"We need new analogue spaces to re-collaborate and co-create the society of the future," says Eleonora Barone, founder with Silvia Gómez Cisneros of MyMo and responsible for Friday Wears Grey (Viernes Visten Canas). This format, which participates for the first time in MADRID ES MODA in the C.C. Conde Duque, on the 15th, arises "to raise awareness that talent is ageless, we can’t continue to joyfully waste knowledge as is happening in our digital societies."
A claim they practice by matching senior and emerging talents from the culture sector to reflect on the differences and confluences in their professional and vital journeys. In this intergenerational adventure jewellery designers Helena Rohner and Ainhoa Casullas (Corres) have wished to participate. The result is surprising because "Curiously, there are many more common points than we think," says Barone. "Age, regardless of what the media tell us, is not such an important variable when it comes to creating and innovating."
In this sense, Rohner argues "playing ping-pong with another designer is always enriching. If you are young, and I think if you are older too, it is a way of perceiving other ways of doing things. In the case of Ainhoa, being initially a designer of textile fashion, it has been interesting to develop pieces that are not classically considered jewellery: softer materials such as ropes, ribbons of fabrics, metals that cross over like seams.
Jewellery pieces by Helena Rohner.
On the other hand Casullas confesses "a special chemistry both personally and creatively" with Helena: "It has always been very easy for us to work together. We have very different aesthetics when it comes to conceiving our collections but we understand 'new jewellery' in the same way.
Editorial image of the brand Correa.
But what do you think can be learned from an emerging talent? And what can a consolidated designer teach?
Ainhoa: The emerging talent probably brings freshness and innovation both in speech and in the way of communicating it. Both are important in a world where everything moves so fast. We tend to catch trends more easily and are less afraid to experiment. The consolidated designer, besides the knowledge of the trade, has a discourse and aesthetic that has been refined over the years. They have faced their collections many times and they know how to separate what is essential and what should be maintained, and what must be transformed in order to not be left behind. It is an exercise that generates a lot of wear and tear and is only learnt over the years.
Helena: I believe in collaboration. To create is a lonely task, sometimes even difficult to express and to define. Having people who know you and who have their own vision, is very positive. In our study we value all parts constantly. I was fortunate to work with a designer in London, Jacqueline Rabun, who encouraged me to make my own pieces and present them in Paris. It is natural for me to do the same when I see someone eager and talented. It has been a pleasure to have her close by and see her ascending route.
"It is very enriching to know and share the backstage with the speakers, their vital experience is inevitably linked to their professional," says Barone. "It almost seems to us that the most significant moments are those before coffees and our introductory talks during the moments in which the thread, the focus and the arguments of the meetings are decided and shared. With Helena and Ainhoa it was even easier, their speech was aligned with ours and everything flowed. "
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