ABOUT

 

FILEP MOTWARY POLIMODA RENDEZ VOUS 2018 FASHION MOTWARY FLORENCE FIRENZE _ 8I

FILEP MOTWARY
Editor-at-Large at Vogue Greece |
Independent Fashion Curator | Author & Fashion Critic | Film Director & Photographer

Cypriot Filep Motwary was born in 1977.


He is the Editor-at-Large of Vogue Greece since 2018,  while his interviews and stories are often syndicated by other publications under Conde Nast.

For almost 14 years he was the Editor-at-Large of Dapper Dan Magazine. His collaboration with the magazine started just before 2010 and ended in May 2023.

The curator, two times author, fashion critic, and photographer is considered an expert on upcoming designers in Europe he is often invited to mentor young creatives and has participated in various competitions as a jury member.

He has curated several exhibitions, including SYNERGY: Art into Fashion presented at the A. G. Leventis Gallery in Nicosia, from 16th April to late August 2022, “Haute-à-Porter” that was presented at the Modemuseum of Hasselt (BE) in 2016, for which he was also the author of the best-selling publication bearing the same title (Lannoo, distribution by Rizzoli).
The exhibition welcomed thousands of visitors within 6 months and was ranked by Forbes as one of the top three for that year. “Haute-à-Porter” examined the links between prêt-à-porter and haute couture in contemporary fashion and how the latter inspires the first.

In 2019 he released his second publication titled “Theorem[a]: The Body, Emotion + Politics in Fashion” (Skira).
The publication came as a collaboration between Motwary and Polimoda University in Florence and it features his interviews with Hussein Chalayan, Jean Paul Gaultier, Pamela Golbin, Iris van Herpen, Harold Koda, Michèle Lamy, Thierry-Maxime Loriot, Antonio Mancinelli, Suzy Menkes, Violeta Sanchez, Valerie Steele, Jun Takahashi, Olivier Theyskens, Viktor & Rolf.

In addition, he art-directs and creates costumes for acclaimed plays, music videos, and films.
He is the director and producer for two music videos, “I am Love” (2021) and “Astral Body” (2019) currently playing on Netflix, by Freedom Candlemaker.

His costumes have been exhibited in several museums and institutions including Musee D’art Et D’histoire De Saint-Brieuc-Brittany.FR, Centraal Museum – Utrecht. NL, Benakis Museum Athens.GR. The Byron Museum.CY, La Gaite Lyrique.FR, Modemuseum Hasselt.BE, The Cyprus Museum (CY)

He is a visiting lecturer at several institutions, including Polimoda University of Florence, while he focuses on both the practice of curating fashion and art direction.

Between 2005 and 2021, Motwary interviewed over 450 leading experts from the world of fashion and the arts.

From 2011 to 2015 he collaborated closely with Jean Pierre Blanc and the Hyères Festival.

Motwary was the founder of the renowned blog Un nouVeau iDEAL (2005-2015) which was listed among others in William Oliver and Susie Bubble’s book “The World’s Top Fashion Blogs” published by PRESTEL (2011). During its tenure, the blog received two international awards.
Between the years 2000 to 2009, alongside jewelry designer Maria Mastori, he has been creating collections focusing on womenswear. Many of his costume creations now belong to the archives of museum institutions and private collectors.

The Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture has invited Motwary to present his career highlights formed as a lecture to the students of the “First Technical Lyceum” in Nicosia, on October 24, 2017.
On November 20th and 21st 2017, Motwary was invited to direct a two-day workshop at the 1st Technical Lyceum of Nicosia (CY) as part of “ACT” (ΔΡΑΑΕ) a project supported by the EU.
It featured students between the ages of 14-17. The workshop focused on the differences or similarities between Haute Couture and prêt-à-porter in contemporary fashion.

For Modemuseum Hasselt’s exhibition titled ACROSS JAPAN, Motwary did the selection of participant garments and artwork, the preparation and research along with the visuals presented within. The exhibition opened on 4 March 2017.

