With her enamel metal mugs, patches, pins and many other objets, Lolita Picco conceives his creations with a retro, full of humour and intrinsically french aesthetic. Since 2012, she has been collaborating with brands and institutions like Adidas, Odette et Lulu, Birchbox and even the French Soccer Federation, to commemorate 2019 FIFA’s women’s world cup that took place this year in France. She has been also recently awarded with the People’s Choice Prize on 2019 Etsy France Design Awards.
Interview by Cosmos Vintage
Every type of object you create feels like a nod to a bygone era. Did you always have had this fondness for the past?
For as long as I could remember, I’ve always been passionate about History and the very notion of “past”… I don’t even know why. I always felt like I was born in the wrong era… I’m a very nostalgic person. When I was in primary school I felt already nostalgic about kindergarden!
Where do you draw your inspiration from? Music, cinema, old TV series and magazines… are they important in your creative process?
Absolutely! Before establishing my own brand I was mainly into illustration, with a big focus on collage art: I used to employ old “Paris Match” magazines or outdated encyclopedias thrifted on flea markets. I also loved to buy old stranger’s portrait photographs, to the point that now I have a collection of nearly 1.000 pictures! Vintage is a great part of my creative process which explains, for example, my penchant for retro-inspired typography.
Speaking of typography, I’ve grown a passion for old, hand painted storefront signs. I’m always photographing them anywhere I go, so that’s for sure another important influence on my style.
Music-wise, I adore 60’s and 70’s soul songs, but I grow with 90’s R&B and hip-hop and I keep listening to it on a regular basis. I think that we can consider the later as vintage music now too… damn, that made me feel old!
Besides its vintage inspiration, your work is full of humour. Are you trying to bring some joy as a response to our society’s nostalgia for the “good old days”?
I do it almost subconsciously, but specially with my love for pins there is this throwback to the 90’s, to my own childhood. I feel that there’s so much anxiety in our society that sometimes we want to get shelter coming back to simpler, more joyful memories. My objective is to make people smile, to bring some fun to their daily lives, and to take them back to fond and cheerful memories of their own life.
What do you want to do next, what are your future plans?
I’m not good at thinking about the future, but looking ahead I just want to keep enjoying my work, and to try to make my brand grow a bit more every year!
The final question is an standard for every interviewee… what’s your favorite vintage item?
Actually, the two skirts that I bought from your shop back in 2015 at a vintage festival! They are my go-to garments every summer since. I love them and every time they draw plenty of compliments, they’re just perfect.
Vous pouvez trouver les créations de Lolita Picco dans sa web www.lolitapicco.fr ou en connaître un peu plus sur son univers sur son Instagram .
Et si vous habitez près de Marseille, vous pourrez retrouver ses créations ainsi que celles de 16 autres créateurs de la région lors de la semaine Etsy Made in France, au WAAW du 07 au 13 décembre – 17 rue pastoret dans le 6ième. Et pour plus d’informations, rendez-vous sur la page de l’évènement Facebook.