Fun reminiscences of childhood with Minina
Minina is a Milanese brand founded by Alessandra Piccaluga and Geny Iorio in 2012. Born as a girls' line, now evolved into womenswear, keeps its essence in single details like colors and shapes. We spoke with Maria Gusti, her daughter, about the roots brand roots, how a mother-daughter team works, and how to keep the fun reminiscences of childhood and express them in your daily wear.
Interview: Francisca Ceballos, Photography: Antonio Labroca, Laura Majolino
Can you tell us a bit about your mother, Alessandra?
Alessandra is the strongest and most genuine person I know, she has an innate refinement that transmits in everything she does. I've always wondered how she could simultaneously manage three children and an emerging company with such elegance, sensitivity and courage. I think she's a bit magical.
And who are you, who is Maria?
I have always had a great interest in all humanities. I graduated in Aesthetic Philosophy in Milan and immediately afterwards I continued my studies by enrolling in a Fashion Design course.
I’m very attracted by the aesthetics of things. It's not only about the beauty, but rather what each thing communicates with its presence. The gestures of things, their shapes and their colors stimulate a symbolic interpretation that has always been a precious source of reflection and inspiration for me. In this sense, I believe that every artistic product: a film, a sculpture, a graphic sign, a dress cloth, are attempts to interpret reality in its infinite possible forms. And I am convinced that these attempts are the basis of any form of shared and shareable culture.
How did you get to Minina?
Minina arrived a few years later after graduating. My first working years were in costume design. Slowly, I began to gravitate around Minina, at that time was making the first women's collection after ten years of the girl's line. In this period, I started to approach this new reality for me, learning the craft and working closely with the creative duo made up of Alessandra and Geny Iorio.
In March 2022, Geny went on maternity leave and and she decided to focus on her university career. Since then, my mother Alessandra and I have been together creative directors of the brand. Antonio Labroca joined us some months ago to support us in the image and art direction area.
Can you describe your relationship with your mother? How is it extended to work, does it flow in the same way?
My mom and I have always had a very deep and intense relationship. And like all deep relationships it can be complex at times. Working together as mother and daughter isn't always easy. We argue, but we are deeply connected. In every important decision I take, her opinion is fundamental. Our strength is the mutual admiration and trust we have in each other. We back each other up, we help each other, we even get pissed, but then we laugh, a lot. Inside and outside Minina.
Having your own small brand is a source of enormous responsibility and sometimes even a lot of stress, but the beautiful thing is knowing that there are always two of us on the same side.
Minina's team today composed by almost the same people it was born with. We are now a small family and a work team where my mother is the point of reference and guide.
This intimate and familiar aspect is often perceived even within our Studio and Atelier, located in via Giuseppe Dezza in Milan, in the internal courtyard of a small building. An open workplace that holds our archive of fabrics and patterns, and two rooms, set up every season with the new collection, where we welcome our customers and friends.
What are your first memories with her when you were growing up?
When my brother Rocco, my sister Nina and I were little and our parents had to leave the house for a few days, they use to leave us a handkerchief with a few sprays of their perfume in our suitcase. It was a way to always have a little piece of home with us wherever we went. It is one of the small gestures related to my childhood that I remember most fondly.
How is the creative dialogue between these two generations? Can you describe it for us?
It is very interesting to see the outcome from the intertwining of ideas, iconographic and stylistic references between two women with about thirty years of difference. Her experience and maturity of taste on one hand, and my grit and ambition on the other, are the complementary ingredients of a creative dialogue fuelled by a constant critical exchange of ideas.
I learned a lot from my mother. She is always a point of reference, almost a regulative ideal.
A more eccentric and sparkling side of me fits into this context, to which my mother has always left great freedom of expression, I am very grateful for this.
I think it is very important within the creative process to always try to question and reinterpret one's aesthetic canons while remaining true to oneself. And it is in this subtle balance that the possibility of creating something authentic and original arises, which traces the boundaries of a recognizable style.
We like to think of Minina as a style that is out of time, but never out of place. That's why we cater to women of all ages, offering garments that can always be worn and reinterpreted in a versatile way.
Minina is a very tender name. Where does it come from?
“Nina, the little one of the house, was born in 2003 when the first two children were already grown up. I have always loved to dress my children with care and particular elegance despite the simplicity, and at that time I was aware that with her it would be the last chance to indulge in playing to dress her.” –Alessandra Piccaluga
In 2012, almost for fun, she started with Geny a mini collection of a few clothes for girls and she called it Minina, from the Portuguese “Mi Niña” which means my little girl.
