MILAN — What’s sonic DNA or auditive personality?
In the era of nonstop branding, it’s one component fashion and luxury labels increasingly embrace in their efforts to shape and strengthen their identity, having the latter trickle down to all means of communications, sounds included.
A few months after parting ways with accessories brand Borbonese — where he had been co-creative director alongside Matteo Mena since 2019 — designer Dorian Stefano Tarantini is launching his music consultancy and creative studio Santamaria Sound Studio in partnership with longtime friend and sound designer Paolo Forchetti.
Tarantini, a trained designer who launched his brand, M1992, in 2015 and paused it during the pandemic years soon after joining Borbonese, has been a DJ his whole life. In the early 2000s he masterminded the indie party “London Loves” at the famed Plastic club in Milan until 2014 and has since cemented his reputation as an eclectic music lover with a penchant for punk, post punk and indie sounds.
“I’ve always been keen on music as I grew up in the ‘90s when the two art forms — music and fashion — started to strengthen their bond,” Tarantini said. “Then at Plastic I nurtured close relationships with designers, PRs and fashion professionals and started collaborating with some brands,” he added.
To be sure, Santamaria Sound Studio — which officially launches Tuesday — won’t come as a surprise to the Milanese fashion pack. Tarantini is a known figure with some memorable Versace and Moschino after-show parties under his belt.
“As a designer myself, I always consider the designers’ needs and desires. I know fashion’s language as I have done runways show myself [for M1992],” he said.
That’s probably the reason Santamaria Sound Studio stands apart from similar ventures, Forchetti chimed in.
A trained musician, producer, former band member and sound designer, Forchetti approached the fashion industry about 15 years ago working for Moschino and has since collaborated with Vogue Japan, Giorgio Armani, Valentino and Off-White, among others.
He met Tarantini 10 years ago and the pair started collaborating on sound design projects for fashion shows, after parties, in-store happenings, advertisements and more.
“Now we’ve decided to formalize our collaboration and give it a name,” Forchetti explained. The consultancy already counts Giorgio Armani, Versace, Valentino, Loro Piana, Roberto Cavalli, Canali and MSGM among its clients.
“We offer a true consultancy, establishing a dialogue with creative directors,” Tarantini explained. “When I look at a collection, it’s easy for me to understand its codes and from there I develop a tailor-made sound and sonic identity,” he said.
The process starts from lengthy conversations with designers to find a common ground from where the duo develops a soundtrack, often taking into consideration the creative director’s current music taste and how potentially viral the music could become.
“We do a lot of research and pay attention to [music] trends,” Tarantini said. “Today it’s important to understand how the music can be viral in addition to becoming part of the aesthetics of the collection, of an event and more,” he said.
The illustration on the card introducing Santamaria Sound Studio.
Courtesy of Santamaria Sound Studio
One would often hear at least some pop notes in every music Tarantini and Forchetti develop, ditto for excerpts from movie dialogues.
Cue the music box card that Santamaria Sound Studio is sending to fashion professionals starting Tuesday. It plays a presentation track filled with Pëtr Il’ič Čajkovskij’s “Leitmotif,” known as the “Swan’s Theme,” Art of Noise’s “Moments in Love” and “Immaculate” by Shygirl featuring Saweetie, among other tracks. It also contains tongue-in-cheek excerpts of speeches by Donald Trump, Kim Kardashian, Michael Jackson and Bill Gates.
“Thanks to the soundtrack sometimes the collection or its communication take on different trajectories. It often happens when music really influences the collection’s representation,” Tarantini said.
“I always like for the audience to leave the show with a memory,” Forchetti echoed. “Whoever resorts to us for their music projects is usually ready to experiment and be challenged,” Tarantini added.
Paolo Forchetti and Dorian Stefano Tarantini, the cofounders of Santamaria Sound Studio.
Delfino Sisto Legnani – DSL Studio/Courtesy of Santamaria Sound Studio
“There is always some romanticism in what we offer, even when electronic music is part of it, there is always some sentimentalism and emotional components, striking a chord with the audience,” Tarantini said.
Energized by the new venture, Tarantini said he’s also looking at getting back into the fashion creation game, although no project has been formalized yet.