Alessandra Michelini didn’t step into fashion through the usual channels. Her journey began in the aftermath of the 2016 earthquake that reshaped her hometown—and with it, her understanding of what it means to create. Out of that silence and disruption came MOR/PHE, a brand rooted in transformation, not just in form but in mindset. It started with a personal question: can we reinvent what we already own? From there, it grew into a philosophy. In this interview with Flanelle Magazine, Alessandra reflects on the moments that shaped her path, the hunger that fueled her vision, and why fashion, for her, is not about accumulation but intention.
Alessandra, your story begins in the heart of a village devastated by the 2016 earthquake. How did that experience shape your vision and relationship with creativity?
The 2016 earthquake is a chapter of my life I’ve never spoken about publicly. Not because it didn’t leave a mark ( quite the opposite ) but because I never wanted to use it as emotional leverage. It was an event that deeply shook my hometown and my family, leaving invisible scars that I still carry with me today, even though I’ve worn a smile for years in order to move forward. I learned early on that life can change in an instant, that nothing is guaranteed, and that any dream put on hold may never find the “right” time.
After the earthquake, I set aside my dream of studying fashion. The economic and logistical challenges were overwhelming, as they were for many families in our region. But that sacrifice never left me. I realized that, despite everything, I was still here. And that in itself was a privilege I couldn’t afford to waste. That was the moment when my determination took shape, and with it, my creativity. It wasn’t an immediate or linear process. For years, I nurtured my ideas in silence, protecting them. But it was precisely that silence that gave me strength: I learned how to design, how to build on my own, and how to believe in a vision even without immediate validation.
Creativity, for me, has never been a luxury. It’s always been a form of resistance. It bloomed the moment I decided I would create something of my own, even starting from scratch, even without the resources others may take for granted. There’s a word we often use in Italy: fame ( hunger ). But it’s more than a desire. It’s an urgency. It’s the fire that pushes you to get up every day and build something, even when no one is watching, even when nothing is guaranteed.
And today, when I look back at how far I’ve come, I feel a deep sense of gratitude. MOR/PHE is not just a brand, it’s a personal manifesto. It’s proof that with courage, determination, and yes, hunger, you can create something beautiful, useful, and true.
Thank you to Flanelle Magazine for this interview, and for giving me the space to share not just a project, but an authentic part of my story. For me, MOR/PHE was never born from an aesthetic idea, but from an existential need. It is the answer to an inner urgency: the urge to transform limits into possibilities, silence into form, and pain into creation.
2) You’re a self-taught designer who later earned a degree in Fashion Studies. What did teaching yourself the foundations of design teach you about yourself, and what changed after your degree?
I’m a self-taught designer and I’m proud of it. I’ve always had an instinctive creativity, something I’ve used since childhood as a tool for self-expression. I never had the chance to attend prestigious fashion schools, but I never stopped nurturing that part of me that needed to create.
When I first started envisioning my brand, my biggest fear wasn’t failing, it was not being able to put my ideas on paper. It wasn’t about technical limitations, it was about insecurity: I didn’t have a formal academic background, and for a while, that made me feel stuck. At one point, I even considered working with an experienced designer to bring my first sketches to life. But the idea of sharing such an innovative, deeply personal project before it was protected made me uncomfortable. So I chose the most honest path: I started drawing myself.
Those early sketches weren’t perfect, but they were authentic. And most importantly, they were readable, they communicated my thoughts and my design language. That’s when I understood that you don’t need technical perfection to begin. You just need the courage to start.
Later on, I had the opportunity to study fashion at university. It wasn’t a private academy, but a more theoretical and accessible path I chose with intention. Even if it didn’t focus on the practical aspects of design, it gave me a lot: it taught me how to analyze the fashion system in depth, and how to position my vision within a broader context.
Alongside my academic studies, I pursued independent research, continuous experimentation, and the ongoing development of my brand. Because the truth is no one ever taught me creativity. I’ve always had it. What university gave me was the confidence to recognize it as a concrete skill, not just a gut feeling.
