Vivetta (Q3651)
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Vivetta is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Vivetta |
Vivetta is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
“Ask yourself if you’re ready to sleep,” a voice echoed from the courtyard of the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology. “Forever” by the Little Dippers started playing, and before attendees even realized it, we were inside Vivetta Ponti’s bedroom. “I imagine it to be pink and colorful, full of floral wallpapers fractured only by a window that looks outside,” the designer said, referring to her latest surreal element. “It is a symbol of appearance against reality,” she added.Starting from her love of interior design and tapestries, Ponti reinterpreted curated furnishings and romantic draperies. The most visible motif was a recurring side-folded pair of draped curtains, multiplying their shape via many different fabrics to give continuity to the collection. A signature floral print became the mold for clothes and accessories, lavished on light materials such as cotton and silk blends. Contrasting the femininity of fluid textiles, menswear touches completed Ponti’s vision: “She’s a business woman with naive details,” she said, pointing at pinstripes and men’s suit linings against baby collars and laces.Sleepwear emerged loudly at first glance. Pillows were transformed into light blue moiré tops and bags paired with Bermuda shorts, but the wardrobe became a whole when seen up close: It was all in the details. Transparencies, conveyed by tridimensional organza dramatic dresses, were borrowed from curtains once again, just like fringes adorning mini skirts. Moreover, a lily-of-the-valley flower embroidery morphed into its macro version on collars, shaping the hems of piqué shirts too, moving away from Ponti’s former fascination with roses. “I grew up in a household where perfumes were constantly drenching the air,” she recalled.Patchworking was the preferred logic for accessories, with Lady Diana–inspired choker and pendant earrings worn upside down. Glass-pearl assemblies re-created tops and belts, while Vivetta’s iconic hand collar was reimagined with red stiletto nails. The ongoing collaboration with Rosantica gave birth to a house-shaped bag set with 2,500 colored crystals that stood out, featuring miniature windows, blossoming flowers and the designer’s cats. Bedroom slippers inspired ribboned kitten heels; square-toed loafers completed the wardrobe.“My designs are meant for everyone,” said Ponti. “I imagine many different ages and personalities inhabiting my clothes.
” In the showroom a few days ahead of the runway show, her mother was wearing Vivetta’s collections; on the day of the show, kids paraded hand-in-hand with models dressed a “mini me” defined version of Ponti’s designs: For the first time, Vivetta unveiled a children’s collection.
20 September 2024
A woman who plays with her obsessions: that’s who Vivetta is for. She might read Polly Barton and recognize herself in one of the conversations fromPornor be a devotee of the poetry of Patrizia Cavalli, the Italian author who sculpts herself around the awareness of not being able to change the world. She looks like someone who can discuss sexuality by quoting literature.To step into the imaginary world of the Vivetta fall 2024 collection, you had to ring a bell: Cavoli a Merenda, a restaurant in an 18th-century building in the heart of Milan, was the location for the show. The atmosphere was intimate, like in an apartment, with a warm morning light and greenery glimpsed from the windows overlooking the courtyard. “This collection needed to live in a special place, different from the usual, reminiscent of the cozy atmosphere of my home. The poetry in the air is the beginning of what the clothes will tell,” said Vivetta Ponti. The protagonist of the story was a Lolita turned woman, with the allure of a naughty bourgeois wore lace stockings, cami-knickers or a chiffon camisole and patent leather Mary Janes. She could wear masculine fabrics but carry off hyper-feminine garments with ease, structured like the corsets and crinolines in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. “It all started with a rose: it’s the flower of vanity and absolute femininity, but it also represents the fragility of beauty. And beauty is something we should always take care of,” Ponti said.The rose was a recurring detail in the collection: it became a three-dimensional application, print, or embroidery, transformed into a Swarovski heat-sealed decoration or a bud-like skirt. Duchesse was the fabric where it most often found space. This woman loves velvet bows but also wears phallic-shaped jewelry; she can be both seductive and monastic at the same time. For the first time, there were also two men on Vivetta's runway.To the rhythm of “Blessed Obsessed” by Yullola, “Who Put the Bomb” by Jaakko Eino Kalevi, and “Your Silent Face” by New Order, the narrative became intriguing. The soundtrack, curated by Santamaria Sound Studio, unleashed the most entertaining side of a woman who doesn’t like to take herself too seriously.
23 February 2024
If there was something that stood out at this show beyond the garments on the runway, it was the image of Vivetta Ponti as a child observing her adult self. A surrealistic approach to everyday objects characterizes her perspective, and with her spring 2024 collection, she once again constructed the world she belongs to, but with a hint of disenchantment. It was like reading a fairy tale, a more mature one if compared to previous seasons, where the dreamlike element maintained a solid connection to reality. In the show’s venue, the Chiostro dei Glicini, a cloister that is part of a 15th-century monastery where wisteria climbs the portico columns, the music began with “Divine Failure” by Elsooyer and ended with “Mind Your Own Business” by Delta 5, in which a girl asks, “Can I have a taste of your ice cream?” And a woman responds, “No, mind your own business.”Ponti evolved her style while remaining faithful to the codes that define her identity, exploring polka dots as a symbol. “I thought of a polka-dot celebration. A happy bundle of tiny dots, a handful of hypnotic spheres,” she said. Starting from Beau Brummell, the dandy icon who made polka dots scandalous and popular in 19th-century London, Ponti explored a more graphic and less painterly language than usual. Polka dots burst like soap bubbles, printed or embroidered, in micro or macro versions, as cutouts or feather-covered appliqués. She found a balance in the combination with a Vichy print, characterized by large brushstrokes rather than lines, and in the three-dimensionality of roses as decorations. While the colors, from navy blue to “Vivetta pink” to acid green, led us into a bon-ton aesthetic, the jewelry—handmade in Italy— represented the eccentric charm of the collection.There was a pink cape covered in feathers, hand-sewn with a dégradé technique by Atelier Mazzanti; a very special golden bra shaped like a flower; a pair of shorts and a cropped shirt made with a smock stitch—an ode to Ponti’s passion for embroidery—and a skirt made from a combination of contrasting fabrics with pleats. Being Vivetta means giving space to a multitude of spirits.
