WIA2017 Self-Initiated New Talent Category Winner
Biography
Rosalba Cafforio is an artist specialized in fashion and beauty illustration. From Italy. With a strong background in the fashion industry, nowadays she dedicates her time to create fashion and beauty illustrations for commercial clients and private collectors.
Website: rosalbacafforio.com
Facebook: /rosalbacafforioillustrator
Instagram: @rosalbacafforio
Twitter: @rosalbacafforio
Project Title: Alice in Wonderland
About the Project:
Originally developed for an open call launched by Marcus Kan, curator of the popular website Draw a Dot., Alice in Wonderland became the top piece in my personal portfolio at AltaRoma last January and was the one that opened Vogue Talents doors for me: immediately it was appreciated and reposted by Sara Maino, Senior Editor, Vogue Italia; the seed was planted and recently Vogue has published my very first own fashion story.
Brief:
The task was to create a fashion illustration based on D&G F/W 2016 collection, focusing on the fairytale perspective of the collection.
Research:
Since we are talking about fashion and beauty illustration, obviously my research cannot be separated from the reference collection and everything around it. Pure Zeitgeist. This generates a moodboard and the creation of one or more characters that I try to give a soul to, even before their physical features. In that case, dreaming of ethereal and exotic beauties walking on the cobblestone streets of Naples, Italy: the Asian girl from D&G F/W 2016 ad campaign, Cong He, was the one that got my attention. I couldn't help but imagine this Alice in Wonderland falling down the rabbit hole. Colouring with only the two tones of the year (Rose Quartz and Blue Serenity), using a bright light coming from the East and a triangle composition that gives stability (she'll need it), I styled my modern-day Alice ready for the Mad Hatter's tea party. And she'll be seeing a lot of wonders in Naples, you can bet!
Materials:
Wacom Cintiq. Period. I spent my early years in fashion design amidst markers, pens, paper and colored pencils. I kind of miss those days and the transition has not been as smooth, but as with the electric car, once you make this choice there's no going back.
Process:
Actually the Alice we're talking about is a girl in her third incarnation: there have been two stepsisters before, but I'm not too proud of them. The final work should be considered as a watershed. I booked a portfolio review with Fig Taylor of the AOI in the late August of last year, I guess you could say there is a before-and-an-after-Fig-effect in my production.
Obstacles:
We just moved -BAM- into a new house -CRASH- to find great silence in the sounds of nature -BOOM- and our neighbour started building works -WHAM- which lasted for months.
Insights:
This work was key to develop a more mature process that will affect the entire following production. Until next watershed.
Distractions:
My little son, a toddler who is now three years old. Waking up at dawn is a way of getting around this lovely distraction until this fall, when he starts kindergarten.
Numbers:
3 versions of Alice to get there. 3 publications for her: a local fashion magazine, Vogue Talents, World Illustrations Awards. 3×3=9, see notes below.
Reflection:
You finish your job: not bad. Five minutes later you take another little peek: yucky. The story of a lifetime.
Advice:
I suppose I'm not really in a position to give advice, I'm currently getting lot of them from my mentor and friend Nuno Da Costa. When I'm no longer a schoolgirl, I'll try to win another WIA to answer that question, OK?
Notes:
Summer 2008: Vogue, the Black Issue, was on every newsstand and I quit my fashion design job with dreams of being a fashion illustrator. Summer 2017, 9 years later: with this award-winning Alice in Wonderland and everything that follows I hope to be able to become a professional player participating, in my own small way and in the most inclusive manner, in building a shared beauty ideal.