GIACOMO ALVINO
Profile
NOTHING UNUSUAL
Giacomo Alvino has just turned 33. He was ten years younger when he obtained his
diploma as a "Fashion Designer" (final mark: 110 summa cum laude) from the Istituto
Superiore di Design in Naples, his hometown. In June, 2004, he also obtained another
diploma in design from the Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome, this time, "honoris causa".
Nothing unusual for a young man like him who truly has a passion for fashion. Even though
he cannot touch it, even though he cannot enunciate the word.
Guido Cozzolino, former costume designer and designer, was the first person to
become aware of this young man's talent. A talent perceived by scrutinizing his sketches
and his eyes. In 1993, shortly before his death, he talked to the lecturers of a design school
about him and from that time, onwards, Alvino has never looked back. In 1995, between
collective and personal fashion shows, he arrived at atelier Gattinoni, where he not only
met Madame Fernanda, whom he adored, but also his "professional father" - Stefano
Dominella, currently sole administrator of the Maison. He remained with Gattinoni for a
two-year in-house training period and subsequently worked with them for another two
years. Nothing unusual for an individual as persevering and talented as Giacomo. Nothing
unusual for this bright, lively young man who is proud of his native city, Naples. In 1999, he
accepted the offer made by Monica de Vargas Machuga, president of the Neapolitan
Consortium, Le.Co.Le. which, in addition to other activities, also offers vocational training
in a number of sectors. And, it is within this stimulating and industrious context that
Giacomo Alvino has found his niche as a lecturer - a lecturer much loved and admired by
his students. Nothing unusual for an individual like him who believes in his field, in the
value of artisan resources and in the possibility of giving young people a chance for a
better future. Why is it that when asking him how he envisages his future, he replies
"vibrant, beautiful, serene..." Possibly even with the rediscovery of a past love or the
memory of the gift of an alluring smile. Possibly with a new shade of blue, his favourite
colour. But always in the company of his family, his fashion and his faithful computer which
allows him to draw, to teach and to communicate with others, in view of the fact that
Giacomo Alvino is unable to walk, talk or make signs on paper: a motor handicap that has
prevented him doing these things since birth. According to Giacomo, "talking and being
considered "normal" is my dream of happiness". Even in this delicate period of his life,
disrupted by moments of incredible personal joy and devastating historic-social issues,
where everything appears to make a mockery of human relationships. Hence, Giacomo
has not only designed a small collection but has also organized a powerful performance
like RE-SOURCE, a hymn to the possibility of re-birth, forever.
Nothing unusual, for the man in question: Giacomo Alvino
CRISTINA CAPRETTI