My final thesis was the first time I spoke publicly about my project. Until that day, MOR/PHE had been a secret I guarded closely. But on the day of my thesis defense, I had just officially registered the brand in Italy. I remember the feeling perfectly: I wasn’t presenting an academic exercise, I was presenting a part of my life, my future.
Seeing the interest and surprise in the eyes of the professors, the panel, and the people in the room was unforgettable. That day, I was introducing my dream to the world. And the fact that my thesis tells the story of my brand is something I’ll carry with me forever.
3) MOR/PHE emerged from a deeply personal question: “Can we reinvent what we already own?” When did this question evolve into a vision big enough to become a brand?
MOR/PHE was born from a simple yet powerful question: can we use what we already own in a different way? It was a question I first asked myself, in a very specific moment of my life. Working in the fashion industry and often attending events and special occasions, I found myself surrounded by clothes, accessories, and bags. My wardrobe was full. And yet, every time a new event came up, I felt the need, or rather, the pressure, to have something “new.” Something that hadn’t already been seen, photographed, or worn.
That’s when I asked myself: why do we keep accumulating when we could simply transform? It wasn’t just an aesthetic reflection. It was an ethical one, too. In a fashion system that’s becoming faster and more wasteful by the day, dominated by fast fashion and overconsumption, I felt a deep urge to do things differently. To create something useful, functional, and sustainable while also beautiful, adaptable, and modular.
I started researching existing solutions, but I couldn’t find anything that truly met my needs. Transformability did exist, of course, but not in the way I imagined it; not as a founding philosophy, not as the core narrative of an entire brand.
That’s when MOR/PHE took shape: to fulfill a personal need, long before it was a market solution. And that, today, is what makes me most proud. I didn’t follow a trend. I didn’t build something “to sell,” but to respond to a real need.
Over time, I realized that need wasn’t mine alone. As people discovered the project, many found a new sense of awareness awakening in themselves. MOR/PHE is not just a brand. It’s a proposal for change. It’s an invitation to rethink our relationship with the objects we own. To make them more versatile, more enduring, and more responsible.
In these first few months, the public response has been incredibly enthusiastic. When I explain that a bag isn’t just a bag, but a transformable system designed to become something else, I see surprise, curiosity, and desire in people’s eyes. And every time someone says to me, “I’ve never thought of anything like this before,” I know I’m on the right path. Because I’m offering a vision. A slower, more thoughtful, more liberated kind of fashion. And to me, that’s the real revolution.
MOR/PHE wasn’t created to follow a trend. It was born to challenge one. It began with a question that is both deeply personal and profoundly universal: can we really continue to consume fashion as if it had no consequences?
My answer came in the form of a gesture. A transformable gesture. MOR/PHE seeks to gently, but firmly, retrain our gaze. To teach us to choose with greater awareness, to own with more respect, to dress with more freedom. It’s not just an aesthetic or functional project. It’s an invitation to let go of the belief that we always need something new in order to feel different. It offers a concrete alternative to a system that has conditioned us to want too much, too fast, too often.
At the heart of MOR/PHE lies transformation. But not the kind that shifts for the sake of novelty. This is a transformation that’s symbolic, structural, and deeply meaningful. Every creation is designed to evolve with the person who wears it, to adapt to their identity, to flow with their everyday life. Not to mimic the ever-changing whims of the market, but to prove that multiplicity can be born from continuity. That we can be many things, even starting from just one.
Transformability is our tool. But what we aim to build goes far beyond product: MOR/PHE is a cultural act. A sentimental education in fashion. An education rooted in respect, for ourselves, for what we own, for what we choose. Because an object that lasts is not only sustainable, it carries memory, meaning, and value. It’s the symbol of a new kind of aesthetic: quiet, intentional, coherent.
MOR/PHE doesn’t seek recognition only for what it creates, but for how it thinks. It wants to be a brand that doesn’t just dress people, but speaks to them. That doesn’t just design, but educates. It’s not chasing attention. It’s seeking understanding. Because if an idea stays locked inside the person who created it, it remains small. But if it’s shared, it can change things. And I truly believe it’s time, now more than ever, to change things.
Your brand doesn’t follow trends but creates timeless, modular pieces. In an industry obsessed with “what’s next,” how do you maintain this intentional stillness?
