Wearable memory boxes: Leitmotiv S/S 2010

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is just one of the museums around the world where you can admire Joseph Cornell’s works such as “Fortune Telling Parrot (Parrot Music Box)” (ca. 1937-38), “Swiss Shoot the Chutes” (1941), "Soap Bubble Set" (1942), "Setting for a Fairy Tale" (1942) and "Untitled (Pharmacy)" (ca. 1942).

Fans of Cornell know very well that his artistic technique was complicatedly simple: Cornell would collect the objects for his works in thrift stores around Manhattan and then build these extraordinary little universes of memories – in some cases similar to fake souvenirs – at home, trapping in his glass-fronted and often interactive boxes collections of small trinkets, mementos and surreal knickknacks.

Cornell’s surreal boxes now live again in the clothes and accessories produced by Bologna-based duo Leitmotiv.

Fabio Sasso and Juan Caro based indeed their S/S 2010 menswear collection on Cornell’s surrealist technique, creating almost nostalgic collages of bohemian inspiration by irrationally juxtaposing chaotic prints in their clothes or incorporating small objects in their hats and brooches.

What follows is a brief Q&A with Sasso and Caro, but you can read the rest of my interview with them on Dazed Digital.

Question: Who is your favourite designer?
Fabio Sasso: I like Antonio Marras’s work, but our work is different from Marras’, as we try to mix different inspirations in it, such as art and costume history.
Juan Caro: I do not have just one favourite designer, but I find interesting the work of all those designers whose creative processes are dictated by many different inspirations. We saw Vivienne Westwood’s retrospective exhibition and I remember we read somewhere that, at a certain point in her life, she understood she was able to do whatever she wanted, yet the most important thing was understanding the direction she wanted to take and the final aim she wanted to achieve. As designers we find that many different artists, movements and themes inspire us, but the most important thing is focusing on our target and reach it.

Question: What’s your favourite item out of this collection?
Fabio Sasso: It changes a lot, and it’s obviously different for both of us, but for me at the moment is the collection of cropped ties and scarves.
Juan Caro: I like the collection of brooches a lot, I think it’s something that is rarely seen in a menswear collection and it represents a little step forward towards the renovation and modernisation of men’s wear and accessories.