Carlo Brandelli

Art Works & projects in Chronological order;-

PNEUMA - Breath Paintings, October 2023, Daniel Katz Gallery London

The 1 minute film of the show with the vibrational sound scape from the artwork.

Liminal Breath. October 2022.

The films presenting our artworks from our London show at Fitzrovia Chapel.

Liminal, Performance at Carlo Mollino Apartment. November 2021 Artissima Contemporary Art Fair.

The 1 minute film made of our artworks and performance with artist Ewa Wilczynski. During Artissima Contemporary Art Fair Turin, November 2021.

Breath show, Volumnia Gallery, Piacenza Italy Nov 2021 - February 2022

The 1 minute film showing our performance of ‘Breath paintings & Sculptures

Liminal artwork and performance, January / February 2020

The 1 minute film made of our artworks and performance with artist Ewa Wilczynski. The objects and works focus on higher rhythms of human existence. View more artworks and details here >

One Thousand Breath Paintings & Sculptures, May 2020

The film made of our artworks in December 2020.

These paintings are made with a golden painted line, made on the exhale of a breath repeated each time for 1000 breaths. They were made in isolation during the lockdowns beginning in early 2020. They act as a singular relational continuum, within and without. The act of showing the artist’s physical creativety through breath and transforming the energy to actual object.

CARLO BRANDELLI STUDIO

Carlo Brandelli works as an Artist, Creative Director, & Designer, focusing especially on Sculpture and collaborative based work and projects across fashion, art and design.

Since his Squire Gallery project in the late1990‘s which fused fashion, design and art into one project for the first time in London, Carlo has always worked in a creatively open and multi disciplined way, perhaps pioneering the first type of ‘Creative Director’ role which crossed fashion and art, drawing on artistic influences to shape the language and visual communication of design. Carlo is a multi award winning Menswear designer, and has displayed work all over the world including The Design museum in London, Medici Riccardi Palace in Florence and notably MOMA THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART in New York. The studio works from London & Milan.

Carlo is a regular contributor, commentator,  and lecturer to the International Design scene, lecturing particularly in Italy at design schools such as IED in Turin. His designs are represented in the permanent archive collections of several Design & Art Museums around the world including The Design Museum in London, Mode Museum in Antwerp,  and the MET in New York.

BIOGRAPHY

Carlo was born in London and his first focus was on being a sculptor.... but the first materials he worked with were cloths. Carlo was born into an Italian family where most relations were craftsmen, artists an artisans. Carlo learnt the skills such as Bespoke tailoring, leather crafting, painting, sculpture, shoe making, and product design directly every day from a young age studying with his family members whilst they worked.

Awards, Accolades & Milestones

Menswear Designer of the year 2005, British Fashion Council

Esquire Magazine Menswear Designer of the year 2005

GQ most stylish man 2005

Arena Magazine Menswear Designer of the Year 2007

First Paris Catwalk Fashion Show S/S 2009

First Sculpture Solo Show - RCM Galerie Paris 2010

First Group Art Show - Casey Kaplan Gallery 2011

Participates Frieze Art Fair 2010, collaborating with Artist Matthew Brannon

Solo Sculpture show - Left Glass 2013 RCM Galerie Paris

Pitti Guest Designer, Florence 2015 Medici Riccardi Palazzo

MOMA - Museum Of Modern Art NY, 2017 - Selected for Group Show , ‘Is Fashion Modern’

Show in London ‘Liminal’ 2019

Show at L’artissima Contemporary Art Fair Turin 2021, Exhibition at Carlo Mollino Apartment

Solo show in italy with artist Ewa Wilczynski at Sant Agostino Church, Volumnia Gallery, 2022

Solo show with Ewa Wilczynski & Bulgari HQ London, Dec 2022 - Feb 2023

Solo show with Ewa Wilczynski at Daniel Katz Gallery London, October 2023

SELECTION OF PROJECTS & WORKS

LIMINAL ARTWORK 2020/21/22

Carlo started to collaborate with artist Ewa Wilczynski in 2019, producing a first work ‘ Liminal’. The multi disciplined work focused on higher rhythms of human communication, and involved sound, porcelain, gold and latex. But to its intimate nature ( the artists present the works to each viewer alone and into their hands ) , the show was presented to few people in London and Paris.

Liminal Artwork Images

MOMA - MUSEUM OF MODERN ART 2017 UNSTRUCTURED TAILORING DESIGN

In September 2017 Carlo's Unstructured Tailoring design work was chosen by The Museum of Modern Art 'MOMA',  as part of their seminal exhibition 'Is Fashion Modern'. The  pieces were on show until the end of January 2018 at the Museum of Modern Art in new York.

LEFT GLASS 2013-14

2013 saw several glass works made in Murano as part of a ‘floating series’, all pieces were acquired by a private collection. In 2015 a second series entitled ‘Glass forms’ was also launched, a first experiment with found and left glass in Murano.

REFLECTIVE 3. 2015 PALAZZO MEDICI FLORENCE - PITTI GUEST DESIGNER PROJECT

Carlo’s installation Reflective 3 opened in June 2015 at the Medici Palazzo Florence, the installation was a 6 square metre coloured glass and mirror work commissioned by Pitti in Florence as the guest designer project for menswear. The prestigious and precious venue was the courtyard where Michaelangelo’s statue of David once stood.

