INTERVIEW #51 THECUBE ARCHIVE

Based in: San Giovanni Valdarno, Tuscany, Italy

Founded in 2020

Founded by: Corinna Chiassai, Alessandra Dall’Anese, Stefano Chiassai and Marius Hordijk 

Shop at/ship to: Store in Tuscany, Italy or online www.thecubearchive.com , shipping worldwide.

Instagram: @thecubearchive

What is TheCube Archive and why did you start this cool business?

TheCube Archive is an inspiring vintage fashion archive with an exclusive digital platform for research and rental of garments and accessories. We work by appointment, and welcome fashion brands and fashion designers to do research in the early phase of the creative process of making a new collection. 

Created through the eye of fashion designers, the concept behind everything is to try to create what for them represents an ideal space for creatives looking for new ideas and inspirations. The simple question we asked ourselves was, ‘what would the perfect archive look like?’ What services would it provide, what would inspire you most? Based on this, we created TheCube Archive.

We also have a strong orientation towards sustainability. In an ever faster fashion system, it has become very important to give garments a second life, to appreciate clothing that already exists, without rushing into the next new thing. We do this obviously with our archive, but also by up-cycling garments, using fabrics that are left over to create new garments and by educating (fashion) students on how to change their view on their own wardrobe. 

The up-cycling and creating of clothes comes natural to us, since we are connected to Studio Chiassai, the fashion design consultancy studio of Stefano and Corinna Chiassai. Studio Chiassai was founded by Alessandra and Stefano Chiassai in the 1980s, and specialises in consulting for men's and women's, both Italian and international sportswear- and luxury brands. With a team of 14 designers, Studio Chiassai has been the design studio behind the Fendi Uomo collection for 12 years now.This, as you can imagine, gives us knowledge and tools to be able to not only collect spectacular items but create them as well.

It is important to mention Studio Chiassai because the archive has always been an internal research tool. The job of a fashion designer is one that always needs new inspiration and therefore at the beginning of each season, before working on new collections, it is important to travel and look for creative input that can represent a starting point for working on something new. Thus, research has always been the first step in our creative process and, over the years of travel around the world, our collection of vintage garments has grown to the point that today it hosts a collection of about 15,000 pieces including garments and accessories. An unbridled collecting that never stops growing even today, and thanks to TheCube, it has taken on a new life and value.

How does the concept work?

 TheCube offers a space of about 500 square meters, on two floors. The first floor is a space where you can find a hand-picked dynamic selection of 15.000 vintage garments, vintage fashion magazines and fabric books carefully collected during more than 40 years of research in the fashion field. Also, as mentioned, you can find unique pieces, prototypes and garments reworked by the team with an up-cycling perspective. The second floor is conceived as a flexible workspace and allows us, upon request, to personalize the visit by providing working stations, a meeting room, a professional photo set and a kitchen for a break from work. 

Our archive concept was born from the beginning to be accessible to fashion brands worldwide. This is why we work hard to be digital-friendly for the new generations of designers who more and more approach research online. Precisely for this reason, we have created the DigiCube, our digital platform through which the archive can be reached digitally from all over the world with the possibility of renting garments without necessarily having to reach Tuscany or downloading a selection of beautiful and inspiring photos of the selected garments. 

We can see that you have a wide range of amazing preloved items on the website. Where do you source these from?

All the items that you find on our website are a small part of a larger collection of about 15.000 garments and accessories collected during more than 40 years of research all over the world by Corinna and Stefano Chiassai and our team, in vintage markets around the world, stores, old closets, and also garments of collections designed by the studio within the years. As a fashion designer, Stefano believes strongly that research is the engine of creative thinking and the creative process. For this reason, in his entire career, he never threw anything away, knowing that a little detail (a button, a particular lapel or pocket…) could be useful for his next collections. We are all really passionate about vintage, and always on the hunt for something different, unique and inspiring. 

Who is your customer?

Our main clients are fashion designers and fashion brands that come to do research for their upcoming collections. But we don’t stop there. We take what a fashion archive normally does as a base to start from. We want to inspire, educate and connect creatives in any way we can. Therefore, we also have collaborations with a variety of fashion schools and universities and we have a project with musicians and artists, called TheCube4Artists. Let me first explain education.