“It’s a delicate yet funny game when it comes to colors. What's the meaning behind this phrase?
I like to think that clothes are a form of communication, a way like any other to express how we feel, who we are, or who we would like to be. I am fascinated by the idea of dressing to "dress up", and the freedom of expression that this concept brings. I have always been attracted to color, in all its forms. I feel its vibrant power and the expressive potential it conveys, excites me. For this reason, I have always enjoyed combining colors in an unusual and unexpected way, challenging the rules of chromatic agreements. I hate color harmony –very popular today, and accepting the idea that there are chromatic limits that fit each person. I think the key is to believe in what we wear. Wearing a pea-green suit with class and conviction is much more attractive to me than submitting to a color palette in line with my complexion. It's all about the personality, rather than the shade of my eyes and hair.
In my small way, I try to defeat the placid belief that wearing black is more reassuring. Instead, I try to encourage the use of colors lightly and ironically. This is why I call it "a delicate yet funny game" because it’s a delicate game of balances and counterweights to be handled with care.
You mention the brand is a container for research and experimentation. Can you tell us why?
Inspiration can come at any moment, there are no real boundaries between work and life. You are always open to what surrounds you, to stop and capture the beauty, to seek connections, to reinterpret it, and make it your own. Research and experimentation are part of our creative process aimed at finding the aesthetic codes to express something deeper.
At Minina, each model comes from a vision that becomes a drawing, then a pattern to create the first prototype. Through constant dialogue with pattern makers and factories, everything is corrected until the perfect fit is achieved.
Particular attention is dedicated to embroideries and garment dyeing of colors specifically formulated by us for each collection. The part that most fascinate me about garment dyeing is seeing how each color takes on differently, depending on the fabric.
The result is an eclectic language of chromatic balances, original combinations enriched by almost imperceptible details that we are convinced, make the difference.
This is why the brand is conceived as a container for research and experimentation tout court. An interpretative imagination made up of colors, volumes, photography and images which together outline the Minina world at 360 degrees.
Your production is all local and centered in the Lombardia area. What extra value do you find in doing so?
Our commitment is aimed at enhancing our territory and the small production and manufacturing realities, which our country boasts a long tradition. This decision also allows us to produce in limited quantities, avoiding unnecessary waste and overproduction, and to personally follow the entire production cycle, this guarantee a very high-quality standard.
Having direct contact with our laboratories is very important to be able to supervise the various stages of the vital cycle of each product, from the prototyping of new models to the packaging of the finished garment.
Who are the women you dress? Tell us about the character of Minina. What do they listen to, what restaurants do they go to, how do they spend their weekend, and what’s their favorite artist?
The Minina woman has a discreet, refined and never-brash elegance. She is a woman who pays attention to details. She dares and has fun with volumes, shapes and colors, she knows how to be eccentric but without being out of place.
If I think of Minina, the jazz of John Coltrane and the French music of the 1920s come to my mind, then a mix of Funk & Soul with Al Green and Otis Redding and finally, the Italian singer-songwriters: from Lucio Battisti to Sergio Caputo, Ornella Vanoni and Gino Paoli.
She looks for restaurants with an intimate, almost family atmosphere, easygoing and non-formal. The kind of place where you feel at home. Good food and of course good wine, nothing gourmet or trendy.
Her favorite artist could be Antonino Sciortino, Artisan and artist of Sicilian origins, who has been able to reinterpret the ancient craft of working iron, making it art with great delicacy and creative imagination.
Milan keeps this traditional "Sciura" style that represents the city vibe. What do you think about it?
The "Sciura" is a Milanese stereotype that generally indicates a type of wealthy woman, let's say bourgeois, always well dressed and fashionable. Iconically, I imagine her at the bar with a friend chatting about the weather, complaining about the wear and tear of social life, sipping a Campari Spritz. She doesn't mince words, she keeps busy in almost futile activities and is very keen on taking care of her appearance to always be in order. In a slightly goliardic and light way, I like “Sciura”. But I think that today she represents a definitely outdated model, above all for the younger generations, to be looked with a sort of tender irony.
Ten favorite places of Milano
Morel Milano, La Libera, Caffè Pasticceria Leonardo, BBQ di via Sottocorno, Atelier Antonino Sciortino, Vicolo Via Mameli, Vasiliki Kouzina, Cinema Centrale, Teatro Franco Parenti, Circolo Reduci e Combattenti, Wait and See by Uberta Zambeletti and Blue Note.
The best pizza in Milan: Meucci’s.