Renovating a well-established fashion house or brand can be quite difficult, especially for a young designer. Modernising the accessory department of your family’s textile company could be even trickier. Yet Monica Faliero Sarti doesn’t seem to be afraid of challenges.
Appointed director of the accessory department of the Faliero Sarti textile company, established 60 years ago and specialised in the production of haute couture and ready-to-wear fabrics, she produced fresh and elegant collections, showcased last year at Milan’s White Club, Florence’s Pitti Immagine and Paris’ Who’s Next.
Merging classic with modern design, Monica recently created collections of delicate and light scarves that have the consistency of woollen gauzes.
Jewellery-like lace inserts and Lurex threads add a touch of luxury, natural shades, intense nuances and burnt tones create interesting chromatic contrasts, while multi-coloured hearts on soft grey cashmere show a modern Pop Art sensibility.
At the Pitti trade fair that starts today in Florence, Faliero Sarti will launch the “Faliero Sarti for O” collection.
This collection was born out of a collaboration between Monica Sarti and Antonella Gatti Fratini, founder, together with her husband Sandro, of the Whythebest Hotel Group.
The inspiration behind this collection is indeed the new hotel opened by the Whythebest Group, called Hotel l’Orologio and entirely dedicated to vintage wristwatches.
Faliero Sarti‘s new collection is inspired by watches and features blown up details of vintage mechanisms.
So far you designed roughly 20 accessory collections for Faliero Sarti, did you find it difficult to renovate such an established company?
Monica Faliero Sarti: When I first started working for the company, Faliero Sarti produced very classic products, such as scarves and shawls. I decided to revolutionise these products, eliminating the fringes and radically transforming the weights and volumes. I was very happy with the final results and the products became quite successful, especially abroad. In fact my designs became more popular abroad, in countries such as France and Japan where customers already knew us as a textile brand, than in Italy. 
This often happens as in Italy we tend to look first at what’s outside the borders and then at what’s inside. Maybe it’s because Italian designers have lost self-confidence and identity and we tend to think that others can do better products than us. Yet in Italy we have a great knowledge and know-how and sometimes I feel we don’t realise it. I think we definitely need a healthy dose of self-confidence and energy injected into ourselves, after all, Italian designers are able to create products characterised by clean lines and I don’t think they need to imitate what they see abroad to produce something unique.
Can you tell me more about your most recent collection?
Monica Faliero Sarti: The entire collection is based on natural materials. I tried to innovate cashmere accessories, exalting the quality of luxurious materials and experimenting with them, coming up with accessories in doubled or printed cashmere, showing that despite the crisis, there is always a market for truly beautiful products made following high quality standards.
Are there any materials you would like to experiment with in the future?
Monica Faliero Sarti: In my designs I often employed in innovative ways natural fabrics such as linen, hemp and jute since I think natural fibres can offer us an added value. I have also studied the possibilities cashmere can offer, since this material is a sort of symbol for our company. We managed to create a cashmere scarf that is warm enough for the winter and light enough for the summer, so it’s not only ideal for every season, but it’s a must for everybody’s wardrobe, a key accessory that can provide us with a slice of everyday luxury. I think in the future we will continue our experiments, blending cashmere with other natural fibres.
What’s the secret behind the success of your accessory line?
Monica Faliero Sarti: I think I believed in my identity. I conceive my collections as the result of a continuous evolution process, a summary of my experiences. I would never start making scarves à la Hermès because, though they are beautiful, they wouldn’t respect my identity. I think looking inside yourself and following what’s ingrained in your DNA will always provide you with the energy and ideas to show other people you have a strong product. Besides, quality is essential nowadays. I think that in such a financially delicate moment, those companies and designers who offer a carefully selected and researched product will not only emerge, but, above all, survive. In the last few years many low-quality products entered our markets and I feel that we are now finally rediscovering the importance of clothes and accessories made with quality materials.
Can you tell me more about your work for Chanel?
Monica Faliero Sarti: One of my dreams has become true since we started working for Chanel, a maison that represents for me the utmost chic. We supply them with textiles and re-elaborate for them fabrics and materials. Working with companies such as Armani or Chanel is very important and always wonderful since these collaborations allow you to widen your experiences and compare yourself with people with different backgrounds and experiences and a precise brand identity. Collaborating with such important names of the fashion world also means for me being acknowledged as somebody who, though young, has an in-depth experience.
Is there a designer you would like to collaborate with one day?
Monica Faliero Sarti: I would love to be able to collaborate with somebody like Azzedine Alaïa, since I think he does wonderful things. His knitwear is very elaborate, though, and it doesn’t really contemplate any accessories, but for the time being I’m happy enough to have fulfilled one of my dreams, working for Chanel.
Vintage Watch Scarves, a preview of the new collection by Faliero Sarti inspired by Sandro Fratini’s vintage watches, 12th–15th January 2010, Hotel L’Orologio, Piazza Santa Maria Novella 24, Florence, Italy.
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