TheCube Archive offers several programs of educational activities that revolve around the discovery of the archive and its creative potential. We have 40 years of experience, research, knowledge and the physical space to share and model the tools to create a wide range of practical, educational and fun workshops. Not only do we love to teach, we love to learn: education is always a two-way street. It motivates and inspires us to speak but also listen to sharp young minds who bring their own ideas and experiences with them.

Fashion schools and universities can book and organize a Workshop Day with us. Students get the chance to learn about what it means to be a fashion designer, and how to do research while learning how to look and work with vintage. We make TheCube and its resources available to schools so that students can interact with the archive by creating their own looks and mood boards, based on our garments, vintage magazines and fabric books. We are already collaborating with Istituto Marangoni in Florence, IED Barcelona, Florida State University, the University of Siena and Istituto di Moda Burgo in Milan and we are confident that this is just the beginning.

Then, I have to talk about our project TheCube4Artists. The connection between fashion, music and art is something we love and strongly believe in. Together with the band or artists, we work on creating specific looks for their concerts, performances, video clips or photoshoots. We try to understand together what they stand for, and what they would like to express in how they dress. Then, based on this input, we create mood boards and we dive into our archive to create looks that represent them and at the same time distinguish them from others. We’re especially proud of our continuing collaboration with DJ, musician and producer Kommando (Francesco Carresi). Our shared passions for music, fashion and a personal connection made us understand that we just had to collaborate together.

Kommando has been performing nationally and internationally in our outfits and has been the absolute ambassador of TheCube4Artists. We also work together with Manitoba, Cassandra and hip hop artist Tommy Dali, to name a few. 

What have been and are the major challenges of starting TheCube Archive?

I think it goes without saying that starting a new business in Italy in 2020 was tough. We basically opened our doors at the same moment as the pandemic hit. This, to put it mildly, was a challenge. This however has also pushed us to go beyond, to create a team of people we fully believe in, and develop the concept of who we are and what we stand for. These last years have been hard on everyone, and it has taught us to appreciate many things that maybe before we took for granted. Our need to connect creatives, to create a space that makes people feel welcome and inspired, is definitely something that has been enhanced because of this tough period.

What has been the largest gain so far?

Maybe the biggest gain lies in our biggest aforementioned challenge. We are so proud that despite the setbacks, we are here, we are growing as a business and as a community and we feel that we have a bright future ahead of us.

What do you think needs to change now in the fashion industry to make it more sustainable?

This is a short question, with a complicated answer! We like to look at what we can do in this, and what we as a company and project can do in the short and long term. We believe at least a part of the answer lies in the young generation. Trying to create awareness, trying to instil a sense of urgency in the need for change in our mindset on how to look at fashion. It is one of the key elements of our education program. By trying to set the example in the choices that we make as a company, we hope to impact the mindset of others. 

What would you advise consumers to do who seek to create a sustainable closet and lifestyle?

Without wanting to be repetitive, but at the risk of being so: it’s a shift in mindset. Open up that closet and look at what you own already. Instead of thinking of what we need, have a good look at what we have already. And possibly think of what you could do to make those same clothes we lost interest in, interesting again, by adding something, cutting something, combining what you have in unexpected ways to give them new life. Browse vintage markets, not just for buying, but also for selling or giving away the things that you just don’t wear anymore. 

What's the best thing about TheCube Archive?

In a word: the team. Nothing that we have been talking about would be possible without our team. Kiki Gherardi, Sofia Malatesta here at TheCube, Alessandra Dall’Anese, Stefano Chiassai, Corinna Chiassai, Giorgio Trabalzini and many more at Studio Chiassai. Lorenzo, Roberto and Daniele from Blanket Studio create content with us, enabling us to communicate our simple yet complicated message. I’m aware this sounds like an award acceptance speech, but it is extremely important to us to give credit where credit is due. This is also why we have created a series of videos called TheCube People: it’s a team effort. 

Do you have any useful tips for someone who wants to start their own Vintage/second-hand business?

Don’t throw anything away, fashion is circular: it always makes a comeback. Research, read, and actively study fashion and its history to go beyond, to create a sense of awareness of the history of fashion, which can enable you to have a better understanding of where fashion trends are going. Vintage, thankfully, is popular right now. If you take that extra step, it can help you create a vintage collection that does not only look at the past but looks into the future.