- IWG Switzerland
- Jun 13, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 16, 2024
Over 10 years have passed since we first set eyes on Simone Marulli's creations. Our first meeting was at a fashion event in Milan, this was soon followed when he agreed to support a charitable event one of our Members of the Board was involved with to help bring awareness to the Island of Elba after a catastrophic flooding of the island. Since then we have had the pleasure of witnessing his ascendence in the fashion world.
We have been lucky enough to have him join us at the last three IWG Italian Creativity on the Runway events, his creations have now become synonymous with innovation, know how and Italian fashion design in Geneva.
Simone's latest creations are a tribute to the "sparrow of the chanson française", Edith Piaf .
As we sit backstage in Milan at the latest photoshoot (see the test run photos below) Simone tells us more about this latest collection.
"Piaf" Simone tells us "was a petite (piaf means sparrow in parisian argot), with a grandiose voice, who came into the world in a family suspended between art and life, and between poverty and the dream of glory."
A strong and determined Piaf was a woman who challenged the Nazis, helped prisoners escape and with her voice restored courage to the occupied homeland. The international success in the post-war period, falls and rises of an extraordinary and generous artist with a life that was not at all "en rose". Marked by illness, by the loss of a 2-year-old daughter and by the death of the impresario who believed in her and her talent, when not even she thought she had it. With her voice,
Simone is in awe at how Édith Piaf transformed an existence destined for ruin into a powerful instrument. " We cannot forget that she performed on the most important stages, from Paris to the United States, singing about the lives of the humble, the daily sufferings of poor people like her. But not only. She, who became a talent discoverer, was responsible for the success of the many voices that paved the way for songwriting."
How do you imagine Edith Piaf? "I like to imagine her in those distant 1940s, at a party, perhaps drinking from a 'coupe de champagne,' in the same way that I like to remember my beloved Paris like this, in the carefree streets in the shadow of Place de Clichy, perhaps with the music coming from the windows set in those fantastic typically parisian roofs."
Do you believe that we can return to what appears to be a long-lost elegance? I think we can. I like to believe that we can return to the great elegance of those times when the soft and flowing lines of the clothes marked graceful and absolutely non-vulgar silhouettes. Far from all the nudity that we are used to seeing today. Clean in the shapes and lines, shiny fabrics, satin, muslin crepe, fluid georgette and rigid silk mikado with romantic bows, wonderful macrame lace made on historic looms from Como , embroidery for the most extravagant bride, and small details made entirely by hand hand by historic artisans for a surprising new hyper-feminine minimalism that winks at sustainability.
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