22 September 2023
“The contrast between masculine and feminine remains my obsession, in my mind they attract and push each other away constantly: from time to time the volume of this contrast changes,” said Vivetta Ponti. “This time, the volume is high.” That’s how the designer introduced her latest collection, for which she looked to aesthetic and artistic references from the ’60s and’ 90s, including the Shangri-Las and Sofia Coppola’sThe Virgin Suicides.Formal pinstripe was transformed thanks to sartorial tricks, typical of the brand, in which the collar opened up and the blazer lapel became a choker around the neck. There were also flowing petticoats, with empire cut waists and applied needle laces and ruches. The contrasts didn’t end there. An ankle length, hazel trench paired with a minimal turtleneck might seem perfect for a man’s wardrobe. Instead the coat was decorated with maxi 3D bows with bi-colored rhinestones in gold and silver. The bows, in fact, were used all over: on velvet sheath dresses, flared micro dresses with contrasting lace, patent leather Mary-Janes, chain necklaces and maxi bags.The essential styling touch was the tights, also part of the contrast between masculine and feminine: in some looks they were an ice gray, super opaque knit; for others they had a plaited motif and were baby blue and candy pink. “This time, in my head, rigor and sweetness have made up,” said Ponti.
24 February 2023
After a few years under license, Vivetta is independent again. “It has been an opportunity to make some new research and, as always, I started from fabrics,” said designer Vivetta Ponti. A light wool in particular served to ignite her interest in the contrast between the feminine and masculine. “I love pulling up the classics and making them unexpected,” she said, pointing to a three-piece look consisting of a blazer, shirt, and pleated skirt that is in fact all one piece.Many of the looks were quite playful, but especially the patchwork print that revives the designer’s memories of the forest complete ducks and multicolored florals. Shirt collars, too, were mixed up—round and embroidered on one side while on the other square in a floral patchwork print.It is a collection that tries not to take itself too seriously, despite being very broad and Ponti’s attempts to put many things together. Where it was more focused, it came across more coherently. A recent collaboration with Swarovski has led her to include rhinestone details in knitwear. She’s also made a capsule jewelry collection that features a lucky charm dating from the ancient Roman period in the shape of a double phallus and a hand signal belt buckle indicating that everything is going to be a-okay.
26 January 2023
Vivetta Ponti knows that to talk about Lolita, today more than ever, she has to arm herself with irony. For the complicated world where the young women who might wear her clothes live, that cute, graceful, and naive style might seem outdated without a touch of surrealism. Surrealism it is, then. “From the hand-neck blouse onward, I do not tire of playful femininity,” said the designer.The garment Ponti referred to has become a kind of icon of her style, something every creative aspires to, especially in the early days. Here, the classic collar was transformed into two hands with lacquered nails in the gesture of fastening the first button. “I always repurpose it, obviously, with different cuts and variations,” she said. Built around that classic, her collection was dedicated to violets, early spring flowers, crafted from die-cut fabric and applied to skirts that followed the construction of classic mini models with pockets, but made of powder-colored chiffon. Then there was the “shirt that escapes,” as the designer called it, in poplin with chiffon inserts creating a breakaway effect on the sleeves. There were also skirts printed with the file name of the image sent in for processing, as well as a gigantic handbag and a wide-brimmed hat with laser-cut eye holes.Hearts were everywhere: fluttering on the front of microscopic skirts, acting as pasties on micro bras, playing peekaboo on a midriff-baring shirt. You could see the influence of the Y2K aesthetic in low-waist jeans (often studded with crystals) and shoes that looked like candy. The show was staged in a bare, industrial space to emphasize a move away from the cliché of hyperfemininity. And to seek the evolution of that iconic collar.
23 September 2022
Bows as huge as kites; cut-outs in the shape of hearts; roses spiraling in vortexes. Vivetta Ponti was in cheerful mode for resort. “People want to party again, to enjoy life,” she said, talking about the spirit of effervescence that infused her collection.There’s always a whiff of malice in Ponti’s idea of femininity, something bittersweet and surreal. She likes to escape to an illusory place, which isn’t dark in the least, rather fluffy and featherlight like cotton candy. The escape route isn’t surprising, since IRL her three kids and a very busy life leading her independent company keep her well grounded. “I’m a natural born optimist,” she said. “I have so many projects that I want to activate, so much energy.” Indeed. You don’t raise three kids and manage your own label if you don’t believe that the future looks at you with benevolent eyes, and if you aren’t blessed with ample supplies of a special kind of built-in propeller.For resort, Ponti played with seductive propositions—feminine sleeveless ’50s dresses with ample décolletages printed with roses; ultra short miniskirts with huge bows at the front worn with romantic laced-up ruffled tops; light tiered sundresses in crisp poplin inducing a feel of summery freshness. They were offered perched on towering glittery platforms, on sandals with fluffed marabou feathers, or on knee-high boots with heart-shaped cut-outs. Delicate jewelry was also part of the picture, as well as a pretty pair of high-waisted denim pants with a crystal-studded heart framing the navel.
