“Talent is audacity, free spirit, broad ideas”
\nAnton \u010cechov<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps it would be good to abandon the myth of\ntalent<\/em> and rediscover the parable of talents<\/em>, described in the\nGospel according to Matthew: it tells of a gentleman who, having to leave,\nentrusts a servant with five talents – the currency of those ancient times -, a\nsecond servant with two and a third with three. The first two, taking advantage\nof the sum received, managed to double the amount; the third instead goes to\nhide the talent received and buries it. On his return the gentleman praises the\nwork of the first and condemns the third instead, because he did not make it\nfruit his only talent, as he did not share it with others and didn’t make it grow. He did not feed him; he\ndidn’t cultivate it; he did not ask anyone for help to enhance it and this was\nhis fault. A fault that today, in these times of deluge of talent shows, seems almost antiquated and paradoxical. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What is there to understand? We have always been\ntransmitted the idea that it is that element that either you have it (and then\neverything is possible) or you don\u2019t (and then better to give up). That\nsomething, written in our genes, which some think they can recognize from an\nearly age thanks to the progress of science and which, in a not too remote\ntime, could perhaps be designed in laboratories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But is it really like this? What does “having\ntalent” really mean? There is no doubt that natural predisposition is an\nimportant ingredient in the recipe for success. However, by this reasoning it\nis as a way that one builds a mythology, an alibi to say that, if you have not\nbeen a winner in a lucky genetic lottery, we have no responsibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By giving credit to the idea that success is an\nalready written in destiny, one makes a double mistake: on the one hand, one\u2019s\ndoes not recognize the work necessary to make talent flourish; on the other, a\nculture is nurtured that irresponsibility\nand prevents growth. Thus building within us self-induced limits and barriers.\nInstead, I believe in a logic of talent that is plural, dialogic, integrated:\none must identify one’s talent and understand how to use it. Because someone\nelse, rest assured, will understand how to use his. It takes talent too to\nrecognize the nature of what one\u2019s own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As a former student of Accademia, I discovered that my\npersonal “gift” was not to create clothes, but to create articles,\nreflections, essays on the world of fashion. It is here that the maieutic and\nfundamental function of the mentor, the master, the talent scout comes into\nplay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is how I became the first\nmale journalist to deal with fashion: there are teachers and people of great\nexperience who helped me to germinate that talent of mine, when instead, if I\nhad been abandoned to myself, I would have left buried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But I also think that talent,\ntenacity and resilience support each other. In fact, there is no talent that\ncan be expressed without a long process of maturation, commitment and\ndedication. Without true commitment it would have been lost, perhaps wasted\nand, in this sense, my career is paradigmatic of this path: discovering one’s own\nvocation and being capable; become aware of your strengths and weaknesses,\nworking hard to make those talents that would otherwise remain unproductive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having talent means letting\nyourself be guided, at the beginning, by those who have more skills than us.\nBut later, just like a plant, it is up to us to enrich it, increase it,\nhybridizing it with information from different sectors, always keeping the\nantennae of sensitivity and curiosity high and vibrant. But using all this\ninformation to build a personal language, an autonomous vision, a critical\nability that belongs only to us. You have to have desire, passion and yes,\ncourage too, without ever losing the humility of knowing more, knowing more,\nbecoming better and better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Studying within a structure such\nas the Accademia, the epicenter of different knowledge even if gathered under\nthe tutelage of Costume and Fashion, can only serve to give our talent the\nstrength and concentration of making a universal statement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “Talent is audacity, free spirit, broad ideas” Anton \u010cechov Perhaps it would be good to abandon the myth of talent and rediscover the parable of talents, described in the Gospel according to Matthew: it tells of a gentleman who, having to leave, entrusts a servant with five talents – the currency of those ancient times […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-445","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n