Loafers, done to perfection
Classic, timeless styles such as loafers become unique through the creative touch of Francesca Levi, artist, designer and fashion creator who turns accessories and garments into genuine signature pieces. In her home studio in Milan, every object and furnishing – sofas, armchairs, sculptural lamps – and every garment is reworked through a hand-made process that combines painting, decoration, material research and artisanal practices. This could hardly be otherwise, given that she grew up surrounded by figures such as Giorgio De Chirico, Lucio Fontana, Roberto Crippa, Gianni Dova and the art critic Arturo Schwarz, an environment that enriched a wealth of experience which decisively shaped her aesthetic sensibility.
Developing a passion for clothing and accessories was a natural evolution, since every surface can become the subject of experimentation, manipulation and personalisation. Canvas, wood, metal and fabric are all means of expressing an all-round creativity that the hand-made gesture turns into a story. These are not museum pieces, but objects to be lived with at home or worn on the body. Hence dresses, jackets and outerwear in fabrics such as silk, linen, cotton and wool, which Francesca Levi personalises with trimmings, coloured stones and appliqués, brushstrokes and embroidery. These garments are paired with loafers, handcrafted by artisans in essential colours, which are completely transformed in look through embroidery, gold thread, three-dimensional details and painterly interventions in dialogue with velvet and suede.
The decorations evoke symbols, nature and imagination: light feathers, chains, crowned frogs, ornamental motifs and embroidered jewels. As throughout Francesca Levi’s work, the hand-made gesture remains at the heart of the creative project, which takes shape in the workshop adjoining her home. The artistic intervention always takes place on the finished product, turning the surface into a story made of material, colour and memory. Decoration is not an added element, but an integral part of the object’s construction.
In September, a selection of her creations will take centre stage in an exhibition at the Marco Bertoli Art Consulting gallery in Milan, held to coincide with Fashion Week, confirming the recognition of clothing and design objects as genuine forms of artistic expression.
