Luisa's Favours as the name implies immediately conjures up images of beautifully wrapped miniature gifts mostly given out at weddings and parties. This is a very brilliant choice for naming a brand in my opinion as it only fuels one's curiosity what surprises her business brings.
Originally from Italy but living and working in London, Luisa Atti is a creative in every sense of the word. She designs and sells handmade jewellery made from ankara, African fabrics and other precious stones. I was pleaantly surprised and impressed to see the contrast between the designer and the culture represented in her work, as one did not know what to expect. It just goes to show that creativity has no boundaries. Creatives are a unifying factor in bringing peoples and cultures of the world closer together.
In our brief online chat, she stated that from a young age, she had always been passionate about arts and crafts. As a very artistic child, she was good at cutting, dancing, drawing, and performing. So good that she was part of an African contemporary dance group in Italy at the age of 16. The group performed at theatres and opened venues in different parts of the country.
As the saying goes, "an apple never falls far from its tree". This quote perfectly describes Luisa who is from a family of designers. Her grandfather was a bespoke designer who learned his craft in Paris, while her mother was not only a designer, but also a fur coat designer. Growing up around a family passionate about fashion is a thing of pride and joy for her. She recalls sweet memories, coming home from university, helping her mum to cut and sew some of her designs.
Although she eventually took up a job completely different from fashion and design, the creative bug never left her. At every given opportunity to help her kids with school projects, she took the chance. Be it running their school's theatre workshops, designing a stage, designing costumes, and even writing children's plays, she was always happy to help.
To some, using African fabrics for her designs might be misjudged as cultural appropriation. However, Luisa has every right as a creative and an artist to use whatever medium she finds comfortable with, to convey her message. And she is doing a brilliant job of it.
She disclosed that her love for the African culture inspired her choice of using its materials for designing. Her kids are half Nigerian, not only are they her inspiration for designs, but she also feels a strong connection between herself and the prints. All her pieces are handmade with love. This further proves that designing just for the sake of it and making a quick buck, is completely different from having serious passion for whatever one creates or does.
Further more, Luisa stated that she is currently working on new designs with inspirations from the Mediterranean culture. She will eventually infuse it with her African designs to create a hybrid/fusion with the hope to reaching a wider customer base.
Speaking on how the current pandemic has affected her business, she noted that it had only helped to create newer pieces. It became a time where she was more relaxed and the mind could conceive more ideas which would have been impossible within the timeframe, trying to juggle her to day to day affairs. She feels quite upbeat due to the fact, her designs have been well received, and she has currently received orders from an elite client who loves the uniqueness and originality of her pieces.
Luisa Atti is a mum of two beautiful girls, she plans to launch Luisas Favours in 2021 as the pandemic put paid to the original launch date of May this year. She is also attending the prestigious African Fashion Show in Amsterdam come summer 2021. Her dream is to keep the brand going for a long time that, it becomes a household name.
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