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Valextra Meets Karlotta Freier
The Brooklyn-based illustrator’s list of inspirations is as inspirational as her work.
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For our Love Lines by Valextra series, we are delighted to have collaborated with Brooklyn-based artist Karlotta Freier to create original imagery that symbolises love through a magical Milano lens. Here, the artist reveals her process, her influences, and her very interesting list of personal inspirations.
Valextra: How would you define your style of illustration?
Karlotta Freier: I would say that it’s noticeably grown from an analogue practice, inspired by little moments of day-to-day life to expanding into the magical and surreal.
V: What inspired you to first become an artist?
KF: I drew, painted, built, knitted, sewed and crafted in any way I could find to my whole life. I always hoped I could utilise these passions in my search for a career. I tried tattooing first, then fashion design. Then I learned that the job ‘illustrator' existed when I was in school for graphic design and was hooked immediately. I think I could be happy in other jobs, but I couldn't imagine a life without drawing.
V: When it comes to translating brand messages like Valextra’s into pieces of artwork, where do you start?
KF: To me, this is mostly about finding the right mood. It’s a bit of an elusive process. I look at the brand’s products. And history and make little visual notes. Colors that inspire me, shapes that spark joy, connections to totally unrelated things that my mind makes. Then I go back to the brief, and play around with the elements I found and the outlines of the brief until I find something visually intriguing that tells a story.
V: What was your stimulus for this Valextra project celebrating Valentine’s Day?
KF: It felt exciting to me to combine the grandeur of paintings by the Italian masters with the modern elegance of Valextra bags, and the beauty of the Italian Landscape. I like how animals can bring an element of surprise and magic to a composition, so showing little scenes of affection and love through birds brought me a lot of joy.
V: What are recurring themes in your work and who are your professional inspirations?
KF: I would say I am constantly inspired by landscapes, animals, nature, people and architecture. I have so many professional inspirations, some of the big ones are Tove Jansson, Yoshiharu Tsuge, Blutch [Christian Hincker], and Mamma Andersson. I also look a lot at movies for inspiration. Yasujirō Ozu and Aki Kaurismäki, for example, have influenced me a lot.
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V: Can you tell us about your process and what materials you work with?
KF: I work with a lot of different things; pencils, watercolor, digital tools and oil paints.
V: What research did you do on Milan to incorporate its world-renowned architecture into your piece for us?
KF: For this project it was clear early on that it should feature the city of Milan, so I looked at a lot of pictures from the city. Especially photographs from the Fifties and Sixties.
V: How did you imagine the connection from Milan back to Valextra’s leather goods?
KF: Like a city, a well-designed object needs many details to work in harmony. A long history, and the care and craftsmanship of many individuals make up both.
V: What do you hope to evoke with the artwork you have created for this Valextra campaign?
KF: With every artwork one can only make it for their own enjoyment and then let it go. If someone connects with it and it sparks joy in them that would be wonderful.
V: Thank you Karlotta! Finally, on the occasion of our Valentine’s Day collaboration, please can you complete this sentence: Love is…
KF: Everything.