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Antonio Ciutto's dancing days may be over, but his promising career in fashion is just getting warmed up. Sarah Louise Taylor profiles the designer.
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Not many people can say that they've made the leap from dancing to designing, but then not many people are quite like Antonio Ciutto - talented, ambitious and yet refreshingly un-affected by the shiny fashion industry. Born in South Africa during the 1970s, Ciutto grew up to become a specialist in Latin American and Ballroom dancing and has competed since he was eleven. However, despite representing his country at World Championship level, his dancing days are now quite literally over as he's discovered his passion for fashion.
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After becoming a Bachelor of Architecture, Ciutto moved to the UK in 1995 - originally to further his dancing career - and continued to work in the architecture industry. After a change of heart, Ciutto left behind his specialisms and went on to successfully complete an MA in Womenswear at Central St Martins in March 2000. He's remained a resident of London ever since.
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Following his graduation, Ciutto has showed off-schedule at the last two London Fashion Week events and both times the designer has clearly demonstrated his flair and imagination. The latter show was held outside, opposite the Natural History Museum much to the delight of fashionistas and hundreds of children queueing up to see the dinosaurs.
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His spring/summer and autumn/winter collections for this year pay attention to key trends whilst remaining unique. Ciutto claims to be inspired by anything and everything such as things he never owned as a child. However, his last collection was heavily based on books of old photographs he bought at a car boot sale. The result is a translation of ordinarily masculine clothing into sharp womenswear that's feminine and sexy without flashing flesh. Although Ciutto isn't giving away any secrets as to what his next collection will comprise of, he has assured fuk.co.uk that he'll once again be avoiding rigid catwalks and opting for a more fluid approach to showing his creations.
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In ten years time Antonio believes that he'll still be designing although he hopes that his hard work will have paid off and that he'll be enjoying what most young designers aim to achieve - financial security. For Ciutto, this seems likely as his garments are already being sold in London, Paris and Hong Kong and his success is partly because he follows his own advice to aspiring designers - learn quickly from your mistakes and never give up.
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UK Stockists:
Kokon To Zai, 57 Greek Street, London W1
Telephone: 020 7434 1316
The Pineal Eye (from September), 47-49 Broadwick Street, London W1
Telephone: 020 7434 2567
Buyer enquiries: 0793 924 6343
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