Diversity, fairness, and inclusion are at the heart of Gucci’s
creative vision, which finds its purest embodiment in Lucrezia Valia. In
this conversation, the actress and Gucci Rome senior client advisor
reflects upon the key moments of her professional path while stressing
the contribution of the LGBTQ+ community to the shaping of today’s
creative scene.Interview by: Domenico Costantini
Editing by: Gilda Bruno
To
celebrate this year’s Trans Day of Visibility, Collectible DRY caught
up with Lucrezia Valia. The actress, mostly known for her role in Ferzan
Ozpetek’s
Le fate ignoranti (2001), joined the Gucci family back
in 2017, when she started working at the Italian brand’s boutiques.
Becoming one of the first transgenders to have ever taken on a role at
such a prestigious fashion house, Valia — who’s now risen to Gucci Rome
senior client advisor — represents the enduring fight for emancipation
of the LGBTQ+ community as a whole.
Collectible Dry: If you were to pick a flavour, what would you say Lucrezia Valia tastes like?
Lucrezia Valia: Lucrezia
tastes like red pepper. The Calabrian one, which is linked to my roots.
The roots are so important, as Paolo Sorrentino stresses in his
masterpiece, The Great Beauty. So I’d say I would identify with a
red, spicy, and bitter pepper which, by the way, it’s very good for
health purposes. Mom would always give it to me whenever I would travel
back to Rome.
>> Photo: A portrait of Lucrezia Valia by photographer Mick Rock for the Gucci
Cruise 2018 Campaign: Roman Rhapsody courtesy of Lucrezia Valia
CD: What does Rome taste like?
LV: Rome
tastes like cotton candy to me. The same scent I would smell when going
to the circus or rides with my dad throughout my childhood. Rome is the
city of my heart. A strongly desired choice. Rome is art, cinema, and
beauty! Rome is home.
CD: Diving into more philosophical
matters, if you like, would you agree if I say that the imagination is
nothing but dilated and composed memory?
LV: I have lived
my whole life imagining and dreaming of a different life. I imagined so
much that I went into severe depression twice. Still, it’s that same
imagination that made my life sweeter, serving as the weapon through
which I would defend myself. In Pedro Almodóvar’s words, “Nothing is
truer than the idea that each of us has dreamed of for ourselves,” and I
couldn’t agree more with this statement.
CD: What is beauty to you?
LV:
What is beauty! Well, that’s a very difficult question. Literature is
full of definitions of beauty: nature, art, poetry, music, all of this
is beauty. Still, I manage to find beauty even where no one looks for
it. I see beauty in the little, imperceptible, and too-often overlooked
things. I even see beauty in what the world wants us to perceive as
‘ugliness:’ in fact, I often stop by the homeless and those alienated
for society for entire hours, because I find them beautiful. I find the
defenseless and the marginalised beautiful. Plus, being polite with them
as well as with the rest of those surrounding us is nice, as I think
that there is nothing more beautiful than finding the courage to be the
truest version of yourself.
CD: What would you say about your fight for freedom as a woman?
LV:
We are called to fight for our entire life but, to be completely honest
with you, I must confess that I have struggled to be myself just as
much as I have struggled to feel part of the transgender community. I
fought a lot, but I know I can see that, eventually, it paid off, as I
am the pure result of my own achievements. Yes, it is strange that,
although I have documents attesting I am a woman, hence I am a woman in
the eyes of society, I still have to fight on a daily basis not to be
considered a ‘man.’ But wars are over: I have laid down my weapons a
long time ago, and I am very peaceful now. I am truly at ease with
myself, and I like the person I have become through the years. I love
myself, and I couldn’t be happier to share this with you.
 |
| “Le fate Ignoranti” a film by Ferzan Ozpetek Courtesy of Lucrezia Valia |
CD: In Italian literature, the fate ignoranti (ignorant
fairies) are all those people who choose to manifest their most genuine
nature, people that are willing to live and express their feelings to
the fullest without fearing the judgment of others. They are those who
manage to speak outright, people that succeed in co-existing with their
own contradictions by distancing themselves from the conjectures of
society. You played in Ferzan Ozpetek’s Le Fate Ignoranti (2001) and that’s why I’d love to ask you: to what extent would you consider yourself an ‘ignorant fairy’?
