Dinner with designer Prisca Vera Franchetti

ED

Why did you move to New York?
PF

I moved here kind of impulsively, which is something I probably wouldn’t do now. I was done with Barcelona, where I went to college, kind of fell for a guy and, in the end, it was really simple, but New York was really hard for me in the beginning. The first two or three years — it has been six — were quite lonely and painful, but you can feel a dynamic city being good for you when you are younger and trying to do something. So as much as my heart is still in Italy, I really felt New York’s encouragement for and investment in young people, and sticking around paid off. Here, if you want something you do it. If you want to work hard and you’re talented, you get a job. That’s not true for everywhere else.
ED

Does the city inspire your collections?
PF

It’s been pretty easy for me to be inspired up to this point, either because the city inspires me or because I am missing other cities and thinking about memories of other places or other moments.
ED

So why wouldn’t you move to New York now?
PF

So many things... I identify as an American brand and think I will be an American brand for a while, but I fantasize about moving back to Italy or at least moving the production to Italy and living between the two countries, but there are just so many things that became so much more complicated since I started PriscaVera. One of the things I miss the most is not being able to leave for three months to do something else. It became a really responsible, everyday job.
ED

Did it surprise you how quickly that happened?
PF

No, I think I was really ready for it. I decided I wanted to do it and then I threw myself into doing as much as possible. I think I still have that mentality. I’ve always trusted whatever feels right. It gets harder as sponsors get in the mix and shows and expectations and what sells.
ED

How do you re-center when those voices come in?
PF

I kind of go back to my young self. I try to remind myself that, at the end of the day, I’m supposed to make clothes that people like, wear and feel good in. Whenever it gets too complicated, I try to simplify, because it’s a pretty simple concept.
ED

Do you mean fashion or how you approach it?
PF

The reason I do it is quite simple. Of course I’m trying to make a statement, but what brings me the most joy is when someone unrelated to the fashion system is happy [with my work]. At my show, my happiest moment was when the security lady by the elevator came up to me and said, “I have no idea about fashion, but it was so fun to watch your show.” For me, that was so invigorating. It was a bigger compliment, because it was pure. That is what really brings me joy or satisfaction.
ED

And when you say you “go back to your young self” – what age are you referencing?
PF

When I thought that what mattered to me was the only thing that mattered, in general. When I was unattached to bigger money or stress-related problems. I loved how little I cared. As superficial as that is, it’s really part of the teenage essence: being unaffected. That’s obviously not the case anymore, whether you want it or not. That’s what I miss.
ED

Is that why you often say you are inspired by youth culture?
PF

Probably – or I’m just inspired by change. The idea of youth in New York is so different than youth in Italy or Spain, or wherever I travel. And as the gap starts to get bigger, I can see myself looking at what young people are thinking. When I was a part of it, I used to obsess about how that time was going to be remembered. As I get further from it, I get ever more interested.
ED

Is there anything you are seeing in the youth culture today that is notable?
PF

How teenagers are so easily obsessed with being obsessed. The self-feeding machine of choosing one thing. For a second it was 3D printing, and in my childhood it was marbles. It’s a random little rock that was a huge deal. All of a sudden these small objects obtain huge power and meaning. It is fascinating how young people decide which things become important.

At my show, my happiest moment was when the security lady by the elevator came up to me and said, “I have no idea about fashion, but it was so fun to watch your show.” For me, that was so invigorating. It was a bigger compliment, because it was pure. That is what really brings me joy or satisfaction.

ED

Did you always want to design under your own name?
PF

Eventually, yes, but I thought it would happen a lot later. I really wanted to work for other people and have more experiences and do different things, but once the seed was planted, I couldn’t think about anything else. It happened super organically. I had just quit my job and was looking for other jobs and got some offers that were related to design, but not quite just design, which is a difficult job to enter. So I started doing a collection, because I didn’t want a hole in my CV. I just started drawing and made some samples and really fell in love with the process. I felt that I had something to say.
ED

Does your process start with drawing?
PF

The very beginning of my process is color. I always think about color first, then fabrics and some sort of idea or inspiration, as we call it, just comes up. I don’t know if a day will come when I have to search for it but right now it just comes in a moment and it’s perfect.
ED

Color is obviously something people talk about when they talk about your collection – why does it play such an important role in your designs?
PF

I’m trying to figure that out. I never really wear color; I’m always wearing black, but I love it. When I was little, a teacher told me I was good with color in an art class, and I guess I believed her. I always liked to use a lot of color when I was painting in school and I have always had an important relationship with color. I’m not really sure where it comes from, to be honest. I love how colors change when you put them next to other colors – and how a color is not important or beautiful until it is next to another one, like beige next to neon yellow. That dialogue is very instinctual. Obviously they say from a sales point of view, the more black, and grey and white the better – but in the case of PriscaVera, it’s been the opposite: No one just wants a pair of blue jeans or a really nice shirt. I tried to do that – because I love a beautifully cut oxford shirt – but it doesn’t really work, because what is becoming attractive to people is something a little more special. That’s great. It’s sort of the dream to not have to do boring clothes, though sometimes it does help to have more muted colors that are going to sell better in shapes that already exist. I can start with that in mind and choose the colors, then all the other colors come in and I can’t really control it.
ED

