An Italian Australian :: Maria Gallifuoco

Maria is one of the contest winners at Mode Republic! Let’s learn more about her.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Maria and I live in Sydney, Australia (a.k.a The Most Beautiful Place in the World). Strangely, despite a degree in Science and a Psychology major, I began a fashion and street style blog- Fashion Fazer in 2010, and the rest as they say, is history. Now as well as being fortunate enough to run the blog, I'm also the founder an online store, Byrd Holland, that specializes in showcasing up and coming designers and vintage clothing.



How did you become interested in fashion?
I'm Italian, so fashion runs in my veins (only 50%... the other 50% is caffeine). Spending my early childhood in Europe definitely set the foundation for my understanding of colours and textures. Fashion is king in Italy, and the style tends to be very trend oriented and fastidiously co-ordinated. My family and culture taught me to pay special attention to detail, whilst Sydney style taught me how to look effortlessly chic. Sydney fashion excites me everyday, I work and live near Bondi and I get a lot of ideas just from watching the amazingly gorgeous women walk by!



What inspired you to start your own blog?
Fashion Fazer was born from a mixture of curiosity, and a desire to share inspiration with likeminded people. It's definitely been a learning curve, but now there isn't a day that goes by that I don't get an email from either photographers asking for collaborations, brands and designers, or PR companies. But I think what I love most is just the feeling of sharing a passion with like-minded people from all over the globe.



What are your dreams and aspirations?
My store, Byrd Holland, is about to be launched and the concept around it is basically to build a site that's heavily collaborative with bloggers from around the world, getting them involved in a lot of the processes. The vintage clothing on the store has the option to be bought as-is or with customizations such as Peter Pan collars and asymmetrical hemming. My dreams and aspirations are to build up the site, as well as develop the blog and be able to travel the world with it. What more could you ask for when your work is doing something you love? I live and breathe FashionFazer, Byrd Holland and photography, and have even driven 3 hours up the coast of Australia to source a specific vintage item for a customer. I love making people happy.



How would you describe your style? What’s your favorite look at this moment?
I've always found this question difficult. So many other bloggers have clearly defined styles and, maybe to my detriment, I seem to be always evolving and experimenting. I know that there's one thing that definitely drives my style and that's my curves. A lot of the fashion in Australia has that whole nonchalant, 'hanging' beautifully off a tiny body feel to it and it's definitely not something I can do without seeming like shapeless (or pregnant). Therefore, I get a lot of my tips from watching women such as Monica Bellucci, Sophia Loren, Beyonce, and Kim Kardashian. A look I seem to be experimenting a bit with lately is short hem lines with a soft, flowy jacket or cape over it. And random colour combinations like coral with electric blue or red with pink.



Where do you get your fashion inspirations?
My inspiration is more a result of moods and personal experience than the usual sources like magazines. I know that sounds a little new-age, but in the sense that I get into random moods and will be inexplicably attracted to the colours or fabrics, for example green, not only in fashion but in photography, interior design, and where I choose to spend my time (i.e. nature etc.). Sometimes I feel a little rebellious and I wear clothes that enhance that, sometimes I feel feminine and I do the same, so on and so forth. I've always valued humility so it's taken me a fair amount to accept that loving fashion as an expression of your creativity is not synonymous with vanity. Delicately choosing an outfit and being inspired by fashion does not detract from a person's intelligence, despite the stereotypes, I guess breaking down this preconceived notion has allowed me to be more sensitive to inspiration in life. Bloggers are pretty inspirational as well; at this year’s fashion week in Australia, I had the pleasure of meeting and dining with Mandy Shadforth who owns Oracle Fox. She's incredibly inspirational just because she's SO nice, has killer style and seems to radiate this creative, happy energy. I really look up to her.



Where do you shop? What are your favorite brands?
Where do I shop? Can I be bias and say Byrd Holland...? I am a huge fan of online shops, vintage clothing and DIY's. I'm a researcher by nature so I like shopping online and taking my time to meticulously plan my purchases whilst also avoiding getting harassed by overzealous shop assistants. Some brands that will always be in my wardrobe are Camilla and Marc, UNIF, Alexander Wang, and Alice McCall. I am a huge fan of Lover but haven't managed to add it to my collection yet!



