Sofia Prantera ponders upon the archetypes of youth with new Aries SS23 collection and campaign.
Sofia Prantera, the creative mastermind behind Aries, is exploring the archetypes of youth and rebellion for SS23. Inspired by Czech/American filmmaker Miloš Forman’s 1971 film Taking Off, Prantera began to ponder about how teenage values and identity are transformed in 2022, within the world of Aries. With her new collection, the designer created 5 chapters that touch upon the different assumptions, challenging stereotypes in the archetypes we associate youth in contemporary culture - The Camden Punk, The 90’s Casual, The Teenage Romantic, The Cultist and The Trust Fund Baby.
The new campaign, imagined by British photographer David Sims, Douglas Irvine and filmmaker Dario Vigorito features LA band VNP’s Do You Have Friends in Your Dreams? which further inspired the creators, remindful of awkwardness and softness within youth and nostalgia.
Speaking to Perfect, the Italian-born British-based designer shares her detailed and meticulous creative process for SS23 that involves experimentation with different sets of prototypes, alongside talking about her long-term goals, creatively and personally, expressing her love for extreme sports.
Angel: What is your usual process of creating, is it different each time?
Sofia Prantera: I am told I have a serendipitous approach to designing a collection, which is less typical of other brands.
I, or better, we start with an idea but more often than not end up with something completely different. As a brand we use a lot of processes in our collection and clothes go through many different treatments. Instead of relying on tried and tested methods we experiment with our manufacturers to find new techniques and effects.
We would normally work on an idea in the studio and then send the prototypes to the factories to copy. The issue here, though, is that when something handmade goes through a process of industrialisation the original idea may have to change. I find it is best to embrace the difference in the process and develop from there, instead of getting stuck on the original brief: it's a greener process, and if you give up on your original expectations you will end up with a more successful and innovative product. This season, for instance, we wanted to change the look of our tie dye processes to make them look less obvious and psychedelic and more worn instead. It turned out harder than we thought and we had to take out some garments because they looked as if someone had been playing rugby in them and fallen in the mud.
Angel: What inspires you, and how do you get inspired?
Sofia Prantera: I take inspiration from everything, and so many ideas go into building one collection. This season is the first time we are presenting the collection in advance so we worked not just on the collection but a creative way of communicating it too.
For this we looked at the film Taking Off by Miloš Forman and listened to a new LA band called VNP which kindly lent us one of their songs as a soundtrack for the collection film.
Angel: Do you have a favourite piece and accessory in the collection?
Sofia Prantera: I like the new carabiners a lot. We have been running them as clasps for a few seasons but this season we have found a more satisfying way of manufacturing them. They are such a good hybrid of everything we take inspiration from: extreme sports, luxury, classicism, fetish wear. I also love the silk unisex pyjamas because the printing process makes them look so beautiful and fragile.
Angel: How do you see the future of Aries, both short-term and long term?
Sofia Prantera: Hopefully onwards and upwards and outwards: creating our own space where we can show the true feel of the brand is a longtime goal.
Angel: What is something you look forward to personally?
Sofia Prantera: Holidays and extreme sports or better still extreme sports holidays.
