In the fashion world, some blend sartorial tradition with bold design and a marked obsession with details made of pearls, feathers, tulle, crystals and crinoline: this happens where clothing becomes an expression of the self, making use of fabrics, shapes and trimmings that are timeless and never decontextualised from reality. Enrico Dray, an emerging designer of Italian haute couture, creates collections with a well-educated and sophisticated feel that is rooted in the culture of beauty, blending art, costume and history.
Maison Dray was founded in Bra, in the province of Cuneo, where the atelier houses both the showroom and the creative office, and is also based in Milan, the professional epicentre of the couturier. His garments are characterised by harmonious and symmetrical lines, in keeping with his perfectionism and the idea of beauty that fascinates him so much, as well as by the search for precious fabrics with a striking impact with which to make them. Enrico Dray was recently awarded the Premio Internazionale alla Buona Volontà (International Goodwill Award), during which he presented Rooftop, a capsule collection made up of vibrant colours, sequins and a sparkle that echoes the Roaring Twenties in New York and the high society of cosmopolitan elites sipping champagne on the rooftop terraces of the Big Apple. During Milan Fashion Week, he answered our questions, painting his world with these words.
Let’s start from the beginning. What does fashion mean to Enrico Dray?
My vision of fashion stems from the desire to transform clothing into a language, a lexicon made up of fabrics and details that tell stories that are both intimate and universal at the same time. I am not interested in following trends, but in creating a world in which women can recognise themselves as absolute protagonists. My passion began as a child, observing the movements of hands sewing, embroidering and shaping materials: I realised that fashion was a performing art, capable of bringing concrete dreams to life. My clientele is international, cosmopolitan and cultured: women who are not simply looking for a dress, but an aesthetic and emotional experience, a distinctive mark that accompanies them in unique moments.
What do the clothes and bags in the Rooftop collection represent?
The ‘Rooftop’ capsule collection was inspired by the glittering world of exclusive New York jet-set parties, combining the wild euphoria of the 1920s with the modernist elegance of 1960s rooftop parties. I wanted to capture that vibe suspended between hedonism and refinement: the dresses recall the fluidity of the fringes and feathers that danced under the lights of Harlem in the jazz years, but also the essential lines and clean cuts of Warhol’s muses and the Factory. The bags, on the other hand, are designed as small luminous treasure chests, embellished with jewelled details and architectural shapes reminiscent of the Manhattan skyline. Rooftop tells the story of the freedom of a woman who lives the night as a stage, always straddling the past and the present, glamour and the avant-garde.
The bustier is the symbol of your couture. Why this item of clothing?
For me, the bustier is a manifesto: it embodies the duality between structure and sensuality. It fascinates me because it is both armour and caress, an element that supports but at the same time reveals. Its lines recall Baroque architecture, Renaissance geometry and the perspective effects of art. In terms of materials, I am inspired by the transparency of tulle, the rigidity of horsehair and the sparkle of crystals reminiscent of Byzantine mosaics. Each bustier is an ode to femininity as strength and poetry.
If you had to identify the distinctive features of Maison Dray, what would they be?
I would choose the meticulous attention to fabrics – chosen for their character, never for their convention – and the ability to transform them into wearable scenography. I love working with materials that balance lightness and structure: organza, tulle, pure silk, but also more daring elements such as feathers, pearls and crystals. Iconic garments? Without a doubt, bustiers, sculptural dresses and flowing skirts that play with volume. The Dray woman is cultured, sophisticated, with a refined aesthetic sense: a woman who does not dress to be seen, but to declare who she is.
History, cinema and art: who and what inspires you?
Different eras and languages fuel my imagination: I love the opulence of the Baroque and the purity of the Renaissance, as well as the rigorous lines of Art Deco. In cinema, I am enchanted by the works of Visconti, Fellini and Sofia Coppola, who can transform costumes into extensions of the narrative. In art, I am as inspired by Caravaggio and his dramatic use of light as I am by Klimt and the golden sensuality of his female figures. Each collection is a bridge between the past and the present, a continuous dialogue between memory and innovation.
Enjoy even more @ www.instagram.com/maisondray
Article edited by Claudia Chiari