In an era where fashion never stops, driven by a system that consumes and discards ideas as fast as it creates them, MOR/PHE has consciously chosen to slow down. To pause. To observe. Not to chase the obsession with “what comes next,” but to build a proposition that speaks to both the present and the future, with depth, intention, and clarity.
The calmness of MOR/PHE is not passivity. It is purpose. A deliberate, radical stance against the noise and overproduction of fast fashion. I firmly believe that true innovation needs time, to be understood, embraced, and valued. And while I know the road I’m walking is long, I’m certain it’s the right one.
What I want to offer through the brand isn’t just an aesthetic or a collection of transformable pieces. It’s a thought. A slow education in the possibility of buying less, but better. A shift in mindset starts with a simple question: “Do I really need something new, or can I choose something that evolves with me, that adapts to different moments in my life?”
That’s the essence of MOR/PHE: to give people pract
ical tools, accessories, bags, and soon garments, designed to grow with them over time, in both function and style, without sacrificing variety. It’s not about doing everything yourself, but about owning pieces built to transform, adapt, and be reimagined, intelligently, beautifully, and consciously.
I’m able to maintain this calm because I trust. Not only in the project but in its purpose. Because MOR/PHE was never created to fill wardrobes. It was created to empty them of the unnecessary and refill them with possibility. It doesn’t follow seasons. It follows people. It doesn’t simply sell “newness.” It offers an alternative vision.
I know this is still just the beginning, and that it takes time for a new idea to root itself in people’s lives, to become a norm rather than a novelty. But I’m willing to wait, for as long as it takes, because I believe in the value of what we’re building. And I’m certain that each step, even the smallest one, is leading us exactly where we need to go.
Greek mythology plays a symbolic role in all your collections, including the latest “Echoes Of Change.” Why did you choose Greek mythology as your narrative thread, and what do these stories mean to you today?
Greek mythology, and classical culture more broadly, is an integral part of both my personal and professional journey. I studied at a classical high school, and I still carry with me that education rooted in the deeper meaning of words, their etymology, and the value of symbolism. That’s exactly where I began when naming this brand. I wasn’t looking for something trendy or catchy. I was searching for something that could embody the soul of the project, its most essential breath.
That’s how MOR/PHE was born, inspired by the Greek word metamorphè, meaning metamorphosis. I chose not to use the full word, but to focus on its core, its most powerful and conceptually evocative element. I split “morphe” with a slash, a graphic symbol that isn’t mere decoration, but a visual metaphor for the brand’s philosophy: a line of transition, of passage, a threshold between two forms. A mark that separates, but at the same time, connects two possibilities.
Within the logo, there’s also a trace of my personal identity. The “M,” initial of my last name Michelini, when split, creates an inverted “A,” the first letter of my first name, Alessandra. I wanted a tangible sign of myself in the brand, not in an egocentric way, but as a subtle detail, something to be discovered. A hidden layer that tells the story of the deep bond between my personal history and the vision behind MOR/PHE.
But Greek mythology isn’t present only in the name. It runs like a narrative thread through all my work. Even the bags in the first collection are named after mythological nymphs, each of whom, according to legend, underwent a transformation, a metamorphosis. Feminine figures suspended between freedom and fate, identity and change. Each name is chosen with intention, because every creation must tell a story, must carry a vibration from the past that resonates with the present.
For me, mythology isn’t an aesthetic reference. It’s a universal symbolic language. It speaks of transformation, of evolution, of possibility. It tells us who we are, and who we might become. That’s why it’s so powerful, and why it continues to echo through each collection, including Echoes of Change, which explores the theme of inner metamorphosis, the layering of time, and the redefinition of identity.
My aim is to build a bridge between past and future. To use myth as a new way of narrating fashion: deeper, more conscious, more human. And to turn every piece, every garment, every accessory, into a small story of transformation.
Sustainability is baked into MOR/PHE; not just in materials but in concept. How do you respond to skeptics who question PU as a sustainable choice?
At MOR/PHE, sustainability is a matter of vision. We believe it cannot be reduced to a single variable, such as the composition of materials. It’s fundamental, yes, but it’s not everything. In recent years, the conversation has often focused solely on what is used to create a garment or accessory, neglecting the real issue: how much is produced, how often, and why.