26 June 2022
Pole dance and sexy acrobatics aren’t exactly what one expects from Vivetta Ponti, whose world is a surreal fantasy of childish innocence. But children are notoriously capricious—as a mother of three, Ponti is well acquainted with their nerve-racking tantrums. “Probably after the birth of my daughter Nina I needed to escape somewhere less homey and conventional than my everyday life, at least with my imagination,” she acknowledged. As a destination, burlesque seemed exotic enough.Despite the penchant for frilly, girly scenarios, naughtiness is a familiar subtext in Vivetta’s world: Ponti said that what inspired her to start her label in the first place was reading Vladimir Nabokov’sLolita. Looking back at her beginnings, for fall she re-edited a white lace see-through blouse with velvet heart appliqués,Lolita-esque and virginal. “It’s also a bit Cicciolina,” she joked, referring to the Italian porn star Ilona Staller, also famous because of her brief marriage to Jeff Koons.Once the pole dance extravaganza was set in motion, Ponti went all out with the appropriate paraphernalia of thigh-high, platform vinyl boots and long patent leather gloves with embroidered red-painted nails. Red lace baby dolls, skimpy bodysuits with Peter Pan round collarettes, and short pouf dresses embroidered with fluffy feathers or ruffled bows were all part of the burlesque wardrobe.Collaterals not immediately related to pole dancing and slightly inconvenient for such an activity were little masculine coats in macro houndstooth, cargo pants in tweed or chiffon, and extra-long dresses in black lace. But Ponti didn’t seem to care. “It’s just about the fantasy of being someone different from what you are,” she said.
25 February 2022
With a few exceptions, women designers don’t live in the fashion bubbles that their male counterparts seem to inhabit. They mostly lead normal, relatable, hardworking lives—work and family, family and work. Occasionally, they give birth to babies, who differ from other babies only in the fact that they’re provided with a rather fabulous wardrobe from day one. Vivetta Ponti just welcomed her third child, an adorable little angel called Nina. She also just moved into a bigger apartment while working on multiple collections, the pandemic raging outside the door notwithstanding. Her nanny has been sick and on leave. On a Zoom call, she looked chirpy and fresh as a rose. One wonders how she does it. Ponti just shrugged, brushing the question aside.Ponti may be rooted in reality, but she has the magical thinking and poetry of a child—obsessive, surreal, and obstinate. “My collections are like dreams without logic,” she said. The abundance of references she scatters across them apparently don’t make sense. Yet, as is the case for pre-fall, they improbably coalesce in the form of covetable dresses printed with collages of old Flemish paintings, quilted piuminos with incongruous trims of feathers, and gray flannel pant suits boasting collarettes embroidered with graceful intertwined hands whose nails are painted red.It comes as no surprise that Ponti likes André Breton, the father of Surrealism. “What he said is that we have to free the mind and recapture the sense of wonder, beyond any aesthetic or moral worry,” she explained. That’s easier said than done, but giving her imagination free rein seems to come naturally for Ponti. With what she called “contemporary deconstructivism,” she practiced what Breton preached, mixing the psychedelia of the ’60s and the minimalism of the ’90s, the somber atmospheres of Flemish old masters’ paintings with “psycho-pop surrealism,” and Victorian tapestries and Op-Art. Fluctuating between huge padded stoles in the form of embracing hands, fluorescent Lolita-esque lingerie twisted into evening dresses, and demure pleated skirts fit for a schoolteacher, the world of Vivetta Ponti is not unlike a twilight zone, sweet and a bit kooky, where fashion is a dream, and reality is just over the rainbow.
21 January 2022
To the joy of all the fashionistas who couldn’t wait to queue outside show venues again, most designers in Milan went for physical formats for spring. One of the few exceptions was Vivetta Ponti, who stuck to a digital presentation. “But I didn’t want to go emotional or too artsy,” she said at a preview. “It’s just a simple video of a plain, normal catwalk, models wearing dresses, music, the whole shebang.”‘Normal’ is a concept that applies to Ponti’s work only tangentially, as it often stretches beyond the conventional, twisted into something gracefully surreal. The so-called normal catwalk she referred to was actually the ice rink of Milan’s Palazzo del Ghiaccio (Ice Palace), where real ice skaters were filmed twirling, pirouetting and doing arabesques wearing Vivetta’s space-age-inspired trapeze dresses fluttering with feathers, or second-skin long johns printed in distorted ’60s Op-Art florals. Vivetta called them Barbarellas On Ice.But why such fascination with the ’60s? Ponti said that it was a time of possibilities, of unconventional fashion, of faith in scientific discoveries—rockets roaming space, new galaxies seemingly just around the corner, man walking on the moon. “The moon wasn’t available, so I thought ice could somehow be a substitute for the lunar feel I wanted to convey,” she joked.The performance was certainly otherworldly in its weightless abstraction, but the ice skaters’ bodies were very much real—and looked powerful, exuding joy and confidence. Ponti explained that she wanted to work with talented artists but also real women, every one with a different and unique body: “women committed to their passion and excellent in their art but authentic, living normal lives; no divas, setting an example but also relatable. They’re inspiring, but they don’t feel distant,” she said.The skaters were free to butterfly jump and bracket turn in Ponti’s ’60s frocks—minidresses encrusted with vintage jewelry or studded with huge circular sequins in recycled plastic; airy one-pieces in bright optical prints; sleeveless clean-cut shifts embroidered in multicolor feathers and matching fishnet stockings. The performers looked cool and expressive, exuding vitality and strength. “Women’s bodies are the celebration of life,” concluded Ponti, who’s expecting her third child. It’ll be a girl.
