The Atelier Antonia Sautter is a dreamlike corner in the heart of Venice, a stone’s throw from Piazza San Marco. In thirty years of activity, Antonia has welcomed thousands of people, of different nationalities, culture, lifestyles and personalities into her Atelier, but all are equally astounded after having crossed the threshold. More than 1500 costumes made over the years by seamstresses have contributed to this enchantment, with precious materials, history, tradition and beauty in every detail.
Antonia Sautter is known to the general public above all for being the hostess, as well as the creator and the creative soul behind the most famous Carnival gala in the world, Il Ballo del Doge.
What is the inspiration behind your costumes and accessories?
Being born and raised in Venice, and keep working and working in this city, has stimulated my creativity. As a child, my mother made my costumes for the Venice Carnival by hand. I loved watching her skilled hands as she took a piece of fabric and created a whole world where imagination had no limits and where I was a queen. I think that’s when I started dreaming of becoming a costume designer. I realised then how important it was for me to make dreams come true with my own hands. Today, when I create my fashion and home décor collections, working precious fabrics in my tailoring atelier, I relive the immense happiness in seeing the dreams of my childhood take shape.
From an idea to the artistic direction: what happens in backstage?
Backstage is the place where all human feelings merge: from the most unbridled joy to nervousness, apprehension, expectation, hugs and a sense of cohesion. At these times, Il Ballo del Doge takes precedence over all other priorities and becomes our only shared life mission: to give shapes to every idea conceived and hatched months, even years, before. Sometimes I cultivate ideas that remain embryonic for a long time, until suddenly a completely unpredictable and random event occurs, which gives definite shape to the idea. When this happens, the resulting happiness is indescribable!
Carnival Rhapsody – Provocation, Redemption, Miracle is the theme for the 2020 edition of Il Ballo del Doge. What does it mean to you?
In 1994, when I accepted the challenge of my first Il Ballo del Doge, I certainly didn’t imagine the path that would lead me to here, today, to the twenty-seventh edition. The motivation for me was to be able to identify those extraordinary experiences that life always presents to you, in which true success lies only in proving to yourself that you know how to grasp these opportunities.
Il Ballo del Doge 2020, for example, will be staged on Saturday 22 February and will be yet another new adventure, in an extraordinary new location, the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, a new set for an updated party, with shows, backdrops and settings that have never been seen before. Carnival Rhapsody, the title for this year, will tell the story of the Venice Carnival through the symbolism of the rhapsody, which in its musical meaning represents the freedom of interpretation of a theme, without fixed patterns, in which everyone will be able to interpret their role according to their own inspiration and observations. This raises the question: is this real life? Or is it just fantasy?
by Lucrezia Doria
