Issue #90
Ugo Cacciatori
Il Non Identificato
Born in Carrara and belonging to a dynasty of white marble quarry owners and artists, Ugo Cacciatori dedicated his young talent to architecture, eventually turning his attention to ‘futile ornaments’ while debating Adolf Loos concept of crime. Though successfully appointed by Valentino, Giambattista Valli, Romeo Gigli, Marni and several others, his main target has always been to find a hidden place where to create out of the established fashion systems. Starting from a little fisherman village on the border of Tuscany and Liguria and following the footprints of Byron and Shelley he got lost in the World, eventually electing Los Angeles as his inspiring nest. Some friends are missing him in Milan; others still spot him in New York. Moved by an innate curiosity, and by plane during the several business travels, he conceives life as an anthropological exploration of humans’ behaviors and their relative creations. He dedicates his time mainly designing a collection that picks memories from a cultural baggage filled with shapes, colors and textures. Still reacting to post-minimalism and neo-gothic attitudes in fashion, he’s expressing a new aesthetic possibility of romanticism in contemporary times referencing a wild but sophisticated style with a syntax that is closer to a novel than to the established seasons of fashion. The result is a truly Made in Italy man able to translate his culture in true craftsmanship as the highest expression of an idea. All while watching the ‘boot’ from a perspective angle, enjoying his dogs and the Californian lifestyle.
Having a life that combines what I like, from morning to night, is a blessing. I’m in a place that I love, I work freely on my own creations, I deal with people I filtered over the years and I’m surrounded by dear friends. But I’m not sleeping on a bed of roses to wake up at this. Life is always up to our own decisions. They take efforts and dedication.
My father made me travel since I was born. That sense still remains, to taste life the most. So I left home as soon as I could. I stopped in England for some time, I did back and forward from the comfort of my Country to the challenges of travelling, filling my pockets with memories to show the people I loved, to my family, to my friends. A lot of Japan, eight years in New York and finally LA, a city that I’d been experiencing for 18 years. It has been a pondered though sudden choice.
My very first Californian memories possibly called me back till I finally moved into them. Riding a motorcycle next to the ocean, the nature everywhere and the clear sky above, the smell of it all. It was like an amplified continuing of my childhood, those first sensations of freedom on the beach, the daytrip on the Vespa with my friends, hiking over the quarries. It’s the possibility of living those summers endlessly that brought me here.
The location is my house, the place were I spend most of my time, my nest. I just wanted to be portrayed in a simple way, with Etna, my dog, surrounded by what I see when I wake up every morning. I dressed up like any other day, with no special intention. Location and outfit where chosen already when I got them.
I love history. We are made of what was before us. I see this project as something that will get its value with time. I like to be part of it and I hope one day someone will watch and read all this with a smile on his/her face feeling some kind of connection.
An ambassador is someone that has been entitled by his Country. I wasn’t and, as for many of us abroad, the sensation is bitter. I’d rather be an example for those who are ready to leave. Our culture is in our eyes, in our ears, in our hands, in our funny accent and we all can proudly be Italians challenging the World, maybe more that staying comfortably, or uncomfortably, home.
