MINING HISTORICAL PERIODS FOR MODERN DESIGN

by Daniele Foti-Cuzzola

In the fashion and design industries, trends seem to come and go in the blink of an eye. While many designers today focus on staying ahead of the curve and going viral, two Italian-Australian designers are taking a different approach and are looking to the past to shape their future.

Anthony Montesano and Annalisa Lippis are renowned Italian-Australian designers exploring the treasure troves of yesteryear to create some truly timeless designs for their respective bridal couture and homeware brands—Signor Mont and Nonna’s Judging You.

“Sometimes, everyone is so focused on discovering something new, but sometimes something old and so incredibly beautiful has been under our noses the whole time”, explains Melbourne-based Montesano, whose Signor Mont brand has been gifting brides with a touch of la dolce vita since 2013. “My favourite thing to do is to uncover that lost beauty. I don’t believe I am doing anything brand new; I just believe I am bringing back something that makes more sense and is more beautiful.” 

Montesano, whose family hails from Calabria and Basilicata, was a teacher prior to becoming a designer. Though he had always been interested in fashion, bridal couture and elegant dressing from a young age, he credits a trip to Italy in his mid-twenties for propelling him into a career in fashion. 

“That trip felt like a spiritual homecoming. I never understood why the way things looked and the design of things spoke to me so much until I went to Italy. When I landed in Rome, I remember looking around and thinking, ‘Everything finally makes sense!’ My style has always been very Italian but I didn’t understand where that came from.”

He recalls seeing an elegantly dressed woman in stilettos and a pencil skirt, with a scarf around her neck, radiating a Roman Holiday vibe on the way from the airport to the Eternal City. The sight instantly struck him. “Before coming to Italy, I felt I simply had a minority view of style, but everything changed in that moment.” Within six months of returning to Melbourne, he registered into a sewing course, and the rest is history—Signor Mont was born several years later.

Today, Montesano enjoys a loyal clientele, including Sophie Cachia, who rose to fame as a contestant on Australian Survivor, and Hayley Nankervis, wife to Richmond footballer Toby Nankervis. Hayley wore custom Signor Mont gowns for her 2023 wedding to Toby and for subsequent Brownlow Medal award ceremonies. The designer believes that his ability to draw inspiration from the women he dresses, coupled with his talent for “returning to past design sensibilities while interpreting them through modern eyes,” is what sets him apart from other designers. 

“I’m always inspired by the women I dress, as well as Renaissance and Baroque architecture, and good design in general, which I believe is informed by the principles of classical architecture. For me, there is a strong overlap between couture and classical architecture. I’m especially drawn to theatricality and pageantry, which arouses my interest in the historical side of design. In those eras, pageantry was an integral part of daily life; processions happened with more regularity than we see today.” 

Annalissa Lippis, an Adelaide-based designer, also draws inspiration from the past for her unique homewares brand, Nonna’s Judging You. Having previously lived and worked in Milan, Lippis started working for established fashion brands when she returned to Australia, including EMU Australia, Rossi Boots and R.M. Williams. She initially launched Nonna’s Judging You as Instagram page where she could share personal anecdotes about growing up in an Italian-Australian family. 

“It’s been so wonderful to have built up a community of followers who understand that Nonna’s Judging You is a celebration rather than a mockery,” says Lippis. “It’s important to share stories with each other, laugh together at the sometimes absurd, and support other fellow creatives.”

This passion then grew into a creative outlet when Lippis decided to experiment with a nonna essential—tea towels. “I was working for a big company that did not allow much room for creativity. I needed an outlet to express colour and joy. I simply asked myself, ‘What is the most practical nonna item? I took a chance and designed a fun tea towel. If no one was interested, I figured the worst-case scenario would be that I’d have tea towels for life. But my first batch sold out in less than an hour. I was completely shocked.” 

Today, Nonna’s Judging You has moved beyond tea towels into an extensive range of shopping bags, pins, greeting cards, magnets and more—all within the style of Italian kitsch. 

“Kitsch is so hard to explain because it’s more of a feeling,” says Lippis. “It’s serious, yet pure camp. It’s eccentric, often dismissed as lowbrow art, but it’s also dramatic and sincere. It reminds me of my family. When we think about the migrant success story, it’s about our parents and grandparents building little empires for themselves. They left Italy in the 1950s and ’60s for a reason, and when they arrived in Australia, they built houses and created homes filled with a mix of ’60s popular art, the opulence of baroque and rococo-style furniture, and religious Renaissance prints and icons. It was a chaotic explosion of styles, but somehow also perfect and neat.” 

The designer, whose family hails from Italy’s Abbruzzo region, credits “nostalgia” and her brand’s cheekiness for resonating with audiences across the country.

“I always design with a sense of cheekiness—nothing is ever too serious. It’s bright, colourful, kitsch, and very nostalgic. It evokes a warm familiar feeling—like receiving a hug from one of our ancestors while they pinch your cheeks.”

“Nonna's Judging You is a quirky homewares and lifestyle brand that embraces the Italian-Australian experience. It has its own subtle, unique, special point of view—just like your own nonna. She pretends to judge you, but deep down, she just loves you.”