Boldini Trendsetter ep.5: Felisi

From its birth in Ferrara in 1973, the leather goods and accessories brand Felisi has managed to turn from a simple artisan workshop into one of the most appreciated examples of Made in Italy in the world, expanding into America and Asia. The latest project of the Emilian brand is the Boldini Trendsetter video project, conceived by Ilturco cultural association and created by some high school students from Ferrara. In this fifth episode the students of the Ercole I d'Este Institute chatted with Caterina Dondi, Retail Coordinator of Felisi Bags & Belts, on the connection between fashion and art, in relation to the works of painter Giovanni Boldini exhibited at Palazzo Diamanti.
Caterina told how many similarities there are with Boldini's pictorial approach, especially in the need to know how to observe the surrounding world, balancing stimuli based on what one is really looking for and what one wants to achieve at the end of the project.
The accessories, the same made by the brand, were fundamental in the early 1900s to define the personality of the characters, the painter used it to visually express the psychology of his portraits, helping a complete reading of the work. This is one of the great challenges and difficulties in the work of Felisi, who must be able to adapt the collections according to the demands of consumers, with different tastes all over the world.

The attention towards the global market has led Boldini 30 years ago to broaden its horizons to the United States and above all to Japan. Boldini Trendsetter is part of the initiatives supporting the "Boldini e la moda" exhibition, taking place from 16 February at Palazzo Diamanti and open to the public until 2 June. Within the educational project "The image in the mirror", organized with Eni's support, the students of the Einaudi Institute, the Ercole I d'Este Institute and the Smiling International School interviewed other important figures in the world of fashion. After the creative director of Slam Jam Gabriele Casaccia, the fashion designer Danilo Paura, Walter D'Aprile of nss factory, Alterazioni Video and Felisi, the last guest will be Matthew Williams, founder of 1017 ALYX 9SM.