Kappa Kontroll SS17 - Interview to Jacopo Pozzati

Kappa launched the Kontroll collection for the season SS17. We met Jacopo Pozzati, the brand consultant, to tell us how Kappa has conquered all of us, once again.

#1 Over the past year, several Italian sportswear brands have become popular once again. Do you think that this is only a phase, perhaps related to the phenomenon of Gosha Rubchinskiy, or that it is an actual process of rebranding?

As many things, it is a mix of all: rebranding, Gosha and similar, and surely a stroke of luck for those historical brands that have been able to maintain their identity. I say this because there are others, and I won’t mention them, that proposed again their heritage only because it is fashionable today and, in my opinion, they didn’t do something noteworthy.

#2 More specifically, how much does Kappa draws from its archive items and how much is it renovating?

I would say fifty-fifty for Kontroll, I have always drawn from the archive for the first issues, revisiting fittings and graphics and making them more 3.0. As time went on, my personal vision began to take shape and in FW17 collection you will see both a tribute to our archive and a lot of Jacopo Pozzati, for better or worse. Not to mention SS18 collection, on which I am currently working.

#3 Talking about Kontrol for SS17 collection, from which archive pieces did you borrow the most?

I mostly borrowed from old jacquard football uniforms of the end of the 70s - beginning of the 80s, creating a collar ad hoc. For tracksuits I counted on the strong graphic impact of stripes for tees and shorts, using premium quality fabrics that recall football but that could also become iconic and hyper fashion pieces. A lot of archive of course! I felt a little boy once again, back when my idols, except for Magic Johnson, were Carl Lewis and Edwin Moses, and both of them worn Kappa during the Olympics boycott in Los Angeles in 1984. In that case, I borrowed a lot from the archive (60%) because it was already cool and contemporary, almost perfect, I hope I contributed somehow in making it even hotter.

#4 Recently we saw the collaboration between Kappa and Marcelo Burlon, in addition to the one with Gosha Rubchinskiy. Is there more ahead?

I would say that 3 fashion giants as they are, are more than enough, even if we have planned a little surprise that the most addicted and insider will love, it won’t be so mainstream but still amazing.

#5 How did your project came to life? What was it like working with a brand with such a distinct imagery? 

How did my project come to my life? What was it like working with a brand with such a distinct imagery? Would you like to know how everything came to be? By chance, about two years ago at Miami Art Basel with some common friends. I met Lorenzo Boglione and we shared a connection from the moment we met and we began to work together on different projects such as Kontroll and Superga Sport, on distribution and on some collaborations.

#6 Recently you’ve come into contact with the Asiatic world. How much is this market important nowadays for this kind of projects?

A lot and a little. Let’s say that as for brand, hype, logo and social is absolutely decisive. As for everything else I think that Italians are still the coolest target, even if we are outnumbered. Surely, for someone that has never been in on business, it represents Neverland.