Interview with Giancarlo Grossi

Giancarlo Grossi is many things: creative director for a brand he founded and then sold to move to Africa but, above all, an extremely eclectic personality. His passion for creation began to develop when he was a child, inspired by the industrial reality around him until when, almost by chance, he started realizing his first silhouette in which metal elements and minimal design blended, creating the shoe brand Gienchi - transformed into Metal Gienchi in 2014.

We contacted him to discover not only who is Giancarlo Grossi but also what lies behind the Italian brand Metal Gienchi, which since 2006 uniquely blends quality, elegance and industrial aesthetic.

#1 Your career as a designer started by customizing Converse sneakers with studs and washing-out and selling them on MySpace: tell us about that period. What motivated you to create these first models?

To move my creativity was that lightness that drives you when you start doing something you really like and in which you believe to the fullest, it comes naturally! It is the most beautiful thing on earth and does not make you think about anything.

#2 Tell us about the creative and personal path that led you to develop your brand: Gienchi. What were the inspirations behind those early creations? How much of that spirit still relives today in Metal Gienchi?

At the time I was inspired by everything that surrounded me, since I was a child I lived near these huge factories, and in a certain way, I saw them since the first day of my life. So that's where the inspiration for the aesthetics of my first "models" comes from. After a short time, several people started asking me for them to buy, so I decided to register the brand and start the selling.

Aesthetics has always been the same even when other people entered the company. I'm not a “teamwork-person”, so I sold while still retaining the position of creative director. I signed a five-year contract and started dedicating myself to my goals and moved to Africa where I have been living for two years now. There, I produce swings with recycled materials for children from the Ivory Coast and Namibia.

#3 How much is there of Giancarlo Grossi in Metal Gienchi? What does the brand tell us about its founder?

Today, there’s little of me in the brand because my real thoughts do not fit with contemporary fashion but, together with the people who now own the brand, we are working to give Metal Gienchi a new life and re-instill in the brand that aesthetics that has animated it since 2012.

#4 What is the difference between working in today's Milan and the one in the 90s?

Well, in the '90s I didn’t know anything about fashion and its mechanism but, as for Milan, it was important in my beginnings and it has always guaranteed me a lot of freedom. Certainly, it was a luxurious cradle for the world of fashion.

#5 Over time, the design of the brand has evolved into more contemporary silhouettes but the studs remain a characteristic and a  fixed element in your creations. What fascinates you so much about this element?

The shoes with the studs, as well as being my first real product, are like daughters for me and will remain a staple in my aesthetic, even if one day fashion will no longer be interested in them.

#6 What was the hardest step in moving from Gienchi to Metal Gienchi?

To tell the truth, there was no difficulty, it was a simple consequence. The brand has only gained from this shift, Metal Gienchi is much more immediate about who we are and what we do.

#7 Tell us about your plans for the future: where will Giancarlo Grossi take us in the next few years?

As I said, a few years ago I made the choice to get away from modern society for a while to be able to go back thinking with my head, to reflect. I would like, one day, to take YOU to my Africa and show you how each of us is actually able to create something unique and personal, first for himself and then for the others.

 All the images featured are realized by Gienchi.