Christopher Ciccone Launched the Ciccone Collection, during London Fashion Week, a collection of weather friendly footwear that brings versatility to rubbermade shoes. Known for being the artistic brains behind many of Madonna’s (she’s his sister!) tours, it was no wonder he branched out to create something for the world to enjoy. Looking to make the Ciccone Collection a global recognized lifestyle brand and hoping to open a store next summer in Prague, Christopher and I chatted about his new line, how their so different from other brands and stepping away from being “Madonna’s brother.”
Tell me how you got into fashion.
I’ve been involved in fashion for a while through my sister’s tours with Gaultier, Dolce and Gabbana and various other people. So it’s not a strange new world for me, but it’s a different world from the music business.
With you being an artist, what is your inspiration behind the designs?
Art is always the first place to start with me, for whatever I do, that’s where I get inspired from. From my work or somebody else’s work, it’s a creative endeavor for me, not a technical issue. I don’t think “It’s raining outside and I want something that will keep my feet dry,” I think, “It’s raining outside so I want something that’ll look cool while keeping my feet dry.”
With Madonna as your sister, did you ever help on her tours with designs?
Well, I directed and designed The Girlie Show and Blonde Ambition. So I was responsible for everything that was on stage to the t-shirts being sold out front to the tour bus itself to how the people were dressed. I was never onstage, I didn’t want to be (laughs), but I basically ran the show.
As you see Madonna is a legend and you too are so creative, do you think it’s something that runs in your DNA or something that came by chance?
I think it’s partly that. I think the other part is our father wanting us to be other things like doctors and lawyers and engineers. So there’s a push for that, then your kids rebel and do just the opposite. When we were in college, back in, I don’t want to say when, this is not where I thought I’d end up and certainly I don’t think Madonna did either. Although her ambition and drive is slightly different from mine as I don’t require as much attention. A little bit, but not as much.
There are so many brands that are popping up and launching now. What 1) do you think will make you all stand out and 2) makes you so different from the other brands coming out?
Well I chose a niche to begin with in an area where there’s mostly crap. I did my research and most of the stuff looks the same. It doesn’t matter who’s doing it, it basically looks the same. There’s no real life to it. I could have easily gone out and popped out high heels at a $1000 a pair to begin the brand with, but I think that’s a mistake. It’s smarter to make it accessible to everybody with stuff that would become a staple in your closet. I could have gone crazy with zippers and studs but I chose to establish the brand and give it a good base.
You first launched with a fashion show and are now doing a press tour, how well has the brand been received so far?
Everyone’s responding really well to it. I’m not Kim Kardashian. I don’t have a TV show to back up my product, but I’m saying it’s simpler if you do. You’re kind of pitching your product perpetually on your show. So, it’s getting the product noticed and getting people to talk about it because it’s a great product, not because I’m Madonna’s brother is a process. And I think it’ll take a couple of seasons for people to latch on to the whole idea.