Sustainability cannot be addressed only in terms of materials; it must be a systemic idea. We are a cruelty-free brand, and for that reason, animal leather was never even considered. For our debut collection, we selected a high-quality PU, the result of in-depth technical and aesthetic research. Each bag has a finish that deceives both the eye and the touch. Many people believe it’s genuine leather, a testament to the excellence of the chosen material.
But the choice was also strategic. MOR/PHE was born with the goal of re-educating the average consumer, offering a new way of experiencing fashion that’s slower, more thoughtful, more intelligent. To do this, we had to create a product that was accessible. If we had launched the brand using more experimental materials, like some of the next-generation vegan leathers we are already testing, we would have been forced into a much higher price range, turning our message into something elitist, and therefore ineffective.
Our goal is not to speak only to those who can afford luxury, but to offer a concrete and intelligent alternative for those seeking new and functional solutions. That’s why, although we position ourselves in the premium segment, we chose to offer installment payment options through our e-commerce platform, making the purchase more accessible as a one-time investment. Because ultimately, one MOR/PHE bag equals three different accessories, thanks to our patented transformation system that reduces the need to buy multiple products.
This is where the true sustainability of our project lies: reducing production, avoiding waste, creating intelligent objects that last over time and adapt to different styles and life moments. And in doing so, we never compromise on aesthetics; every decision is guided by a balance between function and beauty.
We’re fully aware that our journey has only just begun. We will continue to innovate and explore better materials, but without ever betraying our identity: MOR/PHE will never use animal leather. Because the revolution lies not only in the product, but in the thinking that brings it to life.
Can you share more about your approach to ethical production and how it influences your design timeline and business decisions?
At MOR/PHE, ethics is not a separate department. It is a guiding principle that informs every decision we make. Our approach to ethical production is reflected in our choice to avoid animal-derived materials, in our ongoing research into more sustainable alternatives, and in our commitment to offering an accessible product without compromising our core values.
The transformability of our accessories is not just a stylistic exercise. It’s a tangible way to reduce the number of purchases, and consequently, the volume of production. This inevitably affects the design timeline as well: each piece involves a complex process, carefully conceived to last and to adapt, requiring more time, more attention, and more testing.
We don’t follow the frantic pace of fast fashion. We choose to grow mindfully, even if that means moving more slowly, because we know that a project like MOR/PHE needs time—not just to be created, but to be understood and embraced.
Looking ahead, how are you planning to extend the brand? What can we expect for the future of MOR/PHE?
MOR/PHE is a project born in silence, built over the years with dedication, vision, and patience. The bag collection you see today is just the first layer of a much broader system: a new language, a cultural proposal as much as an aesthetic one. In truth, MOR/PHE was originally conceived as a line of transformable clothing. The bags became the first chapter to come to life. Because they were the most ready, the most patentable, the most immediately recognizable.
Today, we have already designed and developed a full line of transformable garments, ready for production. This will be followed by a tailored capsule collection, a prêt-à-porter line, a footwear collection, and a range of accessories all transformable, interchangeable, modular. This principle is not a technical gimmick.. Every product bearing this name will be designed to evolve over time, to adapt to the person wearing it, to last longer and live more lives.
Naturally, a project like this requires time, resources, and great attention to detail. But we’re not in a rush. We want to do things the right way
Our future also includes the creation of an in-house production atelier, one that will become the beating heart of the brand, a place where we can offer an even more radical form of customization. We want to give every customer the chance to incorporate a personal element into a MOR/PHE piece: a vintage fabric, a beloved garment forgotten in an old chest, a fragment of memory turned into form, beauty, new life.
In this way, each piece will be truly unique—and fashion will return to what it once was: an intimate, personal, and identity-driven narrative. All of this is already written. All that’s left is to bring it to life. And to do so, we need those who believe in new ideas, who choose consciously, who have the courage to change. We need you, too.
Thank you to Flanelle Magazine for believing in us and for giving us a voice. It is through opportunities like this that real change can begin.
Find Mor/phe on their website and Instagram.