To understand that art,
fashion and architecture
are one family,
is to be free.
Ana pictured outside the Akita Art Museum, Japan ©
By Emily Allen: Columnist.
For architect, artist, and fashion designer Ana D’Apuzzo, the different mediums of creative disciplines have never existed in isolation. From painting and building to designing silk dresses that function like wearable architecture, her work flows across mediums, united with a singular philosophy: the idea that art, fashion, and architecture belong to the same family.
Born with an early certainty that art would define her life, D’Apuzzo spent years searching for the right language through which to express herself. “From a very young age, I knew my profession would be art,” she recalls. “But it took time to understand how to produce art that could truly be useful to people.” That search led her from fine art studies into architecture, a discipline she calls the “queen of all arts” for its vast knowledge and perspective.
Her interest in fashion started out as a childhood hobby compared to her formal education in art and architecture. “When I finally understood that art, fashion, and architecture are one family, I felt free,” she says. “That’s when I began to work in all three fields without separation.” Today, she teaches this interdisciplinary approach in Japan and through her academy in Switzerland, challenging the rigidness of conventional creative silos that pigeonhole the creative arts.
At the heart of D’Apuzzo’s practice is drawing. Whether she is designing a building, painting a canvas, or constructing a silk dress, the process begins the same way – with sketches, color studies, and an intimate understanding of the human body. Her fashion pieces are entirely handmade, often cut from silk printed with patterns derived from her own paintings.
“I enjoy the process immensely,” she explains. “It’s very similar to architecture. We use human body measurements to wrap and protect the body, just on a different scale.”
Her aesthetic language is unmistakable; fluid, organic, and deeply influenced by Impressionism, Bauhaus principles, and nature itself. She describes it as a kind of futuristic Renaissance, a contemporary echo of a time when art, science, and design were inseparable.
D’Apuzzo’s philosophy manifests in her work in unique and original ways. Her oil paintings resemble watercolors. Her dresses are one-of-a-kind and reversible, designed without a fixed front or back. Her architecture leans toward the sculptural, a quality that made her particularly drawn to projects for the fashion industry, where, she says, “creativity feels limitless.”
Her aesthetic language is unmistakable; fluid, organic, and deeply influenced by Impressionism, Bauhaus principles, and nature itself. She describes it as a kind of futuristic Renaissance, a contemporary echo of a time when art, science, and design were inseparable.
D’Apuzzo’s philosophy manifests in her work in unique and original ways. Her oil paintings resemble watercolors. Her dresses are one-of-a-kind and reversible, designed without a fixed front or back. Her architecture leans toward the sculptural, a quality that made her particularly drawn to projects for the fashion industry, where, she says, “creativity feels limitless.”
Unlike many creatives, Ana never set out to define a niche. “Intuition guides me,” she says. “And challenges force me to think fast.” While specialisation felt necessary during her years of study, she says, she eventually rejected the idea altogether, and Japan proved pivotal in this shift.
“Only there was I truly able to work across all three fields – art, fashion, and architecture – without separating them, both in theory and practice,” she says. Emboldened by that experience, she recently founded her academy in Switzerland, aiming to bring the same freedom of creative approach to Europe.
If Dapuzzo has faced obstacles throughout her career, they have not come from within. “I never lacked inspiration,” she says. “The difficulty has always been institutions.” Throughout her career, she has been asked to define herself as either an artist, architect, or fashion designer, often required to submit three separate CVs or portfolios.
She often reflects on the idea of the Renaissance figure. “Someone like Leonardo da Vinci, for example, how would he live today?” she asks. “Our systems are not designed for that kind of mind.”
Yet her persistence has paid off. Over more than two decades, she has achieved what she once only imagined – exhibitions in prestigious art museums, fashion shows, and successful architectural projects. Renowned designers like Thomas Heatherwick, she notes, share a similar refusal to be boxed in, serving as a powerful reminder that she is not alone in her vision.
Living in Monte Verità, Dapuzzo draws deep inspiration from her surroundings. A historic haven for free thinkers and utopian communities, it is closely tied to the birth of DADA and contemporary dance. “It was a sanctuary for liberated minds from all over the world,” she says. Over the years, many creatives including Marina Abramović and Mary Wigman have also drawn inspiration from it.
Another guiding figure for Dapuzzo is Nikola Tesla. “His spirit, his contribution to society, and his understanding of nature feel more relevant now than ever,” she says. Freedom of thought, harmony with nature, and shared energy form the crux of her worldview.
Dapuzzo’s belief in the transformative power of art was profoundly reinforced in Japan. After the Fukushima earthquake, she traveled there to give lectures and workshops to students. “It was about inspiring hope,” she says. “Art breaks all barriers, cultural, linguistic, emotional. It became a healing experience for everyone involved.”
A decade later, Dapuzzo still sees the impact of those encounters. “People who expand their vision learn about the power of creation,” she says with quiet gratitude.
Ultimately, Ana Dapuzzo dreams of a borderless society, one that transcends categories, disciplines, and limitations. Through her unified artistic language, she continues to inspire new generations to imagine beyond systems and to create freely, courageously, and without fear.
Watch the Interview over on Youtube on March 1st
Will be published 6pm UK time.
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