Photography Simone Paccini
Creative direction Caterina Egidi
Interview by Anna Frattini
Model Or Shapira @ WhyNotModels
Casting Director Mattia Marazzi
Make-up Raffaele Schioppo for Simone Belli Agency
Hair Manuel Ian Farro
Fashion Assistant Flaminia Tonnicchi
Photographer Assistant Luigi Angelico
Editor-in-chief Valentina Ilardi
Heritage is a GREY project that gives voice to the far-sighted fashion generation of designers and emerging brands that are establishing themselves in the contemporary scene.
For the #02 edition of Heritage we are showcasing CHB, the straightforward and innovative brand founded by Christian Boaro in 2020. Christian’s project focuses on the duality of the feminine and masculine wardrobe, essentially creating a narration of timeless beauty embracing individuality and uniqueness.
Genderless and seasonless are two concepts embedded in CHB’s DNA giving us a glimpse of what the future of fashion holds. Here is Christian Boaro’s take on these topics and his career.
What is your first memory regarding fashion?
My first memory goes back to when I was a child and I saw my grandmother sewing in her lab for the first time.
I remember it vividly because that image has stirred up something in me that, years later, I still can’t explain. Fascinated by the noise of the sewing machine, and the smell of iron on the fabrics, this set of sensations made me fall in love with this work.
Black and white, streetwear, and tailored are the core of CHB. What are the fabrics you enjoy experimenting with the most?
There is not a fabric that I prefer over another, I like to experiment a little with everyone. Surely my approach stems from the choice of materials, so I could not imagine working on a collection if not starting with fabrics. Often, the idea for the collection comes from the selection of the fabrics. Fabrics determine the falls, shapes, and volumes and in my process, they play a very important part.
In 2018 you exhibited your first Polaroid exhibition, “The Naked Truth” at the PlasMa Gallery in Milan. How did photography influence your career?
Photography is an indispensable element to conceive my work, what I do comes through images and is translated through many other images. My whole journey through memories, images, and photography has always played a fundamental role from this point of view. My approach as a photographer was born almost for fun, in parallel to my career as a designer. The common denominator between the two worlds is the narration of a story, the story of a personal journey that involves me and then the viewer. I like to narrate beauty in all its aspects and all its different shades, whether it is through a dress or a photo.
Your collections are seasonless. How did you decide to subvert the fashion industry pattern?
It was not a conclusion, but more a spontaneous choice dictated by the fact that now there is no more seasonality well defined.
Christian, you define your brand as genderless. How do you see this concept evolving in the future of your brand?
This type of approach also came in a very spontaneous way, without too many prior reflections. I live in my time, I look around and I recognize people’s need to dress in a freer way, outside the schemes imposed by society. Especially among the new generations this kind of distinction now almost does not exist anymore so I think my story won’t change from this point of view. I like to think that one day you won’t even have to ask yourself these kinds of questions.
What are the characteristic features of CHB that make it different from other Italian brands?
The vision and the narration of my work are perhaps the peculiarities that make my brand different from many others. But above all, the desire to create a product that is still entirely made in Italy – from materials to manufacturing.
In a completely globalized world, it is a challenge to be able to present a product that still has an artisanal flavor and for this reason, I believe that it makes it really special.
