Larissa Castellano Pucci

Summary

Italian digital fashion designer and granddaughter of iconic fashion designer Emilio Pucci, Larissa Castellano Pucci graduated in information science from Cornell University and perceived how technology could tackle problems in the fashion industry, like preserving archived collections. Her strong background in fashion and interest in Web3 technology inspired her to launch phygital fashion house, Foulara.

History

Born and raised in in Florence amongst the legacy left by the Medicis, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Brunelleschi and Machiavelli, and influenced by her grandfather Emilio Pucci, Italian digital fashion designer Larissa Castellano Pucci was always thinking of ways to reference history and heritage while building digital spaces. Following graduation in Information Science, Fine Arts and Art History from Cornell University, the young girl began exploring an overlap between digital and physical fashion.

Larissa began her career in fashion in 2016 as Product Development Assistant at Emilio Pucci, where she simulated multiple renderings of prototypes on Photoshop, constructed mood boards, reviewed competitor accessories and compiled a merchandising plan for the FW 2017 collection, facilitated development of prototypes, launched a macro-design exploration of an archival print for a canvas bag and also designed small leather goods such as wallets. The following year, she interned with Spring Studios in Milan, where she re-branded Rarum, a chain of luxury boutique hotels and ensured guidelines of the Trussardi e-commerce shooting were followed, among other things.

Larissa’s next key achievement was Visual Technologist Consultant at DressX in San Fransisco, since 2021. A retail platform for digital-only fashion, here she combined her 3D background and creative vision to help define a visual identity for DressX, analysed their Instagram and proposed visual content, and developed an in-house collection ‘Marea’. The digital garments shimmered like fish scales, with  undulating hemlines.  There was no looking back. Two items were selected to be a part of Crypto Fashion Week, a week-long event dedicated to blockchain-powered digital fashion.

Larissa’s strong background in fashion and deep interest in Web3 technology inspired her to continue exploring new interfaces for creativity from printmaking to web design, painting to game-design, Arduino, AI and infographics. Since then, a whole new world opened up and she became obsessed with the idea of combining traditional art practices with new technologies, and finally launched phygital fashion house, Foulara in Florence, Italy. Today, she designs and develops unique prints, creates multiple colour-ways, thinks about placement and print positioning, and also manages the production of collections by selecting manufacturers and choosing suppliers. FouLara now plans to debut an NFT minting service to enable users to design and mint NFT prints.

“If you hail from a background that has so much, you either follow in the footsteps or try to carve out your own identity,” Larissa Castellano Pucci stated in The New York Times. “Otherwise, it’s overbearing. I can only reimagine my legacy; I can’t escape it.”

Vision

Passionate about the crossover between fashion and technology and the evolution of craft, Larissa Castellano Pucci envisions exploring the new horizons of fashion through experiments and drops on Foulara.it

Mission Statement

To design and develop unique prints, create multiple colour-ways and think about placement and print positioning while managing the production of collections by selecting manufacturers and choosing suppliers.

Products and Services

Phygital fashion

References

1. https://www.tatler.com/article/lady-meta-my-stratospheric-rise-through-the-metaverse
2. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/22/style/italian-family-businesses-milan-fashion-week.html
3. https://www.glossy.co/fashion/in-the-battle-between-metaverse-fashion-weeks-its-luxury-brands-vs-digital-designers/
4. https://www.tatler.com/article/lady-meta-my-stratospheric-rise-through-the-metaverse
5. https://graziamagazine.com/me/articles/digital-fashion-designer-interviews/
6. https://www.shiftlondon.org/features/meet-the-digital-fashion-designers-shaping-the-future/
7. https://cornellsun.com/2016/02/23/student-artists-depict-identity-in-group-show/
8. https://www.magnopus.com/blog/blurring-the-lines-between-the-physical-and-digital-an-a-z-of-those-shaping-the-future-of-fashion
9. https://www.lensculture.com/larissa-castellano-pucci
10. https://laravivara.com/work