22 September 2021
Vivetta Ponti’s surrealist mash-up of references was more extravagant than usual for resort. According to the designer, it was the joy of returning to a semblance of freedom that triggered her effervescent mix of inspirational imagery.On a Zoom call, the chirpy Ponti discussed her rather incongruous seasonal mood board: Among the images were Victorian tapestries and Jane Austen novels; Yayoi Kusama; ’60s kinetic art and distorted graphics; and ’70s hostess gowns for home entertaining. Marabou-fluffy boudoir lingerie, industrial graffiti, and Japanese manga also made the cut.The results looked less kooky than such a pastiche might suggest. Silhouettes were either billowy (a sundress in pink tie-dyed cotton organza with a detachable collarette was delightful) or slim and Empire-waist (a mint green tiered dress in crocheted cotton with tiny spiraling ruches seemed fit for a pretty rag doll). A black and white Mary Quant-ish print of distorted daisies gave a roomy blouse and matching wide cropped pants a twist of ’60s extravagance. Marabou feathers in a symphony of pinks sprouted with fluffy conviction on a strawberry and candy pink striped A-line minidress and on a geranium red and bubblegum pink tank top worn under a poplin pantsuit; they also coquettishly trimmed a ballet-pink T-shirt emerging from flamingo-pink denim dungarees. “I wanted to have fun and to give my fantasy free rein,” said Ponti. “ I feel that today we need special pieces, unconventional and extravagant. We want to be surprised and enchanted by fashion.”
14 June 2021
Don’t be fooled by Vivetta Ponti’s soft-spoken voice and glowing skin. Behind her apparent sweetness and luminosity, a somber sensibility lurks. Even if her surreal streak never really takes a turn toward darkness, the temptation is probably there. That’s the feeling elicited by her fall look book shoot, which was shot by the Dutch photographer Paul Kooiker. A frequent Rick Owens collaborator and an artist with an elegantly depraved streak somehow reminiscent of Hans Bellmer, Kooiker’s aesthetic doesn’t seem to jibe with Vivetta’s childish surrealism. But children aren’t always such innocent creatures, are they?In the hazy light of Kooiker’s images, models stand in awkward positions, sometimes pictured with their face hidden behind a wig, like a mask: “There’s an ambiguous, elusive energy which I find fascinating,” said Ponti of the pictures. A hallucinogenic floral hinted at a gently distorted reality. Tying the collection together, it appeared on a short nylon pinafore, a quilted shirt coat with matching minidress, and a ’70s-ish ankle-grazing day dress with a prim white collar, as well as on an intarsia trapeze coat.The collection’s most striking details were the blond braids dangling as straps from a hoodie or tied at the waist as drawstrings on a sweatshirt. They looked positively spooky. Asked about the choice, Ponti, who wears her hair closely cropped and bleached blonde, explained: “I wish I had long hair to do my braids. I’ve also made a dark brown version, if you prefer.”
26 February 2021
Vivetta Ponti’s sensibility for quaint romanticism is one of her most distinctive creative traits. “But I like to somehow break the spell with something unexpected, almost unsettling and surreal,” she pointed out during a showroom visit. In fact, the inspiration she picked up for pre-fall didn’t strictly conform to conventional standards of whimsy. She turned to the ’90s revival of 1960s British Mod culture, when rule-breaker transgression and experimentation were the mots d’ordre.References are never literal for Ponti; her peculiar imagination restyles them into something altogether different. For pre-fall she scanned the collection through a sort of blown-up and distorted lens. The classic tartan pattern in black and red checks was either mixed with clashing striped motifs, or exploded into a macro block-colored composition; and small-scale floral prints were given a sort of psychedelic wavy and fluid modulation, as if they were altered through a filter.Ponti’s approach to daywear was equally imaginative. A piumino cape in lipstick red was cut in the shape of a hand; a white poplin oversized shirt was a rather madcap assemblage of sideways knotted sleeves, mini-pockets shaped like shirts, and a huge detachable collar sporting ruffled heart-shaped cut-outs. Ruched trimmings ran asymmetrically on a bright red skirt suit, while paisley motifs were enlarged to extravagant proportions and printed in vivid colors on a big black faux-fur overcoat.Recycled wools and polyesters were used throughout the collection; denim washes were certified non-toxic. Ponti’s imagination can be quirky and amusing, but her commitment to sustainable practices sounds entirely serious.
12 January 2021
Our imperiled natural world is a huge concern for us all; it’s our duty to take action. Designers have answered this call in their own ways, often putting nature at the core of their post-quarantine collections. But Vivetta Ponti went a bit further. Her spring collection was photographed and filmed from the point of view of an ant—that is, from the ground up. Apparently, ants’ eyes work like wide-angle lenses. Hidden in the grass among daisies and wildflowers, the ant in question actually did quite a good job as an avant-garde filmmaker.Ponti has always loved fairy tales. Season after season, she stays true to her very peculiar vision of a childlike, enchanted world, where reality only intrudes tangentially, as if by accident. Even if she doesn’t possess the magic of a visionary, she believes in the transformative power of poetry and imagination. It isn’t a bad belief, is it?Reading to her children from an illustrated book of Aesop’s fables, she was struck by how the famous tale “The Grasshopper and the Ant” felt somehow relevant today in its ethical message. “The Grasshopper is all about carelessness, wasting away resources and riches, not thinking about tomorrow,” she explained. “The Ant is parsimonious, considerate, mindful. She’s creative, making the most out of what she’s got. She isn’t afraid of the hard work. I believe that the ant has the upper hand! Values like patience, concentration, strength, and resistance are pivotal to overcome today’simpasse.”Times are indeed difficult, especially for small independent companies, but moving forward at her steady, cautious pace is the only option Vivetta is considering. She thought that the time was right to launch a new line of semiprecious jewelry, which complements her spring collection. Ants, bees, butterflies, smiling lips, and long-fingered hands with red-lacquered nails feature as pendants, earrings, and brooches pinned onto a round-collared, tiered, and tiny-ruffled dress in nude tulle, or onto the bodice of a black cotton sundress, its skirt as puffy as a tea cozy.One can easily find Vivetta’s vision too sugary and out of sync with our hyper-intellectualized way of thinking. But sometimes the ingenuity of a fairy tale is the simplest and most effective key to intuitively understanding the world—just ask a child.
