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I'm Jessica Torcellan, passionate about Vintage fashion in a world of cats.
Like all little girls, in my childhood, I spent a lot of time in mum and dad's closet and in my grandmother's.
I was lucky enough to have my grandmother under the same roof and often spent my days and nights in her room.
Nonna was a tenacious woman, she worked in the family restaurant as a cook and never had a hair out of place. A woman with a strong character and a personality of her own. Her style was crazy and my father loved buying her unique and decisive clothes like her.
While she worked, when I came back from elementary school, I rummaged through her things.
I remember that one of his closets was a bit tall for me and to get inside, I had to build a sort of ladder, made of bags full of balls of wool.
In that closet, there were a lot of fur coats and fancy hats and there I was, messing up her whole wardrobe.
Then, I loved her chest of drawers so much, with a huge mirror and an infinity of jewels, where I played the divas I saw in black and white films, which dad watched late at night.
There was another wardrobe which was definitely more accessible to me and which I absolutely adored.
She had three drawers full of scarves and loads of blazers and coats. That wardrobe was a riot of colour, extravagance and high fashion. Now I understand its value. Then growing up, I discovered dad's wardrobe which was a real paradise of high fashion but not only. Garments of true tailoring that conveyed elegance and wonder. Between Versace coats and tuxedos, I loved wearing his sweaters by one, which in my eyes, is considered one of the most iconic and incredible brands in history to date. Missoni. Surely this brand also touches my heart because it ties me a lot to my father. Even today, when I happen to go to visit my mother, I enter that wardrobe to smell its essence, perfume and memories.
This is also the beauty of my job and my passion: smelling a garment that I like to call "foundling", smelling the scent of my grandmother's wardrobe and going back in time imagining its history.
But how was "Vintage Cats" born?
Let's start from the beginning. Known by many as it was from the beginning as "La Candy", I began to collect without realizing it, a lot of high fashion and non-haute couture garments, finding myself literally submerged in clothes. Then, on each of my trips, I needed to find flea markets and vintage shops.
So, little by little I found myself with a real shop in my room. Most of the items were never worn, it would take me eight more lifetimes to show them all. So I decided to try to empty my closet, giving my treasures the chance to have a second life. I started in 2014 by signing up on Depop, one of the coolest platforms especially of its time. From there, little by little everything became clear: this was my mission: to find and sell clothing from other eras making other people happy. I was immediately understood, appreciated and pampered by the community. Within three years I was selected among the best (ten) sellers in Italy and I was invited together with other colleagues to Milan for a presentation shooting and an interview for the "Here i am" project.
It was exciting and fun and beautiful. I met fantastic people, many that I follow and still feel and that I respect very much. From many and I just have to learn. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for the wonderful community that has pushed me to believe in myself and supported me all these years. on Saturdays and Sundays, waking up at six in the morning to go to the markets and find unique pieces was my daily bread, to then go home with black hands and bags full of crazy clothes. To date, many things have happened and others have changed. The pandemic has given me time for myself, making me discover a passion for tailoring, a world to explore but complicated. I collaborated with Hannibal Store Turin in a capsule collection where I took current street garments from their collection and revisited them with vintage or completely distorted pieces. Thanks to Fabio Raffaeli, CEO of Hannibal Store, who has been my mentor for many years, who raised me in the world of marketing and fashion, teaching me everything I know today, traveling the world. My sincerest and deepest gratitude will always go to him for helping to make me the woman I am now.
The pandemic made me move to my sister, in a long coexistence that still lasts and gave us six wonderful creatures. Already with a family of three cats, it expands by nine: Eight female wonders including grandmother, mother and sister, and a boy. my beloved Simba. Undisputed protagonist here and in my solcials.
And here we are at the answer. This is where "Vintage Cats" was born. After spending the second lockdown with them day and night, taking new photos of vintage roundups, I noticed how interested they were in the camera and in posing with me. I said to myself, cats are my passion, souls that I love madly and that I respect. Vintage has always been my other passion. Why not merge these two worlds into one? No sooner said than done. And here we are. Born completely naturally. The best ideas always come from what you love the most.
I finally took the plunge. It wasn't easy, it wasn't all rosy. Last winter I had a very long period of blockage due to a bad depression. I found myself on the couch doubting myself, my abilities, my job. Existential doubts that led me to total apathy. A real black hole. I gave up everything, destroying what I believed in for years, the idea of creating a site was light years away from me. I suffered from constant anxiety and panic attacks and insomnia that prevented me from doing anything. Thanks to my cats I recovered, to my sister's patience in not letting me weigh my silences and my apathies. I told myself that I was much stronger and badass than that, much more determined and positive. I stopped listening to those damn voices in my head and decided to do the only two things that kept me alive: take care of my cats and my job.
Here we are today, I have rolled up my sleeves, believing it and thanking anyone who is here to read me, to support me and to believe in what I do.
So, Ladies, enjoy the ride, make yourself comfortable for a time travel with purrs and feline paws.
Thank you from our heart for being here,
my eternal thanks,
Jessica, Simba and her sisters.
