1000 Ideas by 100 Fashion Designers

Alessia Giacobino/Jo No Fui 29

004

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Alessia Giacobino took

the world by surprise

in 2001 when she

launched her label Jo

No Fui and left opinion

makers impressed with

her sophistication and

determination. The

charm of this new label

was, and continues to

be, its individuality

and distinction, and

the overwhelming

but vague way that

it was radically chic.

Giacobino designs

feminine, elegant, and

cutting-edge clothes,

and they are set apart

by their tailored  t,

and the fact that they

are only made using

quality Italian fabrics.

The exclusive nature

of the collections is

guaranteed by their

impeccable made-in-

Italy production and

their limited and highly

selective distribution.

It is only possible to

 nd them in particular

stores, in the company

of the world’s leading

luxury brands.

Alessia Giacobino/Jo No Fui

www.jonofui.it

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035

C

OMMUNICATION

STRATEGY. My

strategy is always

to be in the best

shops and this is

proving to be a

rewarding one.

031 INSPIRATION. There is never a  xed

starting point in my creativity: it can be

a special item, a picture, a style icon. The

 rst hint creates a theme that develops

into a collection. The process is always

nourished by every piece of input, from

team work and brainstorming.

032 D

EVELOPING A COLLECTION. The

creative process is always linked with a

deep styling contribution. My designs

are meant for the style-conscious woman,

with a strong character that likes to freely

mix things up. The Jo No Fui collection is

made up of different items that are easy

to mix up. I do not want a Jo No Fui item

to be recognized immediately and be

stereotyped. I like my clothes to be de ned

as simply beautiful.

033 M

ATERIALS. Jo No Fui is an Italian

brand and my main concern is to produce

everything in Italy, all the way down to the

fabrics. I’m lucky enough to have the best

Italian fabric producers and this keeps the

quality level high.

034 T

RADITIONAL MANUFACTURING VS.

EXPERIMENTATION. As a woman designer

and after studying architecture I feel

quite traditional. I also like to play with

materials but I never go too extreme. I

always work on representative items: the

 are pant, the short tunic dress, the sporty

boot, the wide embroidered shirt are my

all-time favorites and I keep on proposing

them in different fabrics and colors as my

customers keep asking.

30 1,000 Ideas by 100 Fashion Designers

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Alessia Giacobino/Jo No Fui 31

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036 BRAND VA L U E S . My collection

represents myself as a woman and as a

creative designer. My taste is represented

in the collection. During the years this

has raised interest and clients now choose

Jo No Fui because they feel represented

by the brand style. That is, starts as

individuality and melts into a group of

women with common interests and taste.

037 S

TYLE. One’s style has a trace that

shows in every collection, I do not like to

throw anything away. I like the past and

history’s coming and going to be re ected

in the collections I create.

038 I

S FASHION ART? Sure, fashion

is crafts. I chose a water mill as the

workplace of the Jo No Fui team. Lost

in the countryside near Rimini, the

ancient mill facilities are still there and

we just restored them with metalworks by

Mutoid–a punk artists’ community based

in Rimini.

039 A

DVICE. My grandfather told me

once to always do your own things. He told

me that the best way to learn your own

lesson is to take your own risks, to always

look ahead and to not care about critics.

All power is in your will.

040 S

ALES. A good collection makes for

good sales. I never follow pure creativity

but I listen to my commercial instinct; so

far that is paying back. I do long dresses

if the collection goes on the catwalk with

short, cropped skirts. I always create

special items in the collection without

pushing too far on creativity and price.

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