Interview with Francesco Tosini

The second collection created by Riccardo Tisci in collaboration with NikeLab, Training Redefined, debuts today worldwide. It is composed of two mini capsule collections, one more sober, defined only by black and white tones, and a floral one, inspired by the vegetation of Taranto, Tisci’s birthplace, Beaverton (Oregon), Nike’s headquarters, and Rio de Janeiro, the city that will host the Olympic Games this year.

For the Milanese launch of the line the brand has called the young art director Francesco Tosini to make a video that will be screened on the walls of the Excelsior of Galleria del Corso. We contacted him to find out what happened behind the scenes of the project and learn more about his future plans.

Which are the projects you’ve been working on recently you are more proud of? Apart from Nike, of course.

The project I care about the most at the moment is certainly Turbosafary. It is the art collective I founded three years ago with five other guys. Each of us has different backgrounds and artistic abilities, we move in various directions including mural art on large surfaces and lately editorial publications. We recently opened Turbosafary Publishing, a project in which we practice our graphics expertise laying out fanzines and future magazines.

Given the independent nature of your publishing house, you have the chance to choose the artists you want to work with. Is there one you would like to work with in particular?

In general, we like to work with artists who work in the realm of the abstract, since we are definitely abstract artists. If I have to make a name I would say EKTA, my favorite visual artist.

Among all the artistic disciplines you and your collective deal with, which is the one you feel more at ease with?

Murals, absolutely. I started as a teenager and since then it has remained my greatest passion.

Tell us a about your experience with Nike.

I was contacted by Nike to make videos that were to be projected on the exterior walls of the Excelsior, in Milan. I think he thought of me since I’ve been dealing with video mapping for a couple of years now.

What is video mapping about precisely?

It is of video made with the purpose to be projected on a physical surface, which is very different from the projection on a screen. It can be a building, a stone, a shirt, a statue. The important thing is that the projection respects the exact shape of the object in question.

How long did it take to make your video for Nike?

Two weeks. It is a 3D video, something I had been wanting to do for a long time. In post-production I have raised the contrasts by eliminating the materials and shadows: initially the eye perceives it in 2D, although in reality it has a three-dimensional depth that creates a particular optical illusion.

Why did you choose to shoot in black and white?

Watching videos of Riccardo Tisci I immediately had the feeling that black and white was the best solution for the job. I interpreted it as an abstract view, the phase that precedes the development of a collection.

As an artist, what is your relationship with fashion?

Fashion itself does not interest me, but at a visual level I really like to make videos about fashion collections, they let you express the concept behind it. I'd rather create graphics for the fabrics.

Right now you are in Athens, Greece, for an artist-in-residence programme.

It is a former hotel that a group of young people has restored and which houses every month three artists with different skills who are given carte blanche. I'll deal with totally analog videos and paint two or three very large canvases, but mostly I want to get inspired by the place.

Plans for the Summer?

In August, I will finally launch my website!