How would you define your practice and VIA PIAVE 33?
I have many interests but essentially I’m a person who enjoys trying different things out in the most practical way. I enjoy learning by doing and don’t really know how to define myself. I have a quite conceptual approach and a foundation in graphic design, art direction, and a bit of product design but I always learned the most by experimenting in different disciplines.
This wide range of interests is the genesis of VIA PIAVE 33 and the potential to create a universe or system that welcomes the contemporary individual by serving them a series of products that improve their lives or experiences with meaningful sentiments. I genuinely believe future brands will function as a place where consumers become users with active roles in the brand. Not simply purchasing a garment or an object but aligning with specific brands in order to participate in a movement or change. It’s important to understand that today, decisions and preferences create material differences.
Why did you choose to explore digital identities in your introductory project?
Our projects always start with the concept of humanity and all the aspects that encompass it. I see the digital realm as an interesting and essential theme to study, anthropologically, exploring how the internet connects society and personalities. From the outside looking in, we investigate the digital world as an inhabited environment with its own rules— the identities we create online take on a life of their own. A fish doesn’t understand that it lives in the water until you take it out of the water. We are living quite similarly in reality, we embraced a new digital world without enough criticism. It is interesting to analyze this sphere while focusing on its inherent relationship with contemporary humanity.
What is the purpose of the Purification Kit ?
In response to our first study on digital identities we wanted to offer a break from our hyper-digitalized world, a moment of introspection through the very simplistic ritual…washing your face and metaphorically washing away your digital mask. The tools in the kit are minimal and familiar: an organic soap bar, a bottle of tonic water, and a face towel. These simple elements imbue new symbolism when observed intentionally as daily performance, complete with guided instructions. We aimed to make a simple gesture and elevate it as something very special, allowing people to appreciate the simplicity of things and the beauty that resides in simple actions.