In 2012 he was invited by Linda Loppa to participate in a series of video interviews, focusing on the subjects of Fetish, Monsters, and Bridges. In addition, he continued with other phone interviews to conclude this project. Among others, Motwary interviewed Rick Owens, Tim Blanks, Bruce Pask, Christian Lacroix, Robin Schulie, Etienne Russo, Humberto Leon (Kenzo), and Marlo Saalmink […]. Some of these conversation texts were published in MOMENTING THE MEMENTO by Danilo Venturi, released in 2014.

Motwary has written and directed a series of short films for the Cyprus Handicraft Service under the general title #craftingcyprus  – The first three episodes were presented at the Grand Palais in Paris at the Révélations Biennial of Crafts, 2022 .

On November 8th, 2022, Motwary met Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing on stage at the Athens Music Hall for an intimate interview in the context of Change Makers – Fashion: The Road Ahead organized by Vogue Greece and attended by 2200 individuals.

In Spring 2023, Motwary finished three more episodes for the series #craftingcyprus by commition of the Cyprus Press and Information Office and the Cyprus Handicraft Service. The films will be screened again at the Grand Palais in Paris at the Révélations Biennial of Crafts, 2023.

In November 2023, Motwary was invited by the World Crafts Council and Artesania Catalunya to present his short film “Basketweaving” on the occasion of the 5th exhibition of crafts films presented at the Design Museum in Barcelona. Motwary was supported by the Cyprus Press and Information Office, the Deputy Ministry of Culture, and The Cyprus Handicraft Service.

 

www.filepmotwary.com
@filepmotwary

 

 

INTERVIEWS 2005 – 2024

[…] Marni’s Francesco Risso, Germanier, Yuima Nakazato, Marco De Vincenzo at ETRO, Molly Goddard, Ottolinger, Issey Miyake, Nicolas De Felice, Gabriel Orozco, Thomas Houseago, Terence Koh, Vivienne Westwood, Shirin Neshat, Giorgio Armani, Maria Grazia Chiuri of Dior, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Daniel Roseberry at Schiaparelli, Stella McCartney, Simone Rocha, Bruno Sialelli at Lanvin, Daisy Collingridje, Demna Gvasalia at Balenciaga, Erdem, Pierpaolo Piccioli at Valentino, Daniela Busarello, Jonathan Anderson, Donatella Versace, Kim Jones at Fendi, Michael Borremans, Sandy Powell, Jacquemus, Dries Van Noten, Carla Sozzani, Luke and Lucie Mier from Jil Sander, Katerina Jebb, Giambattista Valli, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Lisa Immordino Vreeland, HARRI, Andrew Bolton, Viktor & Rolf, Olivier Rousteing, Pamela Golbin, Michele Lamy, Alexander McQueen, Olivier Theyskens, June Newton aka Alice Springs, Julien D’Ys, Harold Koda, Iris Van Herpen, Nick Knight, Gareth Pugh, Hans Feurer, Thom Browne, Mats Gustafson, Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni, Peter Lindbergh, Sacai/Chitose Abe, Antonio Mancinelli, Colin McDowell, Lanvin’s Lucas Ossendrijver, Alexander Fury, Pierre Hardy, Valerie Steele, Farida Khelfa, Rick Owens, Christian Lacroix, Paolo Roversi, Helmut Lang, Jun Takahashi, Haider Ackermann, Yohji Yamamoto, Harry Peccinotti, Christophe Lemaire, Juergen Teller, Zandra Rhodes, Stephen Jones, Nicole Phelps, Sebastien Meunier, Glenn Martens […]

 

 

EXHIBITIONS & OTHER PROJECTS

 

as FASHION CURATOR OR/AND PUBLISHED AUTHOR

 

as FILM DIRECTOR

 

as FILM FESTIVAL CURATOR

 

 

as Co-CURATOR

  • MODEMUSEUM HASSELT, ACROSS JAPAN, Hasselt March 2017 (research & selections of garments and visuals presented).

 

 

as COSTUME DESIGNER | EXHIBITIONS & PERFORMANCES

 

as EXHIBITED ARTIST – PHOTOGRAPHER

 

as JURY member

 

as QUEST SPEAKER

 

OTHER PROJECTS

 

as MODERATOR

 

 

Portrait by Federica Fioravanti ©