“God can’t destroy streetwear”. Since 2015, it became the fave motto of fashionistas all over the world. Especially for its acronym GCDS, the brand founded by Italian brothers Giordano and Giuliano Calza that became, in just four years, a true fashion phenomenon. A few days before the Fall-Winter 2019 runway show, creative director Giuliano Calza sat with The Blonde Salad and told us everything about him, his background and his inspirations… and something about Chiara Ferragni as well. Read more in our interview!
Unlike many designers and creative directors, who graduated in fashion schools and did internships in ateliers, you took a different path to enter the fashion system. Do you think that your background helped you to stand out among the others?
I always wanted to escape and to measure myself with the world… kind of. I’ve always been afraid I won’t be able to fulfill my dreams. Growing up in a non-fashion environment helped me to have a different perspective and a market approach I would have never read in any books. When I graduated, I worked a lot to gain more and more experience: press offices, showrooms, stylists, casting director… I never stopped. I’ve always been confident about my creative intelligence, so I’ve always tried to find situations where I could use my skills as a designer and a communicator and build my own aesthetic.
GCDS: how much does the word “streetwear” represent you, since you decided to mention it also in your brand name?
I was born in Naples in Vico Stella 10, in the area of Rione Sanità, and I lived for thirteen years in an alley. I lived in New York and China as a student, then I moved to Shanghai for four years, working on restaurants’ refurbishments and changing neighborhoods every month. I was always surrounded by streets, ambiguous characters and many streetwear uniforms.
When did you realize you were meant to create your own fashion brand?
I remember two events. The first time I was working in a press office, and I created the showroom’s Christmas setting, surprising everyone with my work. Everybody was shocked as if I cast a spell. My boss suggested me to design and create. The second time I was in Shanghai, I was very tired by our work, and I said to my brother: “This is not our project, we’re going to do something different.” I’ve always believed in GCDS, even if I didn’t know what could happen.
GCDS represents an Italian family virtuous story. Is it really difficult for an emerging brand to keep an authentic dimension and to stay independent, especially from a financial point of view?
I still believe that life in Italy is sweet, and it’s not a cliché. I think that the political and economic scenario is not the best for young people. It’s very complicated to stay in Italy, but I already left my country, and the world is a village. Here I can take advantage of the positive aspects I already know, and I’m facing the same problems I would have faced in another country, but probably with cultural and language barriers.
Which brands did inspire you?
I grew up in Italy, so I owe a lot to middle-class ladies and kids from schools and colleges. When I was 10, my brother was 14 years old, and I was surrounded by a world full of things like basketball, sneakers and Chicago Bulls. On the other hand, my parents: my mother was a therapist, and she loved to dress in suits, while my father used to wear custom clothes. I remember Chanel big brooches and a lot of Hermès prints as Christmas gifts. I’ve been addicted to comic strips, then I became obsessed with kicks and American brands. I had a punk moment, which turned into an obsession with Alexander McQueen, followed by a street one in which I collected Fubu, Prada, Cottweiler, Stussy and I considered Castelbajac art. I was also interested in Versace and Dolce & Gabbana hyper feminism. I believe Craig Green is probably the latest designer of our time.
Three words to describe GCDS’ aesthetic.
Independent, kitsch with an ironic and exaggerated taste, and royal street.
You were born in Naples, you lived in Shanghai, you showed your collections in New York and Milan, and we always see you traveling. Is there a city that represents or inspires you the most?
In Shanghai I feel home: I love the food and its own times. I speak Chinese, and I love to see people surprised or smile when we interact. Manhattan is my shelter in tumultuous times, but also the setting of the funniest moments. I feel good when I’m traveling.
GCDS has probably been one of the first brands to believe in social networks’ viral powers. Do you think your destiny could have been different without building your reputation on Instagram? Besides talking about your brand, do you use them also as a creative source?
I believe that GCDS, in part, grew so much thanks to social media’s powers, but there also other reasons. Today, I think it’s blind not to use such a powerful instrument. I manage my social accounts with a carefree spirit, I use the same casual and real tone of voice I have in my everyday life. I believe social networks can become a huge obstacle if you’re working to create something valuable or new: it’s an engine designed to make you feel uncomfortable, and that leads you to try to never disappoint the “web”’s expectations, such as likes, comments, and famous friends. I’m not interested in this kind of things, and I think this is the reason why people feel true empathy. From a creative point of view, the best inspirations come from books, pics, places that are still not accessible by social networks. I used them to discover which trends are booming or to understand the ones that are getting boring.
You’re one of Chiara Ferragni’s BFFs. Do you remember how did you meet? Which is the first GCDS piece she wore?
Chiara and I have been friends from ages. We met in Vietnam, where we shared amazing experiences like riding a moped in the mud to see a sunset on the other side of Phú Quốc island. In Yucatàn, a few months later, she asked me: “Give me your sweatshirt, I love it and I want to post it.” From that moment, the brand’s exposure on the Internet grew so much.
You dressed influencers like Chiara Biasi and Caroline Vreeland but also celebrities like Dua Lipa, Bella Hadid, and Pamela Anderson. How can GCDS be loved and worn by so many different people?
I met these people along my path, they believed in me and in my ideas. I think that this exchange makes the GCDS world so genuine, with so many souls and no snobbery in it. The world is always changing, and I think that everything that is not organic and cozy is going to disappear.
The countdown for Milan Fashion Week has officially started. What can you tell us about the collection you’re going to show?
The show’s them is PALAZZO GCDS (Editor’s note: GCDS PALACE) because at the beginning of the year we celebrated the opening of GCDS headquarter. We turned this event into a show that reflects our reality: everything is beautiful outside, while we have so much pressure inside.
Womenswear, menswear, kidswear, beauty… is the GCDS world complete? IS there a still a field you would like to conquer?
I definitely would like to find a moment to confront young people while I’m still young as well. I don’t know what it could be. I don’t want to say it could be an educational project since I have so many things to learn, but it could be a moment of exchange.
Besides Milan, would you like to open more stores in Italy? Where are you going to open the next GCDS shops?
We’re opening four stores, and one of them will be in Hong Kong. I dream about Shanghai, while Naples and Rome are definitely on our agenda.
#10yearchallenge to the future: thinking about where GCDS is today, where and how would you like to “post” it on in the next ten years?
I hope that GCDS could be a beautiful Italian story in a risen Italy. I hope to see a new Italian Dolce Vita, full of new streets, new beginnings and, why not, new revolutions.