Sons of Man

OONA: “Italy has a rich tradition of craftsmanship and artistry. How does your Italian heritage shape not only your design philosophy but also your worldview as a creator? How do you transform the weight of tradition into a springboard for innovation, rather than a tether?”

TOMMASO: Italy is clearly known for its tradition and I personally met many artisanal that have an incredible knowledge that I’m afraid it’s gonna be lost in the future. My vision is to preserve that expertise by incorporating it into my forward-thinking creations, forging a tradition that looks boldly to the future. Many of the Italian brands that we all know are symbols of excellence all over the world and they’re the ones who created the tradition. I hope the future allows more room for new brands and designers. Otherwise, tradition risks becoming a form of gatekeeping—if it hasn’t already.

OONA: “Fashion mirrors the zeitgeist. Do you see your work as a reflection of today’s cultural soul, a rebellion against it, or perhaps a dream of what could be? How do your creations speak to the collective consciousness?”

I feel pretty rebellious towards todays society to be honest, both ethically and economically. I’m fascinated by ancient traditions and civilization because back then it was more understood that what the humans really needed was just love and nature. In this capitalistic world, I often feel like a fish out of water, still searching for my own sense of balance. 

Especially because what I do is just purely driven by passion and willingness to spread positive and interesting themes hidden in my creations. My hope is to spark curiosity in others, encouraging them to see the world from a different perspective. 

3. If you were to design an outfit to embody a single emotion—joy, longing, resilience—what emotion would you choose, and how would you distill its essence into fabric, texture, and form?

I think that resilience might be the best one for me, I moved to Milan 6 years ago to chase this dream, went to university for 1 year and then spent the other 5 years working day and night trying to affine my craft and create clothes more and more complex to express myself. 

Resilience to me looks like a huge puffer made by 30 different puffed pieces sewn with a normal sewing machines, breaking needles and thread 100 times, this pretty much embodies what I went through 

4. As a designer, you exist between the fleeting pulse of trends and the enduring power of timelessness. How do you navigate this liminal space, and what does “timeless” mean to you in an age of impermanence?

Honestly I don’t get too stressed about this, when I create something it often comes in a blink of an eye, I usually say that I take ideas from the ether, the highest and purest part of the earth atmosphere. 

I don’t want to look too much into everyone’s new collection, I’m trying to build the foundation now and my key points are padding and exaggerated volumes, often alien inspired. 

Now that everything is so fast and even great ideas last for one day it’s difficult to define what timeless really means, one of my future goals is to try to create a new kind of garment that could be remembered. I believe that only shocking innovation,something both groundbreaking and universally useful,has the potential to achieve timelessness in this era.

5. Creativity often flourishes in the face of adversity. Can you share a moment where failure or an unexpected challenge unlocked a new layer of your artistry or deepened your perspective as a designer?

I’ve always tried to put myself in face of adversity, setting personal challenges that seemed stupid to most of my friends. Yet, these challenges helped me gain strength and a deeper awareness of my capabilities.

Over the past five hard years I’ve always tried to create as much as possible, driven by curiosity and pushed by the belief that failure only occurs when you give up on your dreams.

Working as much as I can has always been my only asset in this saturated market. 

6. If your designs were a storybook, who would be the central character, and what universal truth or lesson would their journey reveal? How do you infuse this narrative into the textures, patterns, and silhouettes you create?

My past collections are clearly inspired by aliens, puffer jacket with massive elongated hoods evoke the shapes of alien skulls. If my designs were a storybook, the central characters would be an ancient god-like civilization arriving on a new planet near the collapse to teach them new technologies and help them flourish basing life on love and mutual respect and taking out all the wickedness.

I imagine these otherworldly beings dressed entirely in my silhouettes.

I infused this narrative in some of the pieces either with symbols or by naming products in certain ways 

7. In an era dominated by fast fashion and disposability, how do you infuse your work with soul? How do you create garments that foster a profound connection between the wearer and the craft itself?

Since I personally craft every piece there’s some Tommaso Motti in each one of them. 

I’m strongly against fast fashion and mass production sonceboth perfectly reflects todays capitalistic society. Beautiful clothing have almost lost its true value in this era of excess and I often find myself questioning where we’re headed.

Besides creating my pieces I often include some small symbolic details, stitched in the padding pattern, that are believed to evoke positive energies around the people who’ll wear it. It’s a subtle but meaningful way to connect with the wearer and add a layer of intention to each creation

8. If you could collaborate with one non-fashion artist—whether a filmmaker, musician, or painter—who would you choose, and what universal theme or emotional truth would your partnership explore? How would this interdisciplinary dialogue shape your work?

I would love to collaborate with a marble sculpture to create a unique marble puffer patiently crafted by hand, like my creations.

I m deeply fascinated by sculpture because it requires a lot of precision and dedication, qualities that resonate closely with what sewing represents for me.

The universal truth would be exploring the connection between past and future, blending traditional art techniques with modern a modern innovative design  for the puffer jacket.

Interview by Oona Chanel

Designer Patrick P Yee

Photography by Sons of Man