of art having studied at the artistic high school in Faenza. Then I moved to Turin, where I started the Academy of Fine Arts, which I however didn’t finish, because I understood that my interest was in fashion. So I moved to London, the land of reference designers such as John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood. This experience made me grow a lot both on a creative and personal human level. I subsequently started working for Jenny Packham in the wedding dress embroidery department and subsequently studied at the London College of Contemporary Art, in the fashion sector. In total I spent 5 years in London and then went to Milan, where I presented my first collection, after an inspirational trip to Marrakech, where I met artisan leather workers. Thanks to a portfolio review by Vogue, they selected me to present the collection, created under my name, as an emerging designer. So they noticed me at Versace and I was able to work as assistant to Luigi Massi, the head design of the atelier. I came into contact with the world of high fashion and had the opportunity to learn how to build a dress starting from the bustier to the final part, making it into the suit. I mainly dealt with celebrities, so I left for Los Angeles and Miami, for the red carpets and events involving the world of artists, making clothes for Angelina Jolie, Dualipa and Taylor Swift.”
How did you react to the 2023 flood and what is the situation one year later?
«The studio and my house were located in Faenza in via Carboni, they were submerged under six meters of mud, unfortunately I lost everything. It was a great challenge to be reborn, even though it inspired me a lot and gave me the strength to create the collection entitled Anqa, the Arabian phoenix symbol of rebirth. In memory of this event, an advertising campaign will be released on social channels on 16 May, one year after the flood that hit Romagna. I am really grateful for all the help I have received and which has given me the opportunity to set up a studio and my life again in the city centre.”
What is Defaìence and how did the idea come about?
«Defaìence is a fashion brand that combines the art of ceramics and the world of fashion. The idea was born from some of my sculptures made in ceramic, instinctive clay modeling from which shapes that became jewels were subsequently born. My journey with Versace ended in 2021, when I decided to follow my goal, do something personal, tell my inspirations and my world through my voice, then Defaìence was born, starting from the sculptures created during school of art and combining new stylistic forms through the world of ceramics, faïence, with an act of revolution, defiance, which in English means being rebellious, going against the grain. My revolution consists in bringing the world of jewelry closer to art and fashion through the use of innovative technologies, such as the use of the 3D printer, and unconventional materials, such as resin. This is chromed and worked to create gold, silver and white reflections, symbol of Faenza majolica, representing the company. White also recalls the blank canvas from which the artist starts and at the same time my situation when I launched the brand. In addition to the jewelry branch there is also a couture clothing line which is presented exclusively to private and international customers. The garments of the high fashion line have been worn by celebrities all over the world: in Los Angeles, Dubai and Kuwait, and the distribution, at the moment, is mainly in America, Saudi Arabia and Norway”.
What is the working organization behind a fashion start-up like Defaìence?
«It all started with a simple idea and a great desire to do, now we still define ourselves as a startup because we are all young entrepreneurs. I mainly deal with the creative direction and clothing, both the ready to wear and couture lines, among the other guys who collaborate with me: Stefano Sangiorgi focuses on the history of jewelery and the brand, Daniele Mango, works in Milan, is our art director takes care of the artistic direction of the image and communication of the brand. Furthermore, international interns work periodically with us, through the Erasmus programme, for a period of three months with the possibility of seeing and experiencing first-hand the development process of a brand and in exchange we always learn something new”.
Given that it was born a few years ago and you still consider yourself a start-up, how are you positioned compared to the major competitors on the market? Who are they and what is your distinctive value?
«We are currently inside an incubator for innovative start-ups, Tech4Fashion, in San Mauro Pascoli. However, being an emerging brand we produce in limited quantities, in fact we make everything on request, facilitated through an online site which makes direct sales to the final consumer possible. Our added value consists in translating works of art into jewelery through the use of renewable technologies and materials. Most of the materials used are water-based dematerialized biological resins, copper which is used to shape the jewelry with the electroforming technique. The main competitors are other fashion brands, not the big names with which we cannot yet compete, but Jacquemus and all those who, like us, look to innovation, to the search for sustainable materials and which bring beauty and in fashion not only brilliance but also sustainability, as far as possible. Given our attention to the use of regenerated materials, we have established a partnership with a company in Milan that produces Econyl jersey recycled from fishing nets recovered from the sea with which we create all the clothing items that we make only on request” .
What is your strategy for promoting the brand, how do you make your image known?
«It all started thanks to the contacts I had the opportunity to obtain working at Versace, dealing with celebrities. Initially we were supported by Camera Moda in presenting the brand in digital form, because the restrictions due to the pandemic were still in force. The first collection was broadcast live on the official Camera Moda platform. Subsequently we made ourselves known through people, my goal has always been to bring the brand to life and make it known through those who wear it. I worked closely with Giulia Baggini, PR in Los Angeles who gave me the opportunity to introduce the brand to stylists and celebrities who requested our brand’s products, from that moment everything exploded. Furthermore, I travel a lot, I always carry some small samples with me, at a party in Paris I had the pleasure of meeting Belle Hadid who I made wear an earring and this also contributed to making the name of Defaìence known.”
What was the most important event you attended and why?
«The Milan Jewelry Week, which took place in September, was a particularly important event. It was a jewelry competition in which we participated with a ring named anqa anneau, anqa is the Arabian phoenix, an animal that appears during natural disasters and therefore represents rebirth. It has a bizarre shape, made of 18k gold set with diamonds. With this ring we won two prizes: the first prize gave us the opportunity to present and sell our jewels in a gallery in Paris, the second prize, however, is the Best Innovative Design, precisely because in our simplicity, in setting diamonds in gold, we managed to do it in an unusual way, through organic shapes that recall the movements of ceramics. Thus we managed to obtain a partnership with the diamond company Hrd of Antwerp, which is supporting us with the prospect of access to Vicenza Oro, the largest European exhibition dedicated to gold and jewellery, to present the high jewelery line . The Grammys were the other great opportunity, with my team we went to Los Angeles where I had the honor of dressing Demi Lovato, Kelly Rowland and Chloe Bailey. Thus the most famous celebrities wore tailor-made garments from the Defaìence couture line, during an event of international importance and visibility.”
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