Stella Jean is one of this season's most talked-about names, and one of Milan's brightest emerging fashion stars, but she's not about to rest on her laurels just yet. Born in Rome, but with Haitian roots, she sees fashion as a means of bridging cultures, as proved in her bold, ethnic-inspired designs that fly off the shelves as soon as they arrive in stores.
"Fashion can be used as a cultural translator and a tool against colonisation; it re-establishes the balance between symbols, stories and different worlds through style," she said. "Being part of a multiracial family in Italy in the Eighties not only shaped me as a person, but also inspired my professional path - however, it has been neither simple nor painless."
Jean's route into fashion design was unorthodox - she started her career as a model, but always felt at home in design studios. "It was the right place to be, but the wrong way to be there," she said.
Her work as a model gave her an invaluable insight into the industry - she saw firsthand how designers "live fashion", and soon began carving her own signatures, based on her mixed background as part-European and part-Creole. Her label follows what she calls a "wax and stripes philosophy" - the wax represents her mother's Haitian origins, while the stripes (which are prevalent in many of her designs) symbolise her father's Turin roots. For spring/summer 2014, the 34-year-old mother of two worked with the International Trade Centre to source prints made by women living in villages in Burkina Faso.
"It's not easy to find a balance in an emotional conflict such as the one I experienced between these two parts of my soul," said Jean. "Fashion gave me ample space to manoeuver and find a place where both of these cultures could coexist. This weak point became both a strength and a fresh start."
This season, Giorgio Armani selected Jean to show in his Teatro space - the first time that the designer has opened his catwalk venue to another womenswear designer. Aimed at "spirited women who travel the world", her collections have a modern, unique elegance, with voluminous silhouettes and eye-catching prints. Matchesfashion.com head of fashion Natalie Kingham says that this season's styles, including a blue mid-length skirt and a red tweed dress, have sold out within a week.
"Stella is extremely talented at mixing traditional prints with modern silhouettes that gives it an effortlessly cool sensibility - her collections are unique and we feel that they offer something different to our customer," said Kingham. "We predict big things for the brand."
Jean is proud to be perceived as one of Milan's leading lights, but offered the city's fashion powerhouses a word of advice: "Keep trusting emerging designers, as giants such as Giorgio Armani andVogue Italy are doing now as never before," she said. "Armani is a great example of how a designer who made fashion history can provide concrete support to new generations."
Has Armani offered any advice to his new protégée?
"To not be afraid to keep my DNA and its uniqueness and not to follow the mainstream," she answered. So far, it looks like Stella Jean is staying true to the words of her mentor.
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