HE IS THE FRONT-MAN IN ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS LABELS. DESPITE BEING ONLY 31 YEARS OLD HE HAS ALREADY ACHIEVED A LOT AND NOW TAKES OFF TO EVEN MORE AMBITIOUS PROJECTS FOCUSING ON YOUNG CREATIVE PEOPLE FROM AROUND THE GLOBE. WE’VE SPEND A BIT MORE THAN 55 SECONDS WITH ANDREA ROSSO OF 55DSL AND WERE MORE THAN IMPRESSED.
What is your first memory of Diesel as a child? Everyone thinks that you were somehow born in the biggest denim factory. I grew up in the fashion world between fabrics and colors; I learned sewing when I was 13 and later on at 16 Ι started to work within the company. My first job was quality controller In Diesel…
As the son of Mr. Diesel but also head of 55DSL (since 2001) do you somehow feel competitive with Diesel as a brand? Absolutely not! 55DSL has its own identity; our claim is “live at least 55seconds per day” and represents our positive feeling about life and the desire to enjoy every moment in it! We are trying to build up a world of values and a lifestyle for a street-urban public who loves graphics and colours!
It is well known that you travel a lot. Which are your favorite city destinations and what do you always take with you when traveling? I really like Japan and Tokyo in particular, that’s were I found the most incredible and crazy things! I always carry with me my camera and my scrapbook to draw things and take notes…
Is it the people or the landscapes and urban scenery that inspire you most? It’s a mix of the two… I take inspiration from people, the way they look, what they wear, how they act according to the environment that surrounds them!
Have you ever been to Greece? What do you think of Athens? Yes I have been to Greece and to Athens too. I think it was ‘96 when I went there and I still have nice memories of the city and the time I spent there… Τo be honest I come to Greece every summer for holiday in your wonderful islands!
What is you vision about 55DSL? In terms of products I wanna focus on graphics for t-shirts and sweats, new models of light jackets, coloured denim and cargo pants! Develop new collaborations with artists and maybe companies as well to be able to create new products, always innovative and fresh. We wanna be quick and immediate in the market and always being surprisingly appealing for our customers!
The latest trend in the denim industry screams out loud “organic”! Is 55DSL investing on this trend, are you trying to go a step further? For SS2009 we launched two organic tees, from the fabric to the colors used for the printings up to the packaging itself, everything is developed according to the respect for nature and the environment… Now it’s just a test but I would like to continue with this project and create new models and develop new projects!
In the 55DSL collection for Autumn/Winter 08/09 we see a lot of influences from the 80’s. Is it your favorite decade? It was a kind of coincidence… We took inspiration from this mainstream trend but to tell you the truth the eighties is the decade I like the most, because of cool graphics, arcade games and cartoon images!
What kind of music did you listen to back then? You were a teenager at that time! To be honest with you I was more a child than a teenager, I am very young though! But I have clear in my mind the music my mum used to listen to while she was driving; David Bowie, The Police and REM… We have heard about the new project called 10.55.
Could you give us some more information about it? Yes! It’s a project that sees involved artists from different countries and backgrounds; deejays, designers or anything related to art and music have been asked to realize a t-shirt for 55DSL. These t-shirts will be produced in a limited edition of 1055 items per model and sold at authorized 55DSL dealers all around the world! The very cool thing is that we give them a complete creative freedom to design their own t-shirt! Without limitations!
The year 2009 is the 15th anniversary of 55DSL. Is it evaluation time for you? If so please list three weak and three strong points of 55DSL those 15 years. It’s a very important moment when you analyze your past with a critical eye and create new objectives for the next years. I am very happy about the results we reached so far… Of course we can always improve and grow more, but I can really say I am satisfied about the good level of my products, the creativity and above all about the team we built up in these years!
How are you going to celebrate this anniversary? We are developing new projects involving every part of the process, from retail to event, from creativity to the product, but it’s still too early to reveal them! “Live at least 55 seconds per day” is 55DSL main motto.
What are your ideal 55 seconds within the same day? Every day has its own 55 seconds; it means thinking positive and doing something for yourself… One day it could be taking my time and reading a book in the middle of nowhere!