24 September 2020
Vivetta Ponti spent the quarantine with her family in Umbria, a region in central Italy with a raw and rather mystic countryside. She tended to her garden and planted vegetables—tomatoes are apparently growing there with unusual abundance—and focused on simple things. Time slowing down. Domestic pleasures soothing the worries coming from the outside world. No wonder her new collection is inspired by the spring blooming of flowers and plants. “Seeing nature growing so powerfully while technology was keeping us constantly but immaterially connected was such a peculiar experience,” she said.The comfort nature provided Ponti and her children during lockdown was captured as a sort of ‘souvenir of the moment’ in the collection’s leitmotif, the delightful micro-floral motifs she used almost obsessively on embroidered-collared, doll-shaped, frilly little dresses. Alice in Wonderland colors—virginal white or primrose yellow, mint green, baby blue—conveyed images of romantic, pastoral bliss, with broderie anglaise, macramé lace, and floral appliqués adding to the feel.Beneath the sweetness of her manners and the fantasy universe her creations seem to inhabit, Vivetta is a very pragmatic, business-savvy woman. Lockdown gave her the time to reflect on her creative practice and on the direction in which she’d like to steer her independent company in the future. She’s been active in the Rewiring Fashion group conversations promoted by Dries Van Noten. “The pandemic has been a terrible thing, but it has had its unexpected silver lining,” she reflected. “Being able to slow down, to focus on my collection properly, without being rushed to churn out incessantly huge, unnecessary quantities of clothes—it has been truly beneficial.”Ponti is rethinking her production approach to reduce waste, working on a more focused range of options, emphasizing organic and recycled fabrics, and upcycling as much as possible. She is also keen to reveal collections in a different format in the future, relying more on intimate presentations. “We are a niche brand and I’d like to remain so; I have a small team, I design everything myself. I don’t need blockbuster productions,” she said. She plans to increase collaborations with artists, fellow designers, and creatives she admires. “I’d like my work to keep a more human pace. Fashion calendars have stifled creativity: You’re forced every month and a half to come up with new ideas, no matter what. Your creativity becomes diluted.
I want to have the time to reflect and absorb what’s going on in the world, and to make it part of my work.”
14 July 2020
Vivetta Ponti wanted to keep things simple for fall. “With everything going on in the world, it didn’t feel right to propose complicated, overdone looks,” she said before today’s show. Good point. Yet Ponti’s idea of simplicity isn’t exactly restrained, and no matter how much the world is going awry, her filter is always rosy. Even her concerns about the environment, albeit serious, were rendered with an imaginative naïveté.Ponti worked with upcycled and certified recycled fabrics on 30% of the fall collection. On each sustainably produced garment, the customer will find a label with a letter from the designer, explaining in simple and poetic terms why she decided to embrace that choice: “I want to leave a better world for my kids, Otto and Tito, and for all the kids out there,” she said. “I want seasons to be real seasons: snow in winter and sun in summer, and not the other way round; I want animals living happy and protected.”The way Ponti conveyed her message was quintessentially Vivetta, that is, whimsical and poetic. She worked on a motif depicting a landscape as if it were drawn by a child’s hand—little houses, green gardens and woods, birds chirping, the sun shining bright. It was printed on a floaty tiered dress and a fake-fur vest; it was also appliquéd on an elongated pinafore and patchworked on a voluminous coat.The designer proposed simple silhouettes and didn’t indulge in embellishments or overdecorating, as she sometimes does. The ubiquitous tailoring was given an imaginative spin. A good example of a Vivetta-esque suit was a shapely short jacket with a little schoolgirl collar, cut in a masculine houndstooth wool. On the matching circle skirt, huge 3D appliquéd daisies bloomed as if in a garden. It could be appropriate attire for an environmentalist march.
20 February 2020
Every designer worthy of his name relies on a moodboard to visually articulate his inspiration—a cut-and-paste collage of archival images, the more abstruse the better. Sometimes moodboards look better than the actual collection whose narrative they intend to represent. Sometimes they’re truly artsy assemblages that help you understand the mindset the designer wants to convey. But so far nobody had ever thought of actually using his moodboard as a template for a print in the collection. Enter Vivetta designer Vivetta Ponti, who’s second to none when it comes to finding a surrealist, almost incongruous inspiration. She had her moodboard of the vintage postcards she’s fond of rendered as a photographic pattern that was used throughout her pre-fall collection.Accentuating contrasts, Ponti offered two different silhouettes: one girly, almost doll-like and puffy; the other more tailored and disciplined—a rare feature chez Vivetta. Her sense of order is twisted with a childlike streak, but as every mum knows the sweetest kid can become unpredictably rebellious and disobedient. Unsurprisingly, her tailored pantsuits came in a mash-up of checkered wools, with classic blazers sporting attached trompe l’oeil waistcoats. Leopard-printed sporty nylon anoraks had Pierrot-like ruched collars; worn over slim houndstooth citycoats, they gave a further extravagant twist to rather sensible ensembles. The ubiquitous piumini were fluffy and ruched, boasting bows on pockets or rendered in a sugary shade of macaron pink. The military inspiration appeared as a new version of camouflage, where the designer’s beloved silhouettes of cats were blended into an abstract motif. It was aptly called cat-ouflage.
