Anna Molinari, Blumarine’s Brains, Gets Candid About her Substantial Career

A version of this exclusive interview first appeared in the pages of the 14th issue of ODDA Magazine.

This is the Queen B issue. Who is your Queen B and have your role models changed over time?

I do not have one specific role model. I admire all women who, regardless of their professional field, have been able to express the courage, determination and consistency of their choices without sacrificing their femininity and sensibility.

Do you have any guilty pleasures?

I get enraptured by beauty in all its forms and this often translates into the instinctive purchase of antiques and art works that fully captures my personal sensibility.

Photographer MARCO CELLA

When you last spoke to ODDA, you had seven tattoos. Have you added to your collection? If so, what have you got and what is the meaning behind it?

I have not added any new tattoo. Those I’ve got through the years are all connected to crucial stages of my life and if I ever decide to get another one it will have to be for a very special occasion.

Where was your last vacation and what was the most magical part of it?

Recently during the Athens Xclusive Designers Week, I have presented the Blugirl SS 2018 collection and I had the chance of visiting the Acropolis and its museum. Presenting my fashion creations in a country so full of beauty and sublime artistic expressions, harmoniously coexisting with tradition and innovation, was absolutely exciting.

Who is your best friend?

My friend Lena, who lives in my city, Carpi, has been my dearest friend since our school days. We have always shared everything and, to this day, she has never failed to show her support and sympathy.

What has been your favorite Blumarine collaboration over the past forty years?
Many are the people I had the opportunity to collaborate with, who offered precious advices and suggestions for the success of Blumarine. When it comes to design, I can mention Franco Moschino and Walter Albini, who shared with me the secrets of fabric tailoring and know-how at the beginning of my career when I was mostly specialized in knitwear. Manuela Pavesi, Vogue Italia’s historic Fashion Editor, was also a crucial figure in the creation of the image of Blumarine, through the collaboration with the most important photographers of the time.

You got all of your tattoos for love. What role does love play in your life?

Love has always represented the driving force guiding my life. I have created Blumarine in 1977 with my husband Gianpaolo and I was able to share with him, and later on with my children, all my most important professional choices, stemming from an unconditional and mutual respect. I am a very emotional person and I have often followed my feelings and they have often proved to be more far-sighted than mere rationality.

What is your biggest dream?

To be able to keep working as a fashion designer, a profession I am still very passionate about and that allows me to express my aesthetic sensibility by creating clothes that suit every woman’s personality and way of being. I love engaging in a continuous research and to show interest in all that is around me.

How often do you spend in your garden and how do you maintain it while you are traveling?

I often spend my free time in the garden of my country house in Carpi, contemplating the natural changes of the seasons and the blooming of the various species of roses I collect. I often personally take care of my flowers, from the essence planning to the pruning, but there’s a trusted person who takes charge when I am way.

Who would play you in a film?

I would like to tell my own story, because there are so many emotions that I would like to express and convey.

Costume BLUGIRL for Grazia

What is your earliest memory?

My parents’ knitwear factory in Carpi, the “Molly” where, as a child, I used to watch with genuine addition knitters working with great know-how and competence and used to try to emulate them dressing my dolls with whatever I could find.

Who have been your most influential teachers and why?

My mother Odette has undoubtedly passed on to me her design sensibility, sparking my passion for fashion. Roses, very much loved by my mother, who introduced me to their charm very young, have become the symbol of my collections and a reflection of my vision of beauty.

Do you remember the first idea or inspiration, all of those forty years ago, which brought your first Blumarine collection to life?

I must mention Blumarine’s first collection which stood out for some angora knits presented in pastel shades with three-dimensional roses appliques. For this collection, I was awarded as Best Designer of the Year at MODIT, the forerunner of Milano Moda Donna in 1980.

Your children are heavily involved in the company. What energies have they brought to the table?

Their contribution has been crucial. My son Gianguido, after the passing of his father in 2006, with the management of the company as CEO and my daughter Rossella with the definition of the image of Blumarine through the collaborations with the most important photographers of the time for our advertising campaigns throughout the years.

What role has art played across your career? Do you have a favorite Italian artist?

I have always loved art in all its shapes and forms, with a penchant for late XIX century Romantic painting, especially Italian, which depicted the lands- capes and costumes of the time with great elegance and pictorial harmony. I am particularly fond of Giovanni Boldini, who painted astonishingly beautiful works dedicated to the Belle Époque.

Photographer MARCO CELLA

What is your relationship with Carpi like?

Being born and raised in Carpi, where I still live, I’ve had the chance of taking advantage of the opportunity offered by the city at the heart of one of the most important textile districts in Italy, specialized in knitwear.
I have relied on the expertise of the local laboratories, still able to create clothes using special techniques that represent the true expression of the Made in Italy.

Carpi is also a very pleasant city that allows for great personal relationships and high quality of life thanks to the services available and, although traveling a lot, I have always maintained my ‘roots’ here.

You are the designer for the children’s arm of Blumarine, Blugirl. What keeps you young at heart?

I believe that it is very important to be curious about what’s around us, and to always keep alive the desire to amazed, excited and to experience life with a positive attitude that belongs to our childhood and that we should all try to cherish as the years go by.