Congratulations again to Maria for winning the Mode Republic Contest! Stay tuned for more fashion inspirations from Maria!

The Italian and New Yorker Influence :: Claudia Paola

Claudia is the contest winner at Mode Republic! Let’s learn more about her.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I was born in New York City, and I grew up living between Rome, Italy and NYC. I still live straddling the Atlantic, splitting my time equally between the two cities. I was always more artistically inclined (I loved to draw, act, and I played classical piano for about 10 years), but I was the type that focused most of my attention on the academic responsibilities of school. In college, I studied Middle Eastern Studies and the Arabic Language for 6 years and I got my Masters Degree in Near Eastern Studies. I love languages so much, and Arabic is so beautiful! I really love the culture and the people, and I think growing up bilingual (Italian-English) helped me a lot. For a while there, I thought I would continue in an academic direction, but after I graduated, my parents encouraged me to take some time off to explore other things and return to my artsy hobbies, and it's then that I got into blogging full-time; I'm now looking forward to getting back into my music, too!



How did you become interested in fashion?
Well, being from Rome and New York, two very fashion-oriented cities, I couldn't help but be attracted to it. Fashion was always a fun distraction for me, but I really became "officially" interested when I went to college. I attended NYU, and though my studies were not related to the fashion world, just walking around the campus was like looking at a live fashion show. Greenwich Village is so full of unique street style, and everyone is so expressive and creative with their clothes that I really became obsessed with studying people's individual flair and trying to spot the latest trends. It was then I started to read fashion blogs and magazines like NYLON, and to browse fashion sites, which drove me to try and find an identity for myself through my clothes. It's like an inner urge, and putting the outfits together and wearing them is such a release.



What inspired you to start your own blog?
My mom had been encouraging me for a few years to start my own blog. She had started reading food blogs, and seeing as I loved fashion, she thought it would be a great outlet for me to start my own blog. At the time, I was too entrenched in my studies, but I got my feet wet toward the end of grad school when my really good friend started a nail blog (we'd taken to browsing nail reviews as a way to distract ourselves while writing out thesis- my friend decided we might as well start writing our own nail polish reviews, too). The summer I graduated, with my studies behind me and my future ahead of me, I figured I might as well take my mom up on her suggestion and start "Molto Fashion". Once I started blogging, I loved it so much, I couldn't stop.



What are your dreams and aspirations?
To continue along a path where I feel inspired and can keep doing what makes me happiest, while meeting really great people along the way.



How would you describe your style? What’s your favorite look at this moment?
I always have a hard time labeling, but my favorite inspiration is Victorian/Art Nouveau, the bohemian gypsy 1970s, and the gothic/grunge 1990s. So if I had to describe it, I'd say: if you crossed Daria with Wednesday Adams with Stevie Nicks, I'd pop up.

My favorite look at the moment is "Watch out for the weirdos, girls." I am in love with the tones (cream and black are my favorite combo), and I was so pleased that their intensity came through in the photos. Plus, I was trying to capture some 90's vibes, especially with the crochet-knit top. I thought I'd top it off with a title that could add to the mood of the post, a quote from one of my all-time favorite movies, "The Craft," a time-capsule of all good things '90s, especially the fashion. I'm always looking to revisit those days!



Where do you get your fashion inspirations?
I get most of my fashion inspiration from people on the street; it's like a living Tumblr blog in real time. I also am really inspired by my surroundings: flowers, architecture, antique items lying around my house, and just New York and Rome in general. I'm beginning to realize how influential my environment and upbringing have been to me, and how it's helped me to cultivate an eye for certain details and to visualize things a certain way. Hopefully I convey what I see and how I see it on my blog.



Where do you shop? What are your favorite brands?
Most of my clothes are from Urban Outfitters (I love that store; I could buy out the whole thing! And plus, they always have great sales, and I'm a big fan of shopping sales.) I also shop a lot at H&M, Anthropologie, and Free People, as well as online vintage shops (mainly on Etsy). But my number one style trick is to shop in my own closet (as well as my dad's closet, my mom's closet, my grandmother's closet…) After all, what's old is always new again.



Congratulations again to Claudia for winning the Mode Republic Contest! Stay tuned for more fashion inspirations from Claudia!