Del Core Fashion Special
INTERVIEW BY VISUAL TALES
December 2024
Photographer: Ben Lamberty at DeFacto Inc.
Styling: John Tan for Visual Tales
Hair by Pascale Poma at Celestine using L'Oréal USA
Makeup by Mara Cifronti using Pat McGrath Labs and Danessa Myricks
Models:
Diana Achan/Fusion Models NYC
All jewelry by Chris Habana
DDC: Every work experience that I made was very formative for me and very important. Everywhere I went, I learned the importance of being oneself of having strong ideas and executing these ideas in the best way possible without compromising. Craft is just as important as ideas. I work with some of the best fashion designers in the world, and that has given me much confidence and the strongest boost of creativity.
VT: These days, there are so many young individuals who wants to get involve or work in fashion. From a insider perspective, what are essential qualities you feel one must possesses to be a designer? Obviously creativity/originality is key but is that enough?
DDC: Being successful as a designer implies a very tough competition. There is a lot of people around who want to succeed and the competition can be harsh. For me, what is mandatory is having a vision, and working hard to make it real. Having competence on the product is mandatory because we cannot live off just ideas.
VT: Fashion is always ahead of the curve. Del Core already presented your SS2025 collection in September. For this editorial, the Del Core looks are from FW2024 collection, share with us your inspiration behind this specific season.
DDC: The inspiration behind this collection was the idea of a woman unfurling from a shield wrapped around her body. Emerging from wraps of cashmere to discover a spiky body and a colorful presence. The gradual unveiling reveals the emergence of a resplendent creature through a transformative journey. Revealing her body with myriad shades, the woman mutates, melting into the enigmatic embrace of the night.
VT: You have a background in architecture, ceramics, sculpture and at the same time, inspired by surroundings and nature. With the ever changing world we are living in, how do you think fashion should play a role in protecting the earth and preserving its arts and culture
DDC: Fashion has a huge responsibility in keeping the world as it is and in maintaining the arts as they are: it can do that through aesthetics and also through actions. We all need to be mindful protecting this planet of ours and foster beauty in its many forms.
VT: Due to challenging economic times and political turmoil, that creativity in fashion is becoming less fantastical and collections are now more wearable. What’s your view on this?
DDC: For sure fashion, overall, is undergoing a crisis of ideas and creativity. My view is that we need to balance the creative with the wearable otherwise fashion loses its dream and becomes bland. It’s certainly not an easy job. The business constraints can be oppressive.
VT: How do you envision Del Core, the brand to evolve? In other words, what’s your hopes and dreams for your label.
DDC: My hope, and my commitment for Del Core as a brand is that it involves keeping a strong, creative and inventive side together with a more wearable side, I want to explore the double personality of Del Core throughout the seasons, showing that the balance of invention and commerce is what keeps fashion afloat.
VT: Name a artist or designer, past or present, that you would like to have a sit down and get to ask all the questions about their work and how they approach their art so you can learn from them. Who would that be and why you would choose this individual?
DDC: That artist would definitely be Mary Shelley: I am forever fascinated by the power of words to give life to fantasies and create alternative worlds. Frankenstein is the first sci-fi novel in the history of literature, a treasure trove of everlasting storytelling. It is so timeless and yet it was written almost two centuries ago. I’d love to have a chat with Mrs. Shelley, on topics such as the body, eternity, invention.
VT: With so many collections to design, dealing with business side of things and finding inspirations for every season, how do you like to spend your time away from it, to unwind?
DDC: Whenever I can, I take adventures in the wildness of nature. That’s the way I recharge and get inspiration. Being in contact with the elements feeds my creativity, frees my mind and gets me in a good mood. On top of that, nature is in constant transformation, and that’s such a huge lesson for us all.
VT: Best advice you would give to young artists who also share the same dream you have. What would you tell them?
DDC: Work hard and possibly even harder, and do not fear failure: there is another way to get to the top.
Special thanks to:
Daniel Del Core for his time and for making this fashion special on Del Core possible; Diana Achan, Ben Lamberty, Mara Cifronti and Pascale Poma for their time and creative collaboration. Francesca Caracciolo Mastrangelo and Margherita Barbini at Del Core, Zoe Valentinuzzi and Ludovica Cortesi at Reference Studios; the team at DeFacto Inc; Jody Gordon, Travis Kipp and Dora Szasz at Fusion Models for their support.