17 January 2020
Vivetta Ponti’s maternal grandmother was Greek; family pictures of holidays spent in Greece were on the designer’s mind as an inspiration for Spring. The collection wasn’t about the folklore-tinged Greece of tourist board adverts, though—no modest tavernas or barefoot sirtakis on the beach. Rather it was Aristotle Onassis sailing to Skorpios on his yacht, with an upper-crust crew in tow. Think stylish women who love a change of outfit several times a day, even when the yacht stops in a port for lunch at a simple taverna.In the collection, the summery, optimistic, fresh feel of crisp white cotton sundresses printed with geometric motifs contrasted with the glamour of jewel-toned pouf bloomers and bustiers in silk duchesse, heart-shape-embroidered with sparkling crystals and topped with feathered hats. “I love feathers, they’re so dreamy,” chirped Ponti backstage. Sure, but it looked as if she’d overdosed on them, lavishly trimming the sleeves of dramatic black numbers or the hem of ’60s-inspired trapeze dresses. They seemed more fit for a society swan holidaying in Palm Beach than on a small, unpretentious Greek island.There was a lot else going on in the show, which felt like a medley of Vivetta’s greatest hits; at times, an abundance of visual information seemed to dilute Ponti’s message. The best part was the shirting, where the surrealist verve she favors was displayed with humorous grace on elongated masculine poplin shirts or striped shirt-blazers encrusted with appliqués of Greek statues, lips, hands, and cameos, or else embroidered with cut-out florals. Paired with macramé miniskirts, Swarovski-embellished micro-shorts, or slim capri pants, they hit the right tone of cheerful, imaginative freshness.On an interesting note, the show marked a collaboration between Ponti and French artist Garance Vallée, who envisioned a set installation with a sculptural quality. Ponti’s artsy spirit would surely be energized by more of these creative conversations.
19 September 2019
Vivetta Ponti’s unbridled fantasy took her on a surrealist trip for Resort; she made a collage “like a postcard from a dreamlike place,” she said, putting together a landscape of gardens and ruins, where a little dog wanders in happy company with a leopard, a suitcase, a string of pearls, and a pineapple. But it’s summer, and a trip to the seaside is always in the cards even in the most improbable fairy tales, so she added plenty of corals and marinière knots and bows. Open-wide eyes, smiling lips, and delicate hands were also scattered hide-and-seek style among flowers and foliage. Voilà! The imaginative patterns for the Resort collection were set.A ’70s flair was infused in long, fluid printed dresses à la Ossie Clark. V-necked, high-waisted, and billowy-sleeved, they contrasted with more voluminous tiered numbers, crisp and poufy as delicious meringues. There were also cotton tea dresses in broderie anglaise fit for a garden party with Alice in Wonderland. Huge trompe l’oeil bows were knitted onto marinière sweaters paired with plissé skirts or transformed into capelet sleeves capping short trapeze poplin dresses. Layers of flimsy lace graced flowing ruffled dresses, adding more romance. On a contrasting note, small graphic motifs usually printed on masculine ties were reproduced on blouses, worn with slouchy pants and ’70s-flavored slim-fitting dusters.
14 June 2019
Vivetta Ponti lives in a creative dimension all her own. Trying to detect current trends in what she does is really beside the point. Her world is a deeply personal kaleidoscope of images, memories, and fantasies, patched together with a retro-tinged spirit. The charm of her sentimental aesthetic probably taps into the subtle nostalgia we feel for the freedom of childhood, and the longing for a lost moment in time when we could dream, be unconcerned and blissfully, happily silly.Ponti recently changed her company’s industrial business partner, which brought about a new energy. “It felt as if I were moving from an old apartment to a new one,” she said; so for fall the idea of home was at the heart of the collection. Memories from Ponti’s family home were enthusiastically translated into an abundance of prints, fabrications, embroideries, accessories—she definitely went imaginatively overboard.An antique carpet belonging to her mother provided the floral pattern knitted onto an oversize cardigan; a padded bedspread was translated into a chubby pinkcapitonné piuminoin techno duchesse. Sanderson roses printed on canvas, instead of gracing a comfortable upholstered couch, were cut into a trompe-l’oeil hybrid blazer-jumpsuit; the round shape of a lampshade was the inspiration behind a puffy balloon skirt. The surrealist streak always favored by this designer was there in the patterns of a pink and baby blue velvet jacquard, whose curlicues at close inspection revealed profiles of teddy bears and purring kittens. The feisty majolicas of Joseph Holdcroft were morphed into an extravaganza of three-dimensional motifs appliquéd on a spectacular leather coat. The pièces de résistance were a coat in curly wool from which sprouted almost a half-dozen vintage teddy bears and a voluminouspiuminomade from a patchwork of candy-colored ruched satin pillow covers.Obviously, such an abundant layering of visuals can feel overwhelming, but the collection retained a disarming playfulness. It made you smile.
21 February 2019
Don’t get fooled by Vivetta Ponti’s childlike features, chirpy tone of voice, and penchant for dreamy visuals: She’s a savvy businesswoman, able to manage with sweet aplomb a family with two baby kids and a very busy professional life. Her label, built on her imaginative wonderland inhabited by creatures out of a vintage children’s book, has grown to the point where she’s been courted by various fashion companies to be part of their stables of creative thoroughbreds. They clearly see opportunities for expansion in that wonderland. So, recently, the designer jumped ship, joining an Italian industrial fashion group with strong production expertise.The change of pace was immediately evident for Pre-Fall, presented in a new showroom decorated, Vivetta-style, like a flat, with retro furniture, romantic flea market finds, and pink chinoiserie wallpaper. The collection seemed perfectly at ease here, as did the designer, whose family house is apparently replete with whimsical antiques: “I was inspired by an 18th-century Aubusson tapestry that hung in my father’s home,” she said, explaining the collection’s rather peculiar imagery.The medieval scene of the French tapestry depicted a romantic encounter between an aristocratic cape-clad damsel and her handsome chevalier in a lush leafy garden, feted by jumping rabbits, butterflies, and falcons. Vivetta had the bestiary migrating as printed motifs on ruched inserts for silk crepe dresses in shades of baby blue and candy pink; a storm of butterflies landed on a languid black dress, with sensuous ’40s-inspired fluid lines. The army of rabbits hopped on an oversize electric blue piumino with an eco-fur collar; an unexpected appearance on a jacquard knitted pencil skirt was made by a zebra, whose pattern also graced a stunning number in emerald green velvet dévoré with a plunging neckline held in place by a butterfly crystal brooch. It definitely looked like red carpet material.Frilly cheerfulness sometimes hides a dark lining: Vivetta showed a weakness for hard punk imagery. She had the Lady From the Tapestry undergoing a plastic-surgery-like metamorphosis, transforming her aristo portrait into that of an eccentric punk maiden, printed on orange dayglow sweatshirts or knitted on jacquard wool jumpers. Who would’ve thought? Vivetta’s wonderland is full of surprises.
