“OLIMPIA”, L’INVISIBILE BELLEZZA
La sublime armonia dei sensi nella creazione di Mariachiara Martina
The Philippe Matthews Show/The Good Life by Valentina Cirasola
Oct the 15th, 2012
A few months ago, I was contacted on Linkedin by an Italian lady from Turin, a total stranger in my circle up to that moment. We started talking and hit it off quite well since the very first conversation.
It turned out she is the inventor/designer of Olimpia, a very particular necklace, resembling a corset, a bodice, an alter top, or a bit of an armor, depending of how one sees it. As we got to know each other at a deeper level, we found that our beliefs and thoughts are in agreement on various issues, as for instance the usage of natural material in our work, the importance of producing quality work with attention to details and the important role of a woman juggling business issues, while managing family and kids. She named her product with a woman’s name: Olimpia.
The name Olimpia in Greek mythology describes a plain in Greece where ancient Greeks worshiped Zeus and it was the site of the original Olympic Games. The name is more than an historical site. It describes a hypersensitive woman with a strong personality. Olimpia tends to be energetic, authoritarian and ambitious. She can also be shy, reserved and gentle. Autonomy, independence, courage and a sense of duty are some of her finer assets in the game of life.
Olimpia’s adventure started in a cold afternoon last winter, the designer recollects. It came from a creative spark and got centered in the mind of its creator, who is the owner of Fioredentro™, but when Olimpia materialized itself on the mannequin before her, the designer got a little scared and didn’t know what to call it. She was in front of a “creature” with a strong, unmistakable style and clearly needed time to get acquainted to it. A few days passed without thinking of Olimpia, until one day, the creator finally got it: Olympia is not a simple accessory, it is a metaphor. It recalls the armor of warriors in a shell of its own. An armor of flowers as a metaphor of us women being strong, determined, courageous and capable of going beyond what we are naturally predisposed. Compassion, purity, ability to see beyond set parameters, attention to small details while keeping firm the vision of the larger picture and a sense of the eternal are the seeds that we have in nature and that now, more than ever, women need to deploy and distribute. This is a great privilege, which belongs to us. This is Olimpia: designed to celebrate the woman and the feminine genius.
Fioredentro™ located in Turin, Italy, is the brand for fashion accessories created out of the ordinary. The company’s philosophy is to create a few pieces at a time and always looking for a synergy between different worlds and different materials. The designer sees things beyond their natural appearance, intercepts signals that allow her to give an alternative creativity to the material, which was intended for other uses, but not for jewelry.
Olimpia is versatile, made of three removable parts, can be worn together as in the photos, or each piece separately. One day Olimpia can be a necklace around the neck, next day can be a bodice, or just a belt. Masculine building material makes this stunning feminine work of wearable art.
The motto of Fioredentro ™ is: “Little by little”. A genuine creativity takes time to generate ideas and needs time to do it right.
Do not be afraid, says the designer, to move forward by distance yourself from the hustle and bustle of the production world of today’s businesses. To Fioredentro™, beauty is a “round” concept that affects the entire process, from the genesis of an idea to its completion. Her philosophy of “little by little”, for example, allows her not to lose a sense of work proportion, to rediscover the value of waiting for good things and to decrease the level of performance’s anxiety. Let’s move forward, then, with the “step by step” philosophy, which also allows her not to compromise the relationship with husband, three children and a pet. This is our social responsibility!
The title I choose for this article “Listen To Your Creative Voice” was chosen for a reason. The creator of Fioredentro™ who is an outsider in the design and fashion industries, reminded me of the dreams we are pursuing with a message to the world. In high school, she wanted to go into the artistic field, but she received a classical education. At the university, she dreamed of studying theater and acting, but she graduated in Modern Literature, with an advertising twist. Today, she manages and sells TV documentaries and publishes around the world, but finally she found a home for her creativity, which became too insistent not to be heard. All too very familiar situations I lived in my growing up time. I was sent to schools not of my liking, did good, achieved high grades and graduating at the top of my classes (I had no choice, but to do good), only to realize that my passions were in designs and artistic fields. I took actions when finally I didn’t have to please my parents and went on my path where I was supposed to be with my unique style and mission.
In my work, as in the work of Fioredentro™, I use natural, breathable material and fluid designs that are going to improve my clients’ life and are in tune with their personalities. I leave trends on the design magazine, if they don’t fit my message and clients’ personality. I also care for quality not quantity and I encourage my clients to learn to wait for that something made just them, it exalts the pleasure of being treated in the “special” way. Serving a few at a time is my way of conducting business, it allows me to take care of everyone without stress and take care of myself as well. Both of us believe in the philosophy of “the little by little” – quality versus quantity – family and healthy time off versus work overload and both of us have listened to our creative voices, something we could not bare not to listen. We have formed a partnership for Olimpia bringing originality to a woman’s body. Shortly it will be seen in America and hopefully around the globe. For any information, please direct your inquiries to any of my contacts below.
