Graduate of the School of the Art Institute Chicago, trained graphic designer and recipient of the The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation's Award in 2006, Melissa Serpico founded her label SERPICO with the vision of linear quality and spatial integrity of modern and classical architecture with fine fabrics and a quintessential “Made in Italy” quality that is rarely found in young designers today.

Lynn Furge:  What about fashion made you veer from the path of graphic design and go back to school to become a fashion designer, and what did you learn from the graphic part of the design business?

Melissa Serpico:  The textures and richness of the fabrics and materials and the 3-dimensional/sculptural quality of garments really drew me to the field.  Also, what you put on your body is a very personal thing.  It is the most immediate way to express yourself to others.  To be able to create pieces that become so personal to someone is very interesting to me. 

Studying graphic design gave me a tremendous sense of how to balance a page, or a look, or any arrangement.  The basic rules and fundamentals of design can be applied to all mediums and is very helpful and inspiring in fashion.  I feel that the bold sensibility of graphics and type are also somewhat reflected in my designs. 

LF:  What comes first for you, inspiration, fit, fabric or function and why?

MS:  Inspiration always comes first.  Whether it is as vague as a mood or as specific as a certain color or cut.  A collection comes together best when there is an overall feeling or mood that touches each piece.  Otherwise, it can look like it does not really belong together.  

LF:  What inspired this current collection?

MS:  The FALL 09 SERPICO collection was inspired by my travels in Europe that season previous.  I visited many romantic baroque gardens in northern Italy and France and completely fell in love with them. The gardens were a part of extraordinary palaces and were filled with exotic plants and fruits but were manicured very precisely.  They were places for lovers to steal a moment alone and hide amongst the mazes of flora.

LF:  Being an American designer, why did you decide to produce in Italy?

MS:  We do currently produce in Chicago and Italy and decide which items will fit best where.  The decision to produce in Italy was made for several reasons.  First, I was having a lot of trouble finding production locally to produce at the quality that I wanted and at the quantity that I currently produce.  It is very difficult to find a manufacturer that is the right fit for your line.  While I was looking and contacting many factories in the U.S. and in Europe, I came across a factory outside of Lake Maggiore in Italy that had a tremendous history and client list and was interested in working with us.  My husband and I traveled to the factory, met the owner and the workers and viewed their process and techniques and could not have been happier.  The owner is extremely nice and down to earth, which is so important in this business, and he was excited to work with us.  It just fit.  We also source about 99% of our materials from Italy and Europe so it is much easier to ship them all to the factory for production and then ship the finished goods to customers, so we did cut down on shipping quite a bit.  The factory is also full service so we can have all steps in production done in one place instead of shipping items from the grader, to the plotter, to the cutter, etc.

Lastly, we travel to Italy quite frequently and hope to spend more and more time there in the future, so it is a little personal too!

LF:  Who is your muse?

MS:  My muses are the fabulous everyday women of the world who are not afraid to take chances with style and are always trying to push the envelope.  I love when I unexpectedly see someone on the street that has it goin’ on and it is new and fresh!

LF:  Where do you see the SERPICO line heading in the next five years?

MS:  In 5 years we hope to be producing four STRONG collections a year that are quite a bit larger than current collections so that we can expand our offerings to clients.  I hope to open a minimum of 100 new doors in 5 years and have a stable and happy company.   Having a few key SERPICO boutiques in the best-suited international cities for us is also in the plans.  There has also been a lot of requests for a men’s line and we hope to tackle that when the time is right.  We want to expand greatly but at a pace that is realistic and that we can keep up with for quality control.  The only way to go is up and our dreams are big!

Serpico.com