We were lucky to catch up with Daniel Belardinelli recently and have shared our conversation below.
Daniel , appreciate you joining us today. Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?
I went to law school & practiced law for a number of years. My area of practice was criminal defense/civil litigation. Although I am trained as a lawyer, art has always been my passion. I have been drawing/painting since I was a young boy. Sometime in the early 1990’s my art started to get recognized, which led to galleries & shows. And because I never had any formal art training, my work fell into the outsider genre.
In 2021, I was approached by a friend who wanted to use my art for the apparel line of an electric motorcycle company (Soriano Motori) based in Milan. The clothing was developed & was well received. Little did I know at the time that this venture was to act as our ‘test’ for a future apparel line that we would create.
In 2023, we created a new company ‘IRREVRANT’ which is a life style apparel line. Our brand will launch in June 2024 during the Pitti Immagine Uomo Show in Florence.
I never had the intention to be involved in a clothing line. Ultimately it was my art that chose the road they I am presently on.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Daniel Belardinelli. I have been an artist practically my entire life. My work started to gain attention in nyc in the early 1990’s. Like I said in the prior question, I literally fell into the business (clothing designer) by accident. Our new company IRREVRANT is an apparel company. It will launch in June at the Pitti Immagine Uomo show in Florence.
What I’m most proud of with regard to this new line/brand is how it came into fruition. It basically derived from all the paintings, drawings, symbols & words I have compiled in my career. It was my partner Sergio Moroni who always admired my work from the beginning of my career & always expressed interest in doing something ‘other’ than showing it in galleries, shows & art fairs. Sergio was responsible for bringing Benneton to the U.S. & was also an executive at Esprit & Fila. It was his vision that saw my work on apparel. Now we are moving forward with our new company IRREVRANT & have developed a team that work wonderfully together.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
I have 2 other business partners. One in Miami & the other in Florence. I have known the Miami partner (Sergio Moroni) for over 30 years. Sergio was involved in bringing Benetton to the U.S. and was also an executive at Esprit, Fila & Michael Kors. Filippo Michelacci is the founder of M.I.D.A. a third generation textile & manufacturing company based in Florence. Sergio has always been an ardent supporter/admirer of my work. He had always expressed an interest in doing something together with my art from the early days. In 2021, he approached me with an idea to use my work for the prior apparel line we were involved in for the electric motorcycle company in Italy was inspired by motorcycle culture & was an instant success. Little did I know that it would be our initial test project for IRREVRANT 3 years later’.
Note: there is so much more to my story. It would actually be beneficial for Simone to call & speak to me for me to better tell my story. It is very difficult to explain my journey – it’s very involved & very interesting
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
the fact that art has enabled me to travel around the world & meet so many interesting people.
Contact Info:
- Website: belardinelliart.com – IRREVRANT.com (coming)
- Instagram: DanielBelardinelli
- Facebook: Daniel Belardinelli
Image Credits
Marianne McGlone /a