Music has long underscored the designer behind MSGM’s creative process – now, as he prepares to show his S/S19 collection, he shares a newfound passion for Italian music
“I’m in a weird moment with music because I don’t have enough time to do research and listen to new groups. But now I’ve started to listen to classic Italian songs from the past, and for me, it’s really a revolution. When I arrived in Milano, a lot of my friends listened to Mina, and Franco Battiato – a very famous Italian writer and singer, he started in the Seventies and is still alive. And actually I didn’t know them then, because from the beginning, when I was a teenager, I listened to British and American rock. And only now – it’s completely weird – I’ve started to love classic Italian music. For example, only this winter I discovered Battiato. It’s magical, conceptual and poetic – he’s really a genius. Maybe it’s the right time, maybe I was too young to understand. I always loved rock, independent music, independent groups. Now I’m 41 I realise that we are very lucky in Italy, because we have a huge music patrimony, a huge heritage.”
Massimo Giorgetti founded his brand MSGM in 2009; the label is derived from his own name, and the nomenclature inspired by the indie band MGMT – underscoring the importance of popular music to his creative process. He has described his clothes as “music for your eyes”, and has included numerous pop-cultural references, including Massimo Vitali’s photographs of raving teenagers, stills from Beastie Boys videos, and references to musicians’ style. After a two-year stint as the creative director of Florentine brand Pucci, in 2017 Giorgetti decided to focus on MSGM. His most recent collections have made Italy the focal point, hurrahing the heritage of his birth country with Italian slogans, messages and patterns.
Hair: Kiyoko Odo at Bryant Artists. Make-up: Jenny Coombs at Streeters London using MAC. Photographic assistant: Phil Hewitt. Styling assistants: Rebecca Perlmutar, Camila Paiva and Georgina Craig. Hair assistant: Tomoaki Usui. Make-up assistant: Kimie Yasiro.
This story originally featured in the Autumn/Winter 2018 issue of AnOther Magazine which is on sale internationally now.
