Francesco Ballestrazzi

Milliner

Pietro Lucerni©Michelangelo Foundation

©Elena Datrino

A silver lining

Francesco feels privileged to follow his passion
He teaches at the Polytechnic University of Milan
Initially he worked exclusively with paper

Sometimes, in life, a negative experience can have a silver lining. Francesco Ballestrazzi discovered a deep artistic talent thanks to a fall! He was a professional ballet dancer but an injury forced him to change his path completely. Leading him to design shop windows for Moschino, here he learned about all kinds of different materials and how to combine them together in the best way. In 2014 he launched his personal brand, and just a few years later he started selling his spectacular hats in around 30 shops worldwide. Since 2018, he works with a smaller select group of shops to allow more space for his creativity. He teaches his art at important fashion academies and universities in Milan, such as Polytechnic University, Istituto Marangoni and Naba, and New Academy of Fine Arts.

Interview

Pietro Lucerni©Michelangelo Foundation

What is your training background?: I went to the Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, specialising in painting. It has been hard to explain to my family my artistic aspirations. My father is a bank broker, my mother is an accountant and my sister is a biologist: they all work with numbers.
How does classical ballet fit into your life?: I attended the Academy of Dance, too. I was a professional dancer, but in 2005 I broke both my ankles falling to the ground after a backflip. So I could not dance anymore: I had to reinvent myself.
How did you come to high fashion?: At the beginning, I started working as a salesman in Alexander McQueen’s showroom. I was 26 years old. There, I felt that I could express myself through creativity. Later, I left and took up a role at Moschino setting up the shop windows in a spectacular way.
When did you decide work alone?: When I quit my position at Moschino, I knew how to use different materials: paper, velvet, silk, and organza. So, one day, I created 4 hats from paper. I took pictures of them and I posted them on Facebook. Somebody in Vogue Italia saw my hats: my story as a milliner started at that moment.

Francesco Ballestrazzi is a master artisan: he began his career in 2011 and he started teaching in 2017