Hello. Here Antonella Mirco, 3X years old, she/her, from Guardialfiera, a little town in Molise, Italy. After high school I studied fashion design at European University of Design. In 2014 I've launched my own brand "Antonella Mirco". My first atelier was in a small room at my grandmother's house in Guardialfiera. In 2015 I moved to Berlin with my partner, Savio.
I didn't speak German or English. I spendt the first few months studying German and English. Meanwhile, I went on developing my collections in my "atelier", a small room shared with Savio in a WG with 9 flatmates.
In 2016 I had the chance to exhibit my collection at the LNFA Concept Store and took part at the fashion show of the Music Video Award in Berlin as an independent designer. Collaborations with Studio 183, Syld Store, and others will follow. Berlin gave me the chance to interface with different cultures and have many experiences, without ever giving up my personal project, indeed allowing me to develop it day by day between ups and downs.
Being far from familiy is not easy. Ask to any expat. The idea of going back to Italy grew day by day. i wanted to bring with me a new point of view and build a community that has fashion as its starting point, and touch other realities: music, photography, dance, art, etc. Over the years I have often returned to Italy, especially to Bari where part of my family lives. Here I have spent part of my life. During the years I was able to appreciate the changes of the city. I saw a glimmer of light, a breath of fresh air and...I moved to Bari in July 2022 and rented a space in the city centre. The place has been renovated 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.
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".
"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 other form of arts.
Questo è un breve riassunto del mio viaggio. Spero che ti sia divertito a leggere la storia e magari ti abbia ispirato la tua prossima avventura.
