Pierre-Antoine was born in Bordeaux, France. When he was 22, he decided to study textile design in Paris. Later on he continued his journey to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium to study fashion design, were he graduated in 2011.
Why did you come to Antwerp for your studies?
I was really attracted to the work of Dries Van Noten and Martin Margiela and they had also studied at the fashion department of the Royal Academy of Arts in Antwerp. So that inspired me to choose for the same school. I also felt that this city would be a great place to work with dedication and to develop my creativity.
What do you like specifically about fashion design?
After a few years I discovered I love working with unexpected materials. I am really into researching various ways of transforming materials. Creating unexpected shapes.
We feel your style of work is very expressionistic. How do you choose the themes of your collections?
It comes very naturally, I get inspired by elements that surround me, by emotions and my interpretation of reality. I watch a lot movies and do a lot of research on costumes and garments.
In what other arts are you interested?
Definitely sculpture, I love discovering the work of some sculptors and I feel that sometimes they deal with the same topics, shapes and materials. It inspires me.
Photography and movies also inspire me. They are two important media in the process of communicating about fashion design.
Do you have a Belgian influence in your work?
I discovered the beautiful work of Johan Creten. Belgium is full of talented artists!
I think the Belgian influence in my work would be the ability to talk to many different audiences at the same time.
Are you working on anything else besides fashion?
I am working on workshops with children. I am currently organizing these workshops for October. Besides that, I am busy working on my label — which takes most of my time — and I am also building a network in Brussels of crazy creative people!
Were do you see your future as a designer?
I see myself as an Artistic Director. I want to touch many different subjects and realize my ideas: from building websites, creating workshops, designing clothes and building brands to discovering talents.
Discover more of his work on www.pierreantoinevettorello.net
Interview in cooperation with the FFI.
