Italian-born designer Sofia Prantera heads up womenswear label Aries, a streetwear brand drawing on the irreverence of the 90s rave and counterculture in which she participated. Though never entirely without struggle, Prantera celebrates the liberating creativity of her small, independent brand, and the design process is nearly entirely in-house: Sofia makes Aries’ prints and patterns herself, which are hand-printed and hand-dyed in the studio. The result is a bravely subversive and experimental identity in an overcrowded market. Aries was never meant to appropriate mens’ streetwear, but instead emphasize sensuality and femininity through a traditionally masculine medium.
