Strateas & Carlucci, The Australian Avant-Gardists

Is it easy to get all caught up by bad habits whilst trying to expose your vision?
The most challenging thing is time, money and cash-flow. We are always working to a very tight time-line and schedule, which needs to include time to create and develop new collections, ideas and fabrics, then to balance this with the operational side of the business, from day-to-day ongoings and management, to production schedules and deliveries, to sales and press and everything else in-between. When you’re so busy, you begin to collect bad habits along the way, which affect more your lifestyle choices, like some days you go without eating, or sleeping very little, or trying to do too many things at that moment in time and not focusing on a single task. This is why it’s important for us to really step back at times, look from the outside in and really gain perspective on what we are actually doing and what we really want to achieve. Also, it is easy to become very obsessive and difficult to break this habit. We become so involved and ingrained personally with our concepts and themes that it becomes difficult to break-away after the season is complete. It is like starting a new relationship or friendship, and just when the relationship is about to reach its crescendo, it ends.

ODDA 15, Photograph by Yuji Watanabe, clothes from Strateas Carlucci Fall/Winter 18-19 collection.

It feels like there is so much unfinished business, and feels that you emotionally give so much of yourself to this thing, that it is hard to essentially let it go. As an example, for our SS’18 collection TRANSIT, we were inspired by the late Chinese photographer, Ren Hang, who has always been a true inspiration for us. His imagery had always been up on our moodboard for a long time, and when we heard the devastating news of his death, we really felt the time was right to focus on him as an artist and celebrate his work through our own interpretations. We always look to other creatives as points of inspiration, especially those who are pushing the boundaries within their own fields. Hang’s work certainly connected with us on a personal and creative level. With this collection, we felt we only really scratched the surface, and had so much more to give. Perhaps we may re-visit in the future, however there is this notion within the industry to keep moving forward on new things, and not to dwell too much on what you have done in the past.
There is this constant pressure for newness, that perhaps there may be some kind of backlash if an emerging designer dips back into their own archives so soon.

What is your best personality trait?
For me, I think it is my passion and determination in whatever I do. From work to family and general outlook on life. It could be mistaken for competitiveness, but I believe there is something in me which never wants to give up and always wants to try and find new solutions. I am also a very loyal person, which perhaps is part of my stubborn nature. Peter’s best personality trait is his inquisitive nature and childlike curiosity, always exploring new things, finding interests in the obscure and his willingness to investigate.

You have talked about your personal progression previously. Can you please talk a little bit more about this?
You continue to learn and grow as a human, so these progressions in your life ultimately affect the way you live and work. For me, personally, I have a young family with two children, so this has given me the ability to balance my home and work life and, rather than let them interferer with one-another, I have learned to let them work in harmony. Also, growing as an individual, we have seen a shift in our interest, which also informs the way we approach our work.
There seems to be more of an emotional connection to how we approach work now, and really allowing this to translate into the collections we produce. Our skills have also refined over the years, and we now have learnt to trust our judgement and follow our instincts. In the past, we would question our work constantly which can interfere with the creative process.
Also, with progression comes acceptance, learning how to harness and use the skills you possess, and learn to accept the things you are not so great at. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and learning how to use them both and understand them has been liberating and rewarding.

ODDA 15, Photograph by Yuji Watanabe, clothes from Strateas Carlucci Fall/Winter 18-19 collection.

But also, with Strateas Carlucci, you both create for a certain woman or man. In this case, what is the quality that you desire in them?
Strateas Carlucci has always been defined by the concept of masculine/feminine duality, so ultimately we are creating for a unified person, despite their gender. It’s people who are elegant and tough, sophisticated and edgy, intellectual and playful.
They possess a certain attitude and understand the concept of modern luxury and are not afraid to try new things. Not driven by trends and hype, but are drawn to quality and craftsmanship and intellectual design and concepts. These are the qualities we desire.
When we design a collection, we design it under one image and driven by a concept, and not by gender or categories. This is the creative side of the brand. However, this industry is also driven by a commercial side, hence why we need to categorize mens and womenswear. We do share many of the same pieces for Men’s and Women’s and we encourage people to see beyond the label of Men’s and Women’s.

Joy Williams, interviewed for the The Paris Review [Summer 2014], stated that what a story is, is devious. Taking into consideration your work, can you define a story, if not its usefulness?
In our line of work, stories are created through a tangible means of garments and supporting imagery and experiential accelerates, like music and other atmospheric elements when creating a show or presentation. So, for us, a story, or storytelling, is a visual experience. We liken this idea to traditional storytelling methods of that of the Australian indigenous community, where storytelling is a large part of the culture and is also a visual journey. For us, a story is a concept that connects the dots and gives a sense of reasoning. Our stories are not conveyed in words and don’t have a beginning, middle and end; our stories are ongoing and conversational and hopefully evoke an emotional response.

How has it been the quest so far to distinguish between them [new and all-time favorite/beloved brands] at all?
Over time, we have been drawn to many brands for many reasons. Some brands we love their methodologies and ability to harness a craft, others it is because of their journey or beliefs, and others it is purely because we are drawn to a certain visual aesthetic and language. The beauty of this industry is that a single idea can be transformed and translated in many different ways, which gives even the simplest of ideas such a personal and unique viewpoint.

In the words of Proust, what is your idea of happiness?
Happiness truly comes from within. If you are accepting yourself first, this will project onto others. As Oscar Wilde once said, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

Is it better to be prepared with an open-minded heart or with arms wide open?
One is an emotional response, the other is an action. It is said that actions speak louder than words, yet the actions need to come from a pure place. In our opinion you need both.

What do you know about what the future holds for Peter Strateas and Mario-Luca Carlucci?
Nothing is for certain, other than our commitment to continue to push our brand, work hard, continue to challenge ourselves both professionally and personally and remain true to who we are.
We want to share our creative vision to a larger audience and continue to tell compelling stories. In return, all we can hope for is that the people around us come along for the ride.