20 January 2019
Vivetta Ponti gave birth to Tito, her second son, just one month ago; yet today she was backstage looking fresh and nonplussed, while the newborn was being lulled by his nanny, unaware of the surrounding mayhem. Despite her penchant for a fragile, whimsical femininity and looking as delicate as a character in a fairy-tale book, the woman is clearly blessed with plenty of willpower and energy.The Spring collection, which Ponti worked on while pregnant, was infused more than usual with a sense of childish wonder. Swans and butterflies in the softest palette of pastel hues were embroidered or encrusted on macramé dresses and a white crocheted prairie dress. What appeared to be a humongous walking cloud of dégradé tulle was in fact a full-length cape. Rosettes bloomed in abundance on the corset of a sunflower yellow tulle frock that looked like a whipped meringue, while mini pouf dresses in wisteria-printed laminated organza seemed like little balloons ready to soar in the sky.What could have been an ode to patisserie dressing, able to induce a sugar overdose, was unexpectedly rescued by a glamorous twist. A flimsy see-through top in nude tulle was embroidered with a diamanté butterfly barely concealing the breast; worn with a pair of sexy ripped denim pants dripping Swarovski crystal fringes and marabou feathers, it looked almost red carpet ready. A long evening empire dress in liquid bicolored satin with a halter top and sequined sash had a sensual, grown-up feel.Ponti was at her best when she indulged her recurring sense of fun, as in a series of dresses made out of masculine striped poplin shirts in candy colors. She twisted one into a draped asymmetrical shirtdress; pleated another obliquely in a top in which a trompe l’oeil cuff was wrapped around the neck; and morphed yet another into a sundress whose pleated skirt was actually made of dangling sleeves. They looked rather adorable, an inventive exercise in childish candor.
20 September 2018
Kitschy Westernwear wielded an irresistible pull on Vivetta Ponti this season, but why? There are few things more distant from the designer’s whimsical sensibility than a robust cowboy’s attitude; they seem to be worlds apart. “I know!” she conceded. ”But I was quite intrigued by such a rough-guy, almost-bad-taste look, and gave myself a good challenge to translate it my way.” Indeed.The collection’s gentlehearted cowboy effect was achieved through the Vivetta-fication of all the theme’s quintessential details. Classic embroideries on rodeo shirts were mutated into flowery curlicues, fairy profiles, and smiling lips; fringes usually dangling from bibs were made in Swarovski crystals instead of leather; and cow print was replaced by a lovely Bambi-spotted pattern, printed on soft fake ponyskin for zippered biker jackets and wrapped miniskirts. Adorable pink flamingos were ready to fly off oversize sweatshirts and migrate onto masculine poplin shirts or fluid printed dresses, while shirt collars’ metallic tips were decorated with little smiling faces, looking at each other as if in a mirror.A touch of Victoriana, more in tune with the designer’s feminine flair, counterbalanced the life-is-beautiful-at-the-ranch vibe, with romantic prairie dresses in silk crepe or crisp poplin featuring ruches, flounces, and quaint floral motifs, their leaves hiding long-lashed, languid eyes. Retro-tinged crocheted dresses had an idyllic feel. It all added up to a surreal version of a Far West wonderland.
5 June 2018
Vivetta Ponti was feeling seductive this season. She’s expecting her second child; perhaps her senses are sharper, her feminine antennae more receptive. Backstage before the show, dressed in bright pink, she looked radiant. “This collection is sexier, lessbambolina,” she said, using an Italian expression which means doll-like, sugarcoated, a bit cloying. A sexy Vivetta: Well, that could make for good headlines.The designer was young during the ’80s, so she mined the decade with gusto, going down memory lane. “I remember being enthralled by larger-than-life personalities like Marina Ripa di Meana,” she said. She was referring to the late Italian redheaded contessa, famous for her outrageously short dresses, big shoulders, cleavage and legs on full display, pillbox hats with lace veils on her painted face, and an army of pugs. Nothing could’ve been more distant from Vivetta.But Ponti embraced the new inspiration with wit and a light, playful hand. The collection looked fresh and feminine, not forced. Beautiful wrapped dresses in heart-shaped polka-dot printed silk had a hint of Emanuel Ungaro’s glamour to them, draped seductively at the waist, with assertive shoulders and skirts cut on the bias flowing and grazing the ankles. An acid green number looked particularly appealing, its drapings twisted askew as if by mistake; in a surreal gesture, a collar sprouted incongruously on top of one of the shoulders.Ponti couldn’t help indulging her fondness for nostalgic graphics. Her signature hands motif was scattered everywhere: on the sleeves of a shapely masculine blazer; embroidered in Swarovski crystals on a disco glittering minidress; appliquéd asymmetrically on a pale pink fluid evening dress. This was a convincing, cohesive, optimistic collection. You could tell Ponti was enjoying herself.
