THE HISTORY of DEFEUA®

THE "NORMAL" STORY OF A DIFFERENT PROJECT

Hi, I'm Luca and I'm the founder of Defeua^® .

That's the story of this brand, ad i would like you to understand what led me to create this project.

I was born in Sestri Levante , a small and beautiful town on the Ligurian Riviera, famous for its peninsula and the incredible Baia del Silenzio.

I grew up dribbling a basketball and living a normal life in the village, like so many others.

I graduated in Educational Sciences and after i started working as an employee in a public office.

I must confess to you, however, that i've been always passionate about t-shirts; they are like a magnet to me.

One day I got off from my bed with the desire of ​​buying a new t-shirt (don't ask me why!) .

I entered all the shops in my town and I left every door shaking my head full of disappointment.

Unfortunately it was a situation I already knew.

I have never been a lover of shopping and I have always paid a lot of attention to what I buy and what's more I had a particular relationship with t-shirts.

I liked the idea that a t-shirt could talk, and that it could tell me: " Wear me and go change the world."

Looking back, maybe I expected a little too much from a t-shirt... maybe.

 

THE TRIP

 

It may seem strange to you, but that day, walking around the shops, I had a feeling, stronger than I could have imagined.

I went back home thinking a lot. Really a lot.

I took a decision: I left my job, a job with an excellent salary and perfect hours, and I left basketball, my greatest passion for more than 20 years.

It was time for a change..
I boguth a one-way ticket to London with the plan of studying and getting into the world of graphic design .

"You are crazy!" - people yelled at me.

I lande in the UK, I looked for a room to sleep in and I attended graphic design, screen printing and painting courses.

Schedules became not so perfect.
I started walking miles inside a coffee shop, working to pay for the choice of my change of life.

There is always a price to pay in a city like London.

But it's a place that can give you creativity, art, a social life made up of nuances from all over the world and a crazy energy that can get inside you.

Time passes and… do you remember that feeling I talked to you about at the beginning of this story?

It had grown, becoming something bigger.

It was the time for a new big step: returning to Italy.

 

 

A MADNESS CALLED DEFEUA ^®

 

As soon as I tell you about my decision to return you can imagine the reaction:

"You are crazy!" - people yelled at me.

I've always wondered: is it really crazy to believe in your own ideas and dreams? Or maybe it's not to?

So I decide to set up a project that can improve the world around me and i wanted to do it starting from the places where I was born and raised.

The mission I have chosen seemed impossible: fighting against superficiality.

Where could I start to face this challenge? A t-shirt, obviously!

Of course it couldn't be a classic one.
This tee should have been able to "speak" (do you remember the beginning of this story?)

It was March 2016, spring was coming and Defeua^® was born.

"You are crazy!" - people yelled at me. Once again.

 

THE NAME

The choice of name is not random.
"Defeua " is a reference to the Ligurian roots of this project.

In fact, it derives from the Genoa dialect and you can translate it with "outside", but with 2 different important meanings:

• "outside" in italian slang means "crazy" and i chose it  to express how crazy my choices to get here were considered;
• "outside" to express how this brand is unconventional and far from the typical business approach of the fashion, avoiding superficiality;
• "outside " the express the importance of approaching everything with awareness, always going beyond appearance.

How can pronounce Defeua? It is pronounced "defoa ". With the "o" closed.

 

THE LOGO

The logo has been changing over the years.

It has a minimal, solid, essential and extremely functional design.

It must give you the opportunity to concentrate on the graphics and their meaning, without distracting you and fueling the classic egocentrism that many brands show (in which the logo and brand come before the product).

Here is its evolution over the years, from the first version to the current one:

STEP BY STEP

Many things have happened since that day I went in the shops looking for a t-shirt.

The project grew up through choices, trials and errors, study and research, satisfactions, interviews, articles in magazines and newspapers, fairs, new goals and new dreams.

T-shirts began to walk and "talk" but she was not alone.

New friends came: sweatshirts, backpacks, beanies  sweatpants, and prints to hang on the wall.

(If you want to know more about our concept, find out by clicking HERE )

One thing has never changed, and I assure you that it will not: the "WHY" of  Defeua^® and the dream that comes with it.

Seeing the world of fashion from the inside of those who produce made me understand how it is important to work and bring a positive and conscious change around us.

The fashion system hides an irresponsible soul, made up of poor sustainability and a low attention to society, people and environment.

It's essential that Defeua^® is increasingly becoming "more responsible and sustainable" (you can read our vision of sustainability HERE )

We have the awareness of power (and the duty) to improve ourselves everyday.

The mission is not impossible.

Stay Aware
Luca B.