How does being Italian influence your work?
PF

It influences my appreciation for quality, whether it’s food or materials or being attentive to detail. These are the things that make the difference. It’s such a big part of the culture.
ED

Are there any special places or memories in Rome that you draw from for your collection?
PF

In general, it’s the overall majestic feeling of the city, which I never realized until I left. I remember the first time I came back from leaving at 18. The first day I was like: I can’t believe I lived my whole life in this beautiful city and never realized it. I had always seen, but never looked.
ED

What is the first thing you want to eat when you go home?
PF

I always want to have a really nice pasta. Amatriciana is my favorite – also simple things, like a really good sautéed spinach, or just a fish. What I really miss the most – apart from really great dishes that I can have at restaurants, or even at home – are the tomatoes that smell so intense. Those are my favorite. You can even smell the vine. You can smell the garden. They say that smell is the strongest sense, so that’s also probably why I miss all the fruits and vegetables that are strongly scented. They are so available and also cheaply. Here, it is the opposite. If you want to eat a healthy salad, it’s expensive. Vegetables aren’t supposed to be expensive.
ED

Do you cook?
PF

I’m a terrible cook. When I was growing up, my father was cooking all the time and he never wanted help so I never learned – it works out great when I go home, but I never really learned. I think I have it in me when I really apply myself and I have to make a meal, but being Italian the expectations for a good pasta are higher, fair enough. And I live and work in the same place, which is separated but in New York, so it’s quite small. If you cook a salmon, it will smell for a week. And I’m always rushing, so it just doesn’t happen.

I remember the first time I came back from leaving at 18. The first day I was like: I can’t believe I lived my whole life in this beautiful city and never realized it. I had always seen, but never looked.

ED

How would you like PriscaVera to develop?
PF

In the near future, I would like it to stay the way it is and grow organically. I’m not in a rush. I really love doing it and I would be very sad if I couldn’t, so I want to make sure I can continue without taking too many risks. If it does get picked up by more stores, I encourage that, but I don’t want it too far out of my control. In the long, long future, I would love to have the means to put on big shows.
ED

Speaking of, people are very impressed at how you translate your brand to other mediums, such as lookbooks, videos and Instagram.
PF

Producing imagery is probably my favorite thing. My dream would be to focus on designing and be more involved in producing and shooting more images. Instagram I have trouble with, but it’s fascinating. It’s such an incredible marketing tool. If it’s done right, the product sells better. It’s a really effective platform. There are people who are convinced of a business formula – that you should post three times a day, that you should do this and you should make a campaign for that... It does work, but it doesn’t happen very organically.
ED

When it comes to time allocation, do you find it hard to separate your work and your personal life?
PF

Honestly, I don’t separate them. It’s really unhealthy. I don’t know how I am not affected in a bad way. It’s probably because I’m so invested and I like it so much. [PriscaVera] is still what I want to do when I wake up. I guess I am a bit of a workaholic, but it makes sense because it’s not consuming me, yet. I really don’t see it going in a good direction. I see that it is going to be too much, but I don’t think that I can take a long break in the near future. The whole operation would collapse.
ED

If you could, though, where would you go?
PF

Probably, I would take a long road trip in the United States. I went to Sardinia for two months before starting PriscaVera, because I knew that it was going to be impossible after. I stayed for nearly a month there, in my grandmother’s house, where there are no lights. It’s really very rural. After a while, I just became part of the place.
ED

They say Sardinians are among the happiest people in the world.
PF

They have a long lifespan. There is this really famous story of these siblings who were all alive and they were all between 92 and 102, or something ridiculous like that. I don’t think it’s necessarily the air or the food or the sea. I think it’s about the low level of stress. They don’t really don’t experience being consumed or the anguish – I think that’s the real killer of big cities.

Producing imagery is probably my favorite thing. My dream would be to focus on designing and be more involved in producing and shooting more images. Instagram I have trouble with, but it’s fascinating. It’s such an incredible marketing tool.

ED

Is your day-to-day quite stressful?
PF

I hired an assistant a year ago and that’s been great. And of course I hire contractors and work with people and have my Italian family of friends: my photographer, graphic designer and stylist. I’m learning and I want to learn more about how to let go of certain things. Before it seemed liked a much more difficult task, because I am a control freak, but I am ready for it.
ED

Is it hard to find enough time to be creative?
PF

Yeah, very hard. I really design a small percentage of my time. Well, I do design a lot but it is more in the back of my head when I am doing other things and then I put it down. That is the good thing about doing it yourself; you don’t have to present a lot of sketches, but I miss and would really like to engage in the process of trying, making mistakes, fixing them and seeing what happens. Lately that’s been hard to do. It’s been more about making quick decisions at the last minute.
ED

Which of these aspects keeps you up at night?
PF

My biggest fear is burning out. Right now I feel so excited and invigorated by what’s happening and I’m scared of becoming jaded and getting to a place where I can’t speak freely. Not being able to meet the deadline is a real fear too, but it’s super exciting. It seems so impossible and then it just happens. It always does. Sometimes I lay awake thinking about all the things I’m not doing because I am sleeping. That’s one of the reasons why there is nothing that I admire more than someone who is able to sit down, look into the horizon and be content with that. If I could do that, I would probably not be doing any of this.