LV:
The meeting with Ferzan Ozpetek was a magical encounter that marked a
strong change in my life. Life is made up of great encounters, and that
to me was an incredible experience. Taking part in that film gave me the
opportunity to meet incredible girls and boys, it helped me a lot as it
gave me the courage to actually become an ‘ignorant fairy’ myself.
CD: That
must have been such a wonderful experience. You know, when I saw Mick
Rock’s photographs from the set of the Gucci Cruise 2018 Roman Rhapsody,
I thought you looked just like a rock star, even more so in your daily
routine. That’s probably what I’d think if I ran into you on the subway,
on the street, or if I saw you riding a bike. You’ve got these
wonderful looks that make you look like a painted canvas, so unique and
fragile at the same time. You’ve truly turned your scars into
gold. What role did Gucci play in this transition? And how does your
story resonate with the values promoted by Gucci Equilibrium?
 |
| Alessandro Michele by MAKKA |
LV:
In 2017, I started working at Gucci boutiques and, for me, that was a
dream come true: in fact, I had dreamed of it since 1997 but back in
those days it was not easy for a trans woman to get to work at a luxury
store. Time has flown by since then. Soon Alessandro Michele, a longtime
friend, became artistic director. He was yet another incredible
encounter that left an ever-lasting mark in my life, I just love him and
his partner Vanni so much, our friendship was a true gift to me. Thanks
to him, I went to work without being judged for my sexuality. For me,
Gucci is the dream that, once locked in a chest of drawers, actually
managed to became reality.
CD: I can feel what Gucci means to you just by hearing how you
speak about it. Let’s take a few steps back to go all the way to the
‘age of innocence,’ that playful, idyllic time of our lives where we
felt as if everything was possible. What kind of child were you?
LV:
As a child, I was introverted and lonely. I would spend entire days
imagining, imagining, and imagining still, but I did not lack affection
as my childhood was full of love.
CD: What does ‘freedom’
mean to you? What have great personalities such as Pier Paolo Pasolini
and Claudia Salis meant for the future of our country and its freedom of
expression?
LV: To me, freedom means being free to
embrace and express yourself sincerely, without being judged. Being free
to love whoever we want and create by drawing inspiration from whatever
we feel inside of us. Unfortunately, I haven’t got the chance to see
Claudia Salis very often. She is a free, sincere, outspoken, and very
intelligent woman. A real ignorant fairy. Pasolini was a great artist,
probably the greatest artist of the twentieth century, as he was able to
grasp the changes that were shaking up society before than anyone else.
I think I would have liked him as a friend.
 |
| Claudia Salis by MAKKA |
CD: Art
shapes and educates the souls by serving as both a means of expressing
emotions and a bridge to inner peacefulness. If you were to pick an
artist that truly influences you, who would that be and why?
LV: Art
is the only thing that lives on and never dies. Going back to your
question, I’d say Matisse, as he is my favourite artist. I love his
bright colours and contrasts. Another artist I deeply admire, whom I
have actually met in real life, is Botero: I am so fascinated by the
harmony and softness of his work. Thinking of the contemporary art
scenario, the first name that pops in my mind is Marina Abramovic, as
she’s simply unbelievable.
CD: “Solo una terapia, solo una
terapia, solo una terapia, solo una terapia,” (just a therapy) reads
the lyrics of the Italian song “Curami” by CCCP Fedeli Alla Linea. If
you were to choose a song that’s always going to be part of you, what
would that be?
LV: “Curami, curami, curami,” (heal
me) oh gosh, I remember that song. I used to love it, you have really
brought me back in time by mentioning it, it made me go back to the
‘80s-90s. I was so young back then. The most precious song to me is
probably La Cura (1996) by Franco Battiato.
CD: In your posts, I often read Nam myōhō renge kyō which, in English, means “Glory to the Dharma of the Lotus Sutra.” Is meditation helping you find happiness in this world?
LV:
Yes, for a period of my life, I fully devoted myself to practice
ashtanga yoga and Buddhism, although that’s something I am not doing at
the moment. It’s not that I stopped caring about it; on the contrary, I
found an uphill road that is all mine, where I can practice that way of
living in my very own way. In fact, I have begun to put all the love I
have got and what I have learned through meditation into the little
things as well as into the unexpectedly beautiful encounters that make
up my life. I now have it in my gestures. Sport is also a form of
meditation for me, as is gardening, and taking care of my black kitten.
CD: Thank you so much for this beautiful conversation Lucrezia. Keep on shining!
LV: My pleasure. Thank you!
source: www.collectibledry.com