22 February 2018
The whimsical, Surrealist world that Vivetta Ponti’s collections inhabit was given a jolt of energy for Pre-Fall, with pops of ’60s colors and graphic silhouettes. Adding dynamic cuts to her signature decorative aesthetic lent the collection a delicate, sporty vibe. It looked as if Ponti was trying to get out of her comfort zone.Color played a major part in giving the lineup brio, as did Liberty-inspired floral prints with a slightly psychedelic effect. Ponti sees the world through rose-tinted glasses. What saved her approach from being toofemme-enfantor cloying here was the sense of humor with which she infused the clothes. Take, for instance, the profiles of Bengal cats, their spotted fur replicated on knitwear or on stretchy fabrics in bright colors, often contrasting with masculine textures; the huge floppy bows on slippers that looked like funny paws; and the matchy-matchy effect of floral midi dresses worn with boots printed in the same ’60s pattern. A trapeze-cut biker waistcoat was varnished in a bizarre sunflower shade, the lining a tender lilac hue. It looked quite bonkers, but it worked. Ponti gave in to the ubiquitous sporty trend her way with an inventive rendition of the hoodie: Printed with eye-popping florals and cut with geometric intarsias in solid colors, it was worn with a midi skirt, glittering with cascades of pink sequins.
29 January 2018
Andrey Remnev is a Russian painter whose artworks have a fairylike yet meticulous quality, suspended between past and present. His oddly mysterious paintings are inspired by Russian traditional artistic movements from past centuries, as well as mystical Orthodox religious imagery. With their golden backdrops, Remnev’s paintings have a hieratic aura, almost hypnotic in their precision. Women with porcelain complexions look solemn and otherworldly, their gaze unsettling and inscrutable. When designer Vivetta Ponti found Remnev’s oeuvre by chance on Instagram, she was instantly smitten—his work deeply resonated with her peculiar, surreal aesthetic. She had found her artistic soul mate.Ponti asked Remnev to collaborate with her and he agreed; the Spring collection was inspired by the Russian artist’s drawings that she translated into whimsical embroideries and appliqués that were thefil rougethat ran through the lineup. Centaurs and mythological creatures, owls and dragonflies and weird little animals, extra-large exotic leaves, and cartoonlike hieroglyphics sprung from layers of tiered organza dresses or from long tunics in liquid satin. They were also scattered like patches on poplin shirts tucked into brocade skirts, and climbed on swirling curlicues. Ostrich feathers abounded—fluttering on rainbow-colored A-line short dresses fluffy as soufflés; trembling on long organza columns; sprouting on ripped, slim denim pants. They even lent a touch of glamour to a sport-inspired emerald green long satin dress, lining its hem with a cloud-like, wispy effect.Vivetta’s world is so whimsically obsessive that it can generate a sense of visual satiety—like when you’ve eaten a whole box of rainbow-colored Ladurée macarons while watching a Netflix movie. Yet Ladurée macarons are quite addictive—you can’t help but buy another box. Same thing with Vivetta. No matter how many animals and flowers and birds and rainbows and frills and feathers your vision has to process, you can’t help but keep staring at them, marveling at Vivetta’s wonderful, unique single-mindedness.
21 September 2017
Vivetta Ponti lives in her own world; she could be a character out of one of the French illustrator Raymond Peynet’s romantic Parisian vignettes. She has the look and the manners of afemme enfant, but it’s better not to trust her appearance. Beneath the layers of politesse, one can sense her strong will. No wonder she has been able to build a considerable business.For Resort, she was inspired by the ’90s. Even if she now dresses more like a surreal fairy, at that time she actually had a passion for vinyl and studs, sported oversize denim dungarees, dyed her hair improbable shades, and liked Adidas. “I love the past. I’m nostalgic,” she said. “For Resort, I wanted to bring back what I loved in those years.”Thus she merged urban-sportif, minimalist ’90s codes with an abundance of surreal twists. An Adidas-inspired logo became a passementerie trim on silk track pants worn with a matching tank top. “It’s sportswear à la Vivetta,” she chirped. Flared denim trousers had patches scattered in appliqué—unicorns, hearts, flowers, butterflies, rainbows, cats, and comets looked like drawings from a children’s book. They were also embroidered on a red minidress with puffy sleeves, a recurring theme, as seen on a red-and-white checkered pantsuit with a fitted bodice that had balloon sleeves.The collection was full of funny details. Vinyl was unexpectedly paired with cotton Vichy for a trapeze-cut miniskirt worn with a prim, masculine white poplin shirt. A surreal motif of running legs was appliquéd on a billowy blouse in black poplin with organza intarsia. Heart-shape studs trimmed denim palazzo pants, and a droll print featured a capricious ballerina springing out of a flower. It all looked lovely.
20 June 2017
When meeting with Vivetta Ponti, you can hardly take your eyes off of her. She looks like a character out of a vignette sketched by a vintage illustrator. It’s difficult to imagine her pushing a cart in a supermarket, driving a car, taking the subway, eating a plate of spaghetti, or even—how unthinkable!—using a devilishly modern device such as an iPhone. She seems to be made out of thin air, a surreal doll, all pale suavity and fairy-like, childish naïveté.For all her otherworldliness, she has been able to build a substantial business; her collections have reached a cult-following status. The daughter of antiquarians, she lives in a nostalgic vintage fantasyland with her hyper-feminine concoctions. For Fall, she was inspired by a ’40s circus populated by a plethora of acrobats, masked ladies, harlequins, unicorns, melancholic Pierrots, and rocking horses—imagery as out of fashion as it could possibly be.Dresses in tulle, velvet, and satin were decorated with whimsical appliqués; romantic riding coats in pastel colors had feminine fur details; the logo—yes, there’s a Vivetta logo, how shrewd is that for a fairy?—was scattered on printed silk and was morphed into a delicate geometric pattern for a pajama-inspired ensemble. Vinyl added a touch of perverse modernity to the collection, nicely contrasting with its surreally girlish, sweeter-than-sweet allure.
24 February 2017