{"id":812,"date":"2013-03-14T11:23:04","date_gmt":"2013-03-14T08:23:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.keikari.com\/english\/?p=812"},"modified":"2015-03-18T18:48:37","modified_gmt":"2015-03-18T15:48:37","slug":"interview-with-domenico-mimmo-spano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.keikari.com\/english\/interview-with-domenico-mimmo-spano\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Domenico “Mimmo” Spano"},"content":{"rendered":"

“I\u00a0am 68 years old, my occupation is stylist\/designer.\u00a0I was\u00a0born and educated in Italy, graduated in 1963 from Istituto Tecnico per geometri<\/em> in English as Land Surveyor. I also graduated \u00a0from the Scuola S.ufficiali Carabinieri<\/em> military school in Florence, Italy, in 1970.\u00a0I have 2 daughters, Elisabeth and Cristina, my wife unfortunately died 10 years ago. I still miss her and I will miss her for the rest of my life.\u00a0I met my wife in Florence, she was American and was there for studies. My love for this woman (Rina) brought me to the USA.<\/p>\n

\"Interview_with_Domenico_Mimmo_Spano_at_Keikari_dot_com\"<\/a><\/p>\n

3 days after we met I told her I was going to marry her, leave everything and follow her to this country.\u00a0I know this seems a little unusual, but this is my personality. By nature I am an incurable romantic, and always follow my instincts and dreams without worrying about the future or consequences.\u00a0This type of personality is reflected in the style and design of my product.<\/p>\n

\"Interview_with_Domenico_Mimmo_Spano_at_Keikari_dot_com2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

My products, bespoke and ready to wear, were sold successfully at Bergdorf Goodman and Saks 5th Avenue for many years.\u00a0In 2001 I opened my own atelier at 12W 57th street off 5th Avenue in New York City.\u00a0When I was a teenager in Italy, I was fascinated by the 1930s American movies, I was dreaming of dressing like those characters and actors, Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, George raft, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, just to mention a few.\u00a0When I came to the USA, I did not speak a single word of English. My\u00a0father-in-law was a great\u00a0tailor, he was very well known. By default, and not knowing what else to do, I was working in his shop as a bookkeeper.\u00a0My father-in-law, Joseph Gangemi, with my uncle Nino were my mentors and inspiration; the one for uncompromising quality and\u00a0sense of proportions, the other for style and panache.<\/p>\n

\"Interview_with_Domenico_Mimmo_Spano_at_Keikari_dot_com3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

While I was there I learned a lot, and when my father-in-law died, the shop closed, and I had to look for a job.\u00a0I started working as a salesman and in managerial positions in different luxury clothing stores.\u00a0The customers liked me, my stile, my presentations and my sense of colors and how to coordinate them.\u00a0The rest, as a way to speak, is history.\u00a0I am not a tailor. As a matter of fact I don’t know how to sew a button, I have several talented tailors that work under my directions.\u00a0My way of dress, I believe, is classic but has its own personality.\u00a0The style is as much as possible 1930s Hollywood, with emphasis on the cloth itself and its texture and colors.\u00a0Most of the fashion people talk about style, cut, number of stitches per square inch, etc., but very few speak about the cloth, and what it adds to the style.<\/p>\n

\"Interview_with_Domenico_Mimmo_Spano_at_Keikari_dot_com4\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course what I say is not Gospel and I may be mistaken, but this my humble opinion.\u00a0My product has been well-received and I enjoy what I am doing, it gives me the possibility to dream!! What is life without dreams?\u00a0Young men are very much interested in my style, and they really understand it. I learn a lot from them. This, for me, is very important because it gives me hope for the future of men’s fashion.\u00a0Besides fashion, my interests are; reading (not fashion books), but classics from Victor Hugo, Dumas, Dickens, Melville, Zola, etc., cooking , gardening , listening to classical music all day, long walks and long bicycle rides without a helmet.\u00a0Pretty boring! Isn’t it?<\/p>\n

\"Interview_with_Domenico_Mimmo_Spano_at_Keikari_dot_com5\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u00a0is very kind of you to ask me to pass a style comment to the readers, I will try with humility.\u00a0Educate yourself about fashion, reading books related to it, watch old movies, follow blogs, etc. But always be an individual, follow your own instinct and your individual style. If you really are interested in fashion, you can develop your own style and don’t have to necessarily take for Gospel what you read.\u00a0Fashion is not an exact science, but rather a vehicle to develop your own stile. In other words, be an individual, don’t follow anybody. If you have style, it will show.”<\/p>\n

\"Interview_with_Domenico_Mimmo_Spano_at_Keikari_dot_com6\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Pictures: \u00a9 Domenico “Mimmo” Spano<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“I\u00a0am 68 years old, my occupation is stylist\/designer.\u00a0I was\u00a0born and educated in Italy, graduated in 1963 from Istituto Tecnico per …
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