Follow your dreams
Turning dreams into reality is why students choose to attend IED.
Those who attend IED, dream of becoming photographers, designers, creatives. They dream of working in fashion, advertising, cinema, music or art. These are often ambitious dreams that involve competitive sectors. To achieve these dreams takes commitment and determination, but also a good dose of courage and a lot of trust. This moment in time does not seem to be the best to start dreaming. Between pandemics and conflicts, it is difficult to look at the world as a suitable place for our dreams. Yet, continuing to live, to learn, to invest in oneself and in the future, is one of the best ways to persevere and keep hopeful. That is why this month we have chosen to encourage our Alumni and Alumnae not to stop pursuing their dreams, by reporting the stories of those who, between a dream and a project, managed to go far. After all, spring has begun and we hope it can represent a real rebirth!
Antonello Stornelli between a dream and a Disney fairy tale
Antonello Stornelli graduated in Illustration and Animation from IED Rome in the early 2000s, and today he is one of Disney's leading 3D artists. Born and raised in Rome, he has been working in animation since 2011, when he joined Dreamworks as a lead character artist at Computer Graphics. Since 2013 he has been working for Disney Television Animation and since 2018 he is the lead Computer Graphics Artist for the Disney Plus Monsters Inc series. His specialisation is modelling and texturing, as can be seen in his many projects: from the spaceships in Star Wars to Elsa's dress in Olaf’s Frozen Adventure. In 2020 he won a Daytime Emmy Award for his computer graphics work in the Tangled series, a real milestone in the sector. A dream come true.
To learn more about Antonello and his work, read the interview.
Inés Monjo and her dream of turning disease into creative energy
Can discomfort be transformed into a source of inspiration? Inés Monjo, Fashion Design Alumna from IED Barcelona, has succeeded in doing so by creating a collection inspired by her personal evolution, from anorexia and bulimia to find an equilibrium. Through this wonderful narrative, made of research, textures, lines and volumes, Inés has been able to stand out from the crowd, and some items from her award-winning collection are now on sale at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. A dream that came true thanks to an extremely original design that uses flowers to illustrate her path: “From a flower that has withered due to lack of water to one that has received too much. Until the explosion of light and color that represents the end of the disease“.
Andrea Filigheddu and his dream of becoming a fotoreporter
He could have simply chosen a career in the family business, but he preferred to follow his dreams. Born in 1997, Andrea Filigheddu graduated in Photography from IED Milan and, at the time of publishing, is in Ukraine, next to Claudio Locatelli, known as “the fighting journalist”, who wanted him by his side to document the war. Before this assignment, he traveled and reported in Iran and India, always focusing on his passion for photojournalism. In an interview they asked him if he had ever thought he could find himself in Kiev photographing the horror of war. He replied: "No, I would never have said that. I knew about Ukraine, but I didn't plan to come here for that reason. I studied photography at the IED in Milan: it is the university that helped me discover a different world".
To see his shots: Instagram @andreafilighedduphoto, website: www.andreafiligheddu.com
Niccolò Chiuppesi and his dream of sustainable fashion
Niccolò Chiuppesi Brand Management and Communication Alumnus from IED Milan, launched Bennu, his sustainable fashion line, in 2021. His mission? Recovering from the past to protect the future. In fact, Bennu creates his collections by recovering garments and fabrics from left over stocks and vintage wardrobes, in order to reduce the production of new materials and the resulting pollution. The approach is light years ahead of the fast-fashion philosophy. The garments do not have seasonality and are in limited editions, produced in small workshops and social tailors. Bennu's road is still long and the project has just begun, but the dream is already a reality, thanks to two recognitions. The first is from the National Chamber of Fashion, which selected the collection among the 5 best sustainable brands as part of the Designers for the Planet project during the latest Milan Fashion Week. The second is from the specialised press: D Magazine elected Bennu Sustainable Brand of the month.
Francesco Meda, Jaime Hayon and their dream of being among the greatest
AD has just published a list of the 100 architects, designers and interior decorators, who are changing the world of design with their revolutionary ideas. Amongst them are two IED Alumni who have started to make their dream come true. They are Francesco Meda and Jaime Hayon, respectively Alumni in Industrial Design from IED Madrid and Product Design from IED Milan.
Hayon is one of the most important figures in contemporary design. He has collaborated with BD Ediciones, Camper, Metalarte, Baccarat, Mooi, Lladró and other large companies, alternating personal and artistic projects such as Mediterranean Digital Baroque, Mon Cirque, Stage, The Tournament and American Chateau. His latest projects are Serious Fan at the Daelim Museum in Seoul and the Hyunday Moka Garden. Here is his interview for IED Madrid.
Born in 1984, Francesco Meda graduated in 2006 from IED Milan, before starting his career in London and returning to Italy after two years. Since then, he has collaborated with the best known Italian and international design companies, such as Vitra, Kartell and Alessi. In 2016, together with his father Alberto, he won the Compasso d'Oro for the design of a sound-absorbing panel for Caimi Brevetti. Francesco also has personal artistic projects, which include the 3D production of various objects, including the Bridge lamps and the Layers jewellery line, which are part of the collection of the Triennale Design Museum in Milan.
Cecilia De Marchi and her dream of making two cultures meet up
It is a family dream that involved Cecilia De Marchi, Fashion Design Alumna from IED Turin. A dream born from an unexpected discovery, and from the ancient and fascinating culture and crafts of Uzbekistan, where Cecilia's family moved following her father who is a university professor. In Tashkent, Cecilia with her mother Antonella and sister Giulia, discovered the tradition of weaving and, collaborating with local artisans, started Beltepà, the family brand that combines Italian design and precious Uzbek fabrics and embroidery. Beltepà, which takes its name from a neighbourhood in Tashkent, made its debut in Altaroma in February with a dedicated showcase.
Andrea Gemmiti and the dream of an open Milan following the pandemic
Communication Design Alumnus from IED Milan, Andrea Gemmiti is now 25 years old with plenty of international experience. After having been between London, Miami and Melbourne for years, Andrea has chosen to return to Milan to open his Feel the Studio factory. As he tells in this interview with Corriere della Sera, Andrea has chosen to believe in the city and in its desire to return to devote itself to art, beauty and lightness after the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. He was right: today Feel the Studio is a living space dedicated to art and culture that has also contributed to relaunching a peripheral area of the city.
