en-us-Interview with Roberto Venze, Haute couture fashion designer

"I have always been passionate about traveling"

Interviewer: Vassiliki V. Pappa

vpappa@cultmagz.com

Roberto Venze belongs to a traditional family dedicated to haute couture. Since he was a child he was experimentingwith the sensation of work between tissues snd sewing. He studied design and patterns at the Liper Center, in Coruna, Spain,and at high school of design "Felicidad Duce", in Allariz, Ourense, Spain.

He was taught haute couture at the "Escuela Argentina de Moda", in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was apprenticed hand embroiderynear Marco Jerez, a famous and recognized embroiderer, in Santiago de Chile, Chile.

After having livedfor 17 years in Spain, he returned to Buenos Aires where he decided to create his own sign and making costumes for brides and brides maids completely by hand. He colaborated for the makingof costumes for the magic world champion, and several other TV programs in Argentina. He also created part of the theater performance "Extinguidas", which has been running for 3 years, and dressed on the actresses for the "Esterella de Mar" Awards, in Mar del Plata City.

Roberto Venze stands out for the creation of exclusive clothes for the refined sensuality woman with personality. Actually, the last collection "Caminos de Puigmarti" was inspired by the world's recognized painter and sculptor, Josep Puigmarti.

Vassiliki V. Pappa: Roberto, you belong to the big fashion family. Tell us about your family...

Roberto Venze: My family is of very humble origin, my mother is the youngest of 7 brothers and sisters raised in a small village in Galicia, Spain. There, after the war, in order to subsist, they dedicated themselves to work in sewing workshops.My7 years oldmother with my 13 and 15 years old aunts walked several kilometers a day to go to work and learn the craft that would later teach me.

Vassiliki V. Pappa: You work and live in Buenos Aires, in Argentina,far away from Greece. What motivated you to choose to keep busy with the fashion world? How and when did you start the journey into this world?

Roberto Venze: My fundamental motivation starts from the ageof 5 or 6 when I first saw my aunts and my mother sewing in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I 've been asking for fabrics to makeclothes for little toy soldiers.Even though the people of my family were humble, they've always beenwell dressed and with a perfect appearance.I suppose that was what entered me in the way that I think and act today. I perpetuallyseek for perfection and try to focus on the best part of each person.

Vassiliki V. Pappa: What are your inspiration sources and which are your references?

Roberto Venze: I do not have a single source of inspiration, every person inspires me, every objet, perhaps the breeze, the glow, the architecture or a gesture, a tear.My preference is to make Haute Couture. I fullydedicate myself to something that I consider unique and unrepeatable.

Vassiliki V. Pappa: Where does the fashion "gate" lead? Is there a person or an idea that would excite you so much, that you could go to live in an isolated place or anywhere else abroad, far away from Argentina?

Roberto Venze: Having studied in Spain, having spent hours by watching and asking my aunts and mother and after having been lived in Europe for 17 years, I returned to Buenos Aires without special reason.By chance, a friend asked me to help her in choosing her wedding dress which I ended up doing it without realizing it.Since then, I have constantly wanted to perfect myself and dedicate completely to what I have always loved.Of course, I could live anywhere evenaway from my country, if I coulddesign. I think there are no borders for Haute Couture, since it´s my universal language.

Vassiliki V. Pappa: Is your psychological situation different, when you design, in relation to the periods of time that you aren't working? Does your involvement with fashion offer youanything in an emotional and psychological level?

Roberto Venze: To design, to sew, to embroider, to seek... that kind of perfection is my joy. It gives me life, puts me in a good mood.I always design.There is not a day that my head does not create a new shape,that's me.Haute Couture is art, feeling and love.My goal, my illusionis to raise this art high throughout every stitch, every crease in the fabric.

Vassiliki V. Pappa: Have you been through rough times, all these years that you deal with this particular object? Did these difficulties brake you down? If so, whichwas the incentive that empowered you to continue?

Roberto Venze: I 'venever stopped designing, there were no brakes.The economic part has often been a condition butI still remain submerged in my world of silk fabrics and crystals.The incentive is always tofollow your love.There are few people who are engaged to Haute Couture. For them, there is only one fabric,one thread and one needle, the rest is gone.

Vassiliki V. Pappa: If you could turn back time, would you change some of your choices?

Roberto Venze: I do not deny what I have experienced.Thanks to it, today, I am who I am. I could not go back and I do not want to wish it.

Vassiliki V. Pappa: Are there any designers that you stand them out for their work?

Roberto Venze: There are some designers revolving in my mind,like Dior, Charles Worth, and the master embroidery designer Marco Jerez. They are a kind of bra.

Vassiliki V. Pappa: A Greek poet, NtinosChristianopoulos says: "Those that have pestered us, lay heavier on our inner selves." In your case, who are these people?

Roberto Venze: I think I do not have any ghosts in me, I learn from everything, I do not believe that someone wants to hurt me.I am happy, but I am also critical of myself, maybe it´s me who gets angry and struggles with myown to achieve the best in every garment.

Vassiliki V. Pappa: Besides fashion, are there other things in your life with which you become passionate? What makes you saying that "life is beautiful" ? I refer to the moments that we use these words without any second thought..

Roberto Venze: I have always been passionate about traveling, seeing new cities, meeting new people who are aware of me and I have the hope thatI will be always available to offer the best forall.What really makes me happy is to teach to others everything that I have learnt from my living till now and everything new that I will go through in my future life.

Translated in English language by Aliki Naka