A few weeks after Mashable Social Media Day Italy, #smdayitontheroad makes a stop in Germany to meet Annamaria Maisto and her project, a talent incubator to introduce creatives and designers.
Creative, dreamer you are very active on social networks to promote artists and designers. Can you tell us how your online efforts came about?
More than commitment I call it passion, those were the years when we were not yet talking about influencers and social, specifically Instagram was still used only for purely visual communication, the years when fashion bloggers began to inundate brands/designers with the famous requests for collaboration in exchange for advertising, a malpractice that has come down to today, lo and behold, from that modus operandi that I did not share was born the desire to create a "space" to be granted without constraints and "exchanges" to creatives.
What goals do you feel you have achieved and what would you like to achieve with your projects?
This was the year of awareness, I never set myself a specific goal with my project, or rather I was only ever certain that I didn't want to copy or propose what already existed, the unexpected achievement was being chosen as a jury member in an important event/fair here in Germany of design and Fashion in March, and being together with famous international Designers and Art directors made me realize how much my voice and judgment was worth. The same goes for all the times I have been asked for opinions and/or advice over the years, whether it was from stores, individuals, designers or artists, I think it is worth a lot to know that I can help. Over the years came collaborations with/for other platforms and stores (officially and unofficially). Also being Art director of an online magazine ( Nouvellefactory.com) has made me grow a lot. For the future I hope to continue more than influencing to connect, create a continuous flow between viewers and Creatives.
Tell us in a tweet about your #imnotafaschionblog project!
#Imnotafashionblog is first and foremost a state of mind, it is not a blog, nor a magazine, it is an incubator of talent, visual art combined with scouting, free from the constraints and modi operandi surrounding the world of promotion.
www.instagram.com/imnotafashionblog
www.facebook.com/imnotafashionblog
You have been called the antichrist of fashion bloggers, do you find yourself in this definition?
This sentence came out by chance during a radio interview last year, in which we talked about Influencers, Fashion bloggers, Ferragni & co. I have never defined myself, also because with time I have not yet been able to give a title to what I do, there are those who have called me an 'Artist (visual), who a patron, who a talent scout, I can not fit into any definition although perhaps I am part of all of them in the same way.
You love fashion but you are very critical of what the fashion system is. How do you live this contrast?
It will be my artistic background (I attended the Accademia Di Belle Arti and did exhibitions in Italy ) that leads me to see fashion as an art form on par with painting dance or music, the expression of a thought. I love design and the combination of the two. Different is the discourse on the Fashionsystem that surrounds it/them, unfortunately I still do not conceive certain dynamics linked more to profit than to merit, what happens even in the field of Art exhibitions for instance, but I understand that for some people the former counts more, I would like to see more clarity and more concrete support at the moment one perceives to have a talent in front of him/her, here I connect to that dreamer in the first question. That said, I survive the contrast by continuing undaunted on my chosen path.
How do you select creative people to be known?
Visual impact is the basis of everything, I don't look at names, I don't follow trends (even if it seems a paradox) there is a lot of research, a lot of time spent scrutinizing profiles, images to understand the story behind the work in the case of an Artist or the collection if it is a Designer, I am mostly attracted to cuts and shapes, I love worked structures, that's why I focus a lot on pieces that are first and foremost design that are then wearable in the case of fashion is an added value, I think I have shown in my project only 50% so far of how much wonder lies in this world.
For the past six years you have been living in Germany, what differences have you found on a professional level with Italy?
Let's say that here in Germany titles and certificates are much more important than experience, with this I am not arguing about the value of studies or courses, but I believe in the end result, and honestly the production of a person with years of experience versus the immature one of a young person, even if titled, has its difference, here freelancers would not have an easy life, premising that I do not like the term, now used out of hand by many, but I believe that continuous research, trials, experiences and failures form the basis of a professional.
What does networking mean to you?
Connecting, whether it is a subject with a brand, a store with a Designer, an Artist count photographer, #imnotafashionblog and the other projects I am involved in are about that, to unite in one space, in one visual work multiple arts. and bring them together in one circle of attentive viewers.
Five artists or creatives you recommend we follow on social media?
A Photographer: Alexandra Von Fuerst
An Artist: Marco Rea
A Brand: Demanumea
A Designer: Caroline Holzhuber
A Creative: Boris Peianov
Thanks, see you in Milan!
Ilenia Dalmasso