m.a+ by Maurizio Amadei “One-Piece project”
Achieving the impossible with one piece of fabric and no fashion education
Maurizio Amadei is a pioneer in the artisanal fashion industry and became a household name, because of his unique approach towards designing and materials. The peculiarity of Maurizio's vision can sometimes be neglected, but notably, Maurizio Amadei was the first to introduce one-piece garments to the industry. In this article we dive deeper into his design philosophy.
When talking about design, Maurizio Amadei taught himself constructing garments at the age of 10, without any fashion school education. This led him to develop a way of constructing that is unique to him and can’t be replicated by many others. Hence the reason that all m.a+ by Maurizio Amadei garments are produced by him and his team (that has been with m.a+ for over a decade) in his own atelier in Rome.
The design philosophy of m.a+ by Maurizio Amadei can be referred to as minimalistic and refined, as Maurizio aims to avoid cuts like in European patternmaking and minimize the amount of seams as much as possible. This way of construction is executed by folding the materials and molding them around the body, instead of cutting and using pre-existing patterns.
In essence, all new designs from Maurizio are created from scratch and require a different mindset and creativity from Maurizio towards its construction. This is why his work is often referred to as Wearable Art, as every item contains a set of refined hidden details that are difficult to catch from a distance – such as pockets that are created within the pattern, garments are folded and sewn together with 1 seam and footwear that is created out of one single piece of leather.
One-Piece Project
SKINS exhibition at Lift Etage, 2010.
Logically, this vision on garment construction established interest in Japan. In 2010, Tokyo based Artisanal fashion boutique, Lift Etage invited Maurizio to explain his approach to garment construction via an exhibition.
Maurizio named the exhibition SKINS, as it refers to the foundation of where he starts his work, namely the human body. To explain his philosophy without language barriers, Maurizio portrayed his philosophy by demonstrating that he could use one single piece of fabric to create an one entire outfit from head to toe. The linen pattern was laid out in the home atelier of Maurizio and every part of the folding process has been photographed through the glass ceiling of the roof. Ultimately, the complete outfit was assembled by 4 folds that together visualize the signature cross in the center of the upper chest.
During the exhibition, the photographs were placed in chronological order to show the process from material to end piece. Furthermore, the leather of the back of 1 entire cow was spread out on a wall, where Maurizio cut out one half of the pattern and created half of the piece to demonstrate how he created the one-piece.
