IF I had to be honest, I am absolutely proud of this post as it really addresses my love for whatever is creative. It combines past and current trends, movies and fashion giving birth to an amazingly creative outcome. Logically, you would like to know what I am alluding to. Well, today you will meet a rare and creative talent, totally Made in Italy. She is Benedetta Maione, the Neapolitan graphic designer who conquered the real, digital and fantasy world. This young woman is such an inspiration for me. Following a series of events, she dropped out the law school and as her next move, she decided to study Graphic Design.
Later on, Benedetta’s decision turned out to be successful! Today, Benedetta finally feels accomplished as she creates content for social media’s remarkable personalities and designs network and clothing lines. When I say “remarkable personalities”, I am referring to the greatest fashion figures alive like Virgil Abloh, Chiara Ferragni, Heron Preston, Amina Muaddi and Paris Hilton. Let’s not spoiler it all though and let’s read what comes next.
IF you want to know who is Benedetta Maione
For this endless creativity, what are your main sources of inspiration?
The detail inspires me, throughout the day, a detail is enough to attract my attention and give me that daily input. I have never been a lover of big things, I find the small ones to be much more effective. I think my peculiarity is the one of not having just a single aesthetic reference: I am quite versatile (moody I would also say). For instance, one day I am inspired by streetwear, another day by Japanese culture and another one by Miuccia Prada.
You did a wide range of wonderful works: among them, one of my favourites has been the one of combining Disney movies’ characters to realistic situations. How did you come up with this idea?
The Disney’s idea (which I love very much) is linked to the lockdown. I found myself in a completely new situation, far from my beloved ones, from my favorite places, where the only consolation was Disney +. I devoured Disney +. In that difficult moment, I let myself be lulled by the cartoon fantasy, I dreamt and wanted to make others dream. We were all locked at home and we wanted to look at the sea, at a sunset or a simple panorama that was not covered by buildings. Who does not dream of watching a Disney cartoon? Therefore, I decided to set them in my favorite places, in my home city: Naples. For inspiration, as I said before, a detail is enough.
However, Benedetta not only adapted Disney characters to Neapolitan landscapes but also to fashion. Indeed, she experimented some combinations between fashion and cult movies/series. IF you want to have a look:
In different interviews, you made clear you are a Neapolitan doc. How much does your Neapolitanity affect your works?
TOTALLY!!!!
You can see it through different works she did like the movies scenes adapted to Neapolitan dialect sayings or the Netflix series taking place in Naples.
Beyond the amazing graphics, you also created IG filters for remarkable fashion figures and brands like Off White, Jacquemus, Amina Muaddi, Anna Dello Russo, Chiara Ferragni, Peggy Gou, Paris Hilton while in the beauty sector, Benefit. To create them, you can decide on your own or you study with the client the best way to express the brand or character in question?
A fifty fifty. Of course, I study the client aesthetic first. Then, I develop a mood board and then I put my final touch.
IF you are into fashion, you would certainly remember last year epic collaboration between KITH and Gelarehmizrahi, which was an absolute bomb! IF you remember it, you might have taken advantage of the coolest filter embodying the collab. Well, that cool filter was made by the one and only Benedetta, whose inventive and creativity have been key.
IF you missed it, try to keep up and save it among your filters in use:
You never stop. As a matter of fact, you also founded the Anti Racism Club, would you mind talking more about this idea?
The idea comes from the concept of “Resistance / Existence”: a resistance to injustice and the existence of the fundamental human rights. Human rights are the rights of all: our rights and of those people around us, those closest or distant, it does not matter. It is an Anti Racism that fights not only the difference that comes from the color of the skin. The aim consists of going against all the forms of discrimination: ideological, religious, sexual, but also aesthetic. This concept of anti-racism goes against all labels, at 360°.
I saw you are a great traveller: do you think travelling affects a lot your creativity? IF yes, which city inspired you the most for your works?
Every city leaves me something, but I think the one that has left me the most is Tokyo. Japanese culture, anime have always influenced my work.
Among the works done, what is your favourite one which has made you more proud lately?
I always try to do new and different things, in order to tickle my imagination. BUT among all the jobs, the most creative was the one I did for a company that produces sanitisers. That was something I never thought I would have to deal with.
That job kept me awake for a whole night, I thought about it for a long time, when the solution was just around the corner. Sometimes the simplest thoughts are the best, so I opted for this caption: “The only one who never abandons you in times of need”.
Which brand represents your style and creativity best?
It depends. One day can be Miuccia Prada, another day Rick Owens, another one Jacquemus.
Future plans?
I do not like making plans, I certainly hope to grow professionally. I have many active collaborations going on, but as a good Neapolitan, I am also superstitious and in Naples we say “Prima faj e poi parl” (first you do then you talk). I am also quite romantic and I hope to be able to reconcile my work and my crazy rhythms with an eventual family.
IF you loved this interview as much as I do, make sure to stay tuned to Benedetta Maione IG profile. Make sure you follow her @benedettamaione on Instagram to keep track of her insane works!
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