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OTTO Milano

  • Cecilia Vasilotta

OTTO Milano, as many élite and handmade brands, was born from the creative concept of a young designer who, after a miscellaneous education oriented towards the artistic development and the creation methods, lets her passion grow, giving birth to a real project. Recalling her history, Cecilia mentions a particular moment: “During the renovation of an old Cartier bag I remember looking at the retro shape that surrounds the logo and having a flashback to the Baroque splendor that was always part of my childhood imagination. My Apulian heritage inspired my designs and creativity: the sinuous and rich motifs of the Baroque would become an integral part of a product that had to talk about me”. The OTTO Milano concept was born: a handmade bag brand, with a linear design, characterized by a sinuous baroque-like carving, a combination between the splendor of the past and the formal elegance of the present.

The Brand
Talking Roundedness. Symmetrical Geometry. Palindrome Structure.
To identify her brand, Cecilia was looking for something short and easy to remember, which could always to be pronounced in the same way and that, in some way, could represent the symmetrical elegance of the geometric motif peculiar to her production.
Hence the idea of the otto (eight), which in Italian is a semantically palindrome and graphically symmetrical number, as well as a recurring number in the designer’s life: not only for the assonance with her surname, but also for the recurrence of the number in her birth date (18/08/1989).
Number eight is a soft, and sinuous form, that can be written without detaching the pencil from the paper and each time it is always a little bit different, exactly like the carvings that can be found on the flap pocket that, as Cecilia says, “are designed with heart and love and perfectly cut thanks to the artisan attention and care.”
A descriptive form that includes the rich roundedness of a sumptuous past that approaches, blending perfectly, with the modern simplicity of the minimalistic shapes characterising  the bag models and of the sometimes imperfect geometries.
In OTTO Milan imperfection is not to be considered a defect, but rather the essence of the handmade work, what gives it its uniqueness, allowing the buyer to participate to the creation of the product.  
Hand made - made in Italy
Every bag is totally handmade by expert artisans who select the most precious parts of leathers, allowing the creation of a high quality product. The flap pocket design is graphically transferred on one side of the model and it is then drawn with perfect specularity on the other side and later carved on two different kinds of leather, combined together following special criteria regarding colours and materials, and in the end linked to create the veritable bag. Every product is therefore covered with contrasting colour leather,           that creates chromatic and structural plays that make the bag unique.
All this represents the first great brand value that celebrates the Italian craftsmanship - conditio sine qua non for the creation of the product - famous all over the world and known to be one of the greatest excellences in our country.
The Products
​​​​​​​OTTO Milano’s unique collection consists of five models/prototypes with a modern and versatile character which adapt to the leading seasonal trends, reinterpreting them in an original and retro way: the 8.1 is a clutch bag with a chain shoulder strap, the 8.2 is a trapezoidal small backpack available in two sizes, the 8.3 is a handbag with shoulder straps and the 8.4 is a flat clutch bag for day-wear use.
All the models are made in leather (calf skin, brushed calf skin, pony, python…) with contrasting combinations not only in colour, but regarding the kind of leather, an essential planning choice to draw attention to the flap pocket carving, the brand characteristic.
Link to published articles on:
​​​​​​​www.thatsalltrends.com
arpelmagazine.com
ob-fashion.com
lespritrouge.com
www.citycool.info
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