GIULIANO CALZA, THE INNOVATIVE MIND BEHIND THE CULT-FAVORITE STREETWEAR LABEL GCDS, HAS A STORY THAT DEFIES CONVENTION. BORN IN NAPLES IN 1988, CALZA’S JOURNEY INTO FASHION WAS FAR FROM STRAIGHTFORWARD. DESPITE BEGINNING WITH STUDIES IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AND MARKETING, HIS TRUE PASSION LAY IN THE DYNAMIC REALMS OF ART AND FASHION. ALONG HIS PATH, HE TOOK ON DIVERSE ROLES SUCH AS CASTING DIRECTOR, STYLIST, AND DIGITAL PR EXPERT, EVEN IMMERSING HIMSELF IN THE CHINESE MARKET DURING A STINT IN SHANGHAI. N 2015, CALZA, ALONGSIDE HIS BROTHER GIORDANO, CO-FOUNDED GCDS, ORIGINALLY EMBODYING THE WHIMSICAL MOTTO “GOD CAN’T DESTROY STREETWEAR.” THE BRAND HAS SINCE EVOLVED TO STAND FOR “GIULIANO CALZA DESIGN STUDIO,” BUT ITS ESSENCE REMAINS UNCHANGED – YOUTHFUL, AVANT-GARDE STREETWEAR INFUSED WITH A HINT OF IRONY. CALZA’S INNOVATIVE DESIGNS HAVE ATTRACTED A-LISTERS SUCH AS BEYONCÉ, BELLA HADID, AND DUA LIPA, PROPELLING GCDS TO THE FOREFRONT OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY. WITH HIS UNIQUE VISION, CALZA CONTINUES TO CAPTIVATE THE WORLD, SO KEEP AN EYE ON THIS DREAMER AND HIS EVER-EVOLVING BRAND.
photographer GIUSEPPE VACCARO
words Giuliano Calza
” Dreamers and dreams remain the very heartbeat of our existence. They are the ones who dare to cross the ethereal realms of imagination, daring to push against the rigid confines of the world around us. Most often, as we grow up, we live by the notes of a future dream that may come to reality to put our hearts at peace. From a young age, I was pushed to believe in a reality in between “The Petit Prince,” jumping from one planet to another, and in Dorothy’s transformative journey in “The Wizard of Oz,” where reality interweaves with the surreal. Dreams invite us to explore the depths of our souls, to confront our fears and embrace our wildest aspirations. Later, in more disillusioned college times, Etta James’ soulful melodies echoed in me with the essence of finding a dream uniquely one’s own: “I found a dream that I could speak to, A dream that I can call my own,” a prayer of hope amidst life’s tumultuous seas. In the symphony of my existence, even heavy metal taught me the sentiment that life itself may be but a fleeting dream, as Avenged Sevenfold’s album “Life Is But a Dream…” suggests. It’s a haunting reminder that our time here is ephemeral, urging us to seize every moment with fervor and purpose. In a world ensnared by the allure of superficial success and fleeting fame, it’s crucial to anchor ourselves in the profundity of our dreams. As my favorite Walt Disney once uttered, “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them,” a testament to the power of unwavering determination. “I have a dream today,” we dreamers implore to weave our aspirations into the very fabric of our existence, to envision a world where the boundaries between the possible and the impossible blur into oblivion, and where the essence of our deepest desires takes flight on the wings of hope. Because, in the end, everything around us, except for nature, might just be God’s dream. Everything else – power, status, norms, and boundaries – is just a single human’s dream. “I have a dream,” maybe a bit smaller than Martin’s, but maybe all dreams are as powerful as we believe in them. My ultimate dream is always to create. To be able to not lose that childish flame that sparks light in the room. Accordingly, the tools to realize my dream get bigger, and so I feel the heavy weight of creating the most refined version of my dream. Moreover, I dream that one day I can offer my tools to the children that are next, to the ones that escaped the net of the heavy weight of quickly digesting reality with no sort of vision or impulse that only the heart knows.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.