Hello. Here Antonella Mirco, XX years old, she/her, from Guardialfiera, a little tiny town in Molise, Italy. After high school I decided to pursue my dream of studying fashion design and here I am. Soon after my graduation at European University of Design, I've launched my own brand Antonella Mirco. My first atelier was in a small room at my grandmother's house in Guardialfiera, my hometown. After a year I moved to Berlin with my partner, Savio.
23 September 2015 is the date of my departure. I didn't speak German or English. I spend the first few months studying the language. Nowdays I speak English, Spanish, and ein bisschen German), supporting myself with some part-time jobs and internships in not only in the fashion field. Meanwhile, I go on developing my collections in my "fake atelier", a small room shared with my partner in a WG with 9 other people. In 2016 I had the chance to exhibit my collection at the LNFA Concept Store and the same year I took part at the closing fashion show of the Music Video Award in Berlin as an emerging stylist. Collaborations with Studio 183, Syld Store, and others will follow.
Berlin is a city full of stimuli and allows me to interface with different cultures and have many experiences, without ever giving up my personal project, indeed allowing me to develop it day after day between ups and downs, mood swings, and some satisfaction.
Being far from familiy is not easy. Ask to any expat. I missed my dears and the weather (I must be honest) and the idea of going back to Italy to bring a pinch of change with me grew day by day, proposing a product that, although connected to craft, but looks at young people and the idea to create a community that has fashion as its starting point, but which over time will touch other realities: music, photography, dance, and any other form of art. Over the years I have often returned to Italy, especially to to Bari where part of my family lives. Here I have spent a good part of my life. during the years I was able to appreciate the change of the city. I saw a glimmer of light, a breath of fresh air and I thought..
"..Why not?! Let's move to Bari, start my business there and match my work/passion with my heart". It took me time, but finally decided to take the plunge and move to Bari.
I moved to Bari in July 2022 and rented a space in the city centre. The place has been renovated and created to host my atelier, concept and future projects. The former Antonella Mirco Clothing Brand no longer exists due to a rebranding. Aendör Studio was born that way.
YES, THE NAME HAS A MEANING, MULTIPLE MEANINGS AND A STORY BEHIND.
It was a cold winter night. We drank a bit, enough to be inspired (DON'T DO THAT) and Savio started to slur as usual. "We close this brand (END) or we move forward (OR). END/OR" - it's the beginning of the conversation.
"ANDO/ANDR", is how Savio has called me since university. My Molise cadence tends to make me pronounce the T as if it were a D. ANTONELLA > ANDONELLA > ANDO. The R has replaced the O over time, for reasons I'm not here to explain. The final result is a game of sounds. AE is a typical diphthong used in the Bari's dialect therefore END > AEND. The Ö (O with an umlaut) is a German letter and reminds us of our experience in Berlin. So OR > ÖR. Finally, we have AENDÖR which should be pronounced with a Parisian accent because I love the French language, and living in Paris has always been on my list of to-do.
STUDIO was added to indicate the desire not to remain anchored to the world of fashion, but to broaden the horizons to new realities and study them. And let's face it, the word Studio makes everything cooler.
Carlos's reaction is priceless (see gif)
The entire process of creating the clothes is based on the values of slow fashion, in which each piece is produced exclusively on-demand.
All garments are total black, genderless, handmade in Italy in our atelier and unseasonal.
This is a brief summary of my journey. I hope you had fun while reading the story and maybe inspire your next adventure.
Join our newsletter and receive a 10% DISCOUNT