Time lapse video of the Installation at Medici Riccardo Palazzo Florence, Carlo Brandelli Pitti Guest Designer 2015

SAVILE ROW MENSWEAR 1998 - 2009 Then again 2013- 2017.

After 5 years of the concept work at Squire, unexpectedly in 2003 Kilgour approached Carlo to become Creative & Design Director. This project offered an opportunity to define and work on creating and building every element of a new Kilgour, a different ‘type’ of creative and artistic work. Carlo set the brief to create a modern hybrid menswear brand combining the craft and heritage of Savile Row with all aspects of contemporary current design. Carlo conceived the concept of the brand, brought in investment to buy the brand, designed all product, and designed the flagship spaces as well as art directing the campaigns. The project was critically and commercially very successful with Carlo receiving many diverse plaudits and awards including British GQ’s most Stylish man and being voted Menswear designer of the year in 2005 by the British Fashion Council , the highest award achievable in this field. 

Fashion Show Paris 2009.

Saville Row relaunch images 2013

Saville Row re launch Film 2013 Creative Direction Carlo Brandelli, Director Nick Knight.

In 2008 Kilgour changed ownership and was sold contrary to Carlo’s wishes, and after a successful debut fashion show on the catwalks of Paris, Carlo resigned, leaving the brand he founded as Kilgour due to a difference of opinion with the new owners ( who were not from a design background ) on how to take Kilgour forward.

The brand was sold in June 2008 when CAGR was running at approximately 38%, and for 13 times its annual earnings, one of the most successful British menswear brands to have ever been sold to that date, and all achieved in just under 5 years.

In 2013 Kilgour changed hands again and once more the new owners approached Carlo to reprise his role as Freelance Creative Director, the remit was to re position Kilgour as an International Contemporary Bespoke Brand and Tailor which Carlo accepted and completed by Jan 2017.This second tenure included Carlo re designing a new large flagship concept space in Savile Row, creating a new campaign for the imagery, launch films, and once again building every element of design for the collections. Carlo was also invited to be the prestigious Designer Guest Project in Florence during the Pitti Uomo Show, previous selected designers included Rick Owens . In 2017 Carlo officially finished his contract with Kilgour, in 2022 the brand now is a fraction of the presence it was under Carlo’s tenure.

Spring Summer 2016 Campaign for Kilgour , Creative Direction & Art Direction Carlo Brandelli.

ART & DESIGN FREELANCE STUDIO 2009 - PRESENT

In 2009 Carlo had already established his own studio working more discretely , behind the scenes taking on creative roles with various luxury & fashion brands from varied fields. The studio also focused more on artistic work,  over the years Carlo’s method of working has become increasing linked to an Applied Art discipline, where craft is used as part of the creative process, closely alligned to design development. Work produced as artwork which has an eventual end use. His first sculpture solo show ‘Permanence 2010 - Travertine marble stone & gold’ opened on June 25th 2010at RCM Galerie in Paris. 

COLLABORATION WITH MATTHEW BRANNON - CASEY KAPLAN GALLERY 2011

In October 2011 several works were made in collaboration with the American contemporary artist Matthew Brannon with Casey Kaplan Gallery New York and shown at London’s Frieze Art Fair. Carlo produced a series of abstract coat sculptures made from rubber coated cotton as part of Matthew’s work with Casey Kaplan. Matthew Brannon’s solo show ‘ Gentleman’s Relish’ then opened in New York at Casey Kaplan in October 2011 and Carlo worked on several collaborative pieces all of which have been acquired by the acclaimed Contemporary Rennie Collection at Wing Sang gallery in Vancouver. This year also saw Carlo debut in a group show at Casey Kaplan.

SQUIRE 1991-1998

His first working roles were as Designer and Fashion Consultant for Isetan Tokyo and Burberry Japan through Mitsui. Carlo worked for 4 years working on brands such as Valentino & Burberry under licence, and as a consultant to the Isetan Fashion Institute recommending which British labels to buy into whilst planning and building his first own label project Squire.

His first project was Squire, launched in 1992, where Carlo fused the disciplines of art, architecture, fashion and design into his work, it was the first project of it’s type to draw and encompass many different types of creative aesthetics into a concept space in Mayfair which epitomised the beginnings of cool Britannia.The gallery displayed Carlo’s menswear design collections within the same space as art , pieces from pop artists such as Allen Jones and Bridget Riley. Early collaborators, clients and admirers of Squire were Alexander Mcqueen ( who wore Squire designs to his first historic Givenchy interview), Isabella Blow, Kate Moss, Helmut Lang, Edward Enninful and most of the iconoclasts of design, music and style scenes. Nick Knight and Peter Saville (Photographer and Art Director respectively) were collaborators.

Squire questioned the boundaries between design, fashion and art, pioneering a more open and broad spectrum of how designers were perceived to be able to work within other creative disciplines and mediums. Initially specialising in tailoring, Carlo used traditional ideas of craft together with contemporary design principles to design fashion collections and make sculptures . The launch focused on the creation of the idea of a modern minimal slim suit as a reaction to the more commonplace looser, bigger and longer tailoring that was then widely available. It was during this period that Carlo also began to work on the idea of UNSTRUCTURED TAILORING,  a design and ethos which revolutionised the mans suit and how it was perceived.

Squire launch images, photographs NICK KNIGHT 1994