Intervista su Bold Magazine


Nell’ultimo numero della rivista olandese trovate l’intervista a Stefano Castellani (pag. 62 – 63)  che risponde a 7 domande non banali. Chi non conosce l’olandese può leggere il testo originale in inglese qui sotto.

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  1. Can you tell me something about your background: your education, your link with the eyewear industry?

I left Tuscany when I was about  20. I  did several jobs, activities, the most significant: 5 years in Mallorca in the air-photography business. I decided then to mark a turning point and go back in Tuscany to study languages and literature. It was a great choice. After 4 years I completed my university career and started my first job in the fashion business. Not long after, in  2003, I moved my first steps into the eyewear industry as a distributor.  Nowadays my company distributes in Italy a few selected brands (William Morris London, Randolph USA, etc.) and produces its own Italian collection.

  1. What is the most important thing in your life?

My wife and my two daughters. On another level, I like to feed my days constantly with new interests and new “calculated” challenges.

  1. Can you tell something about your designs/collections?

One of my customer said Visiva is a “romantic” collection. I think is a good simple description. I like elegant, glamorous shapes, enriched with innovative, sometimes surprising concepts. We combine sophisticated acetate colors with wood, gemstones or very special metal decorations. As for most eyewear brands, one of the biggest challenges is to create and maintain a clear stylistic path. This is why we focus mainly on product innovation and identity.

  1. What inspires you the most?

Nature is certainly the queen of the muses: in our metal bridges you can see a pattern that recalls the bio-structures. I also get inspired from Italian artisan heritage: the Florentine goldsmiths, Venetian wood and iron carvers etc. Our project is to bring a touch of this magnificent world into an innovative eyewear collection.

  1. Who is your big example and why?

There are many great collections around, but I have to say Chrome Hearts is the collection that impressed me the most, mainly for their high level of craftmanship. The stylistic languages of the two collections are very different thou..: Chome Hearts is “west coast – hard rock”, whereas Visiva is  “mediterranean-ethnic-elegant”.

  1. What is the best thing that ever happened to you.

June 2001: an accidental conversation in the subway with a brilliant girl, which I married after few months (and she is still cooking my spaghetti !).

  1. What do you want to accomplish?

To make an outstanding product  (..and enjoying the process). Visiva has become the playground where we can express our ideas, it’s a creative gym, it’s something we just love to do.