Community Highlights: Meet Diego Aureggi of Piece Unik

Today we’d like to introduce you to Diego Aureggi.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My name is Diego Aureggi, my whole family is originally from Italy but I was born in New York because my father was finishing his postgraduate degree. At the age of two, I moved back to Europe and moved between Italy and France until I was seventeen.

That’s where my love for fashion began, being an Italian in France was challenging because both these nationalities believe to be the best in all sectors that matter: wine, food, music & fashion.

I had to represent my culture and fashion seemed a good way to achieve that upper hand – From there, my passion was fueled with the need to discover what was new!

This passion is very much with me today, although in a much more developed way.

I bought my first 1 of 1 when I was seventeen – during my studies in Boston, I realized that fashion didn’t really correlate to brands. Studying about sustainability in the fashion industry I slowly started being appalled by the production practices some of my favorite brands displayed.

A 1 of 1 or “Piece Unique” in French is the art of creating a garment just once, this idea of “being able to capture art and wear it” was an innovation to me. Having an acrylic painting branded across my chest made by an artist that was alive and breathing. It ultimately changed my life – since that moment, I have stopped buying any “mainstream” branded garment.

I started my collection of what I now call “ARTWEAR”.

Being an artist at core and studying Business entrepreneurship I always felt the need to have to create something to nurture this space and truly cultivate this sub-genre of fashion. From there my journey began, the biggest challenge is captivating the consumer long enough to explain how vital their support truly is.

PIECE UNIK is what has come out of this struggle and it has the potential to radically change how consumers interact with clothing.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It’s interesting because this is somewhat uncharted territory so I’ve had to build the road as I go.

this road has been everything but smooth,  because of these struggles i have become a much better person. Starting any business is tough, starting a business that is actually a “service to uplift communities” is a lot harder. You will go though endless rejections until you even start finding like-minded people that believe in your project.

I graduated with a business degree from Northeastern University and Piece Unik was a project I started during one of my entrepreneurship classes.

I quickly understood that creating a business that revolves around nurturing designers that create sustainable designs (no mass-production involved)  was a big NO NO. The rudimentary question I would get from professors and potential investors was “Oh this is honorable venture and all, but how do we scale this product?”

That’s where I understood that piece Unik is not a product but a service. We don’t want our artists to scale by just mass-producing their designs.

We want to host a platform that allows them to create at their own pace – social media has only added more stress by creating these algorithms that require artists to box themselves for the sake of likes and visibility.

This was one of the biggest challenges I faced because I figured that I would have a really hard time doing this full-time as I didn’t see it paying my bills anytime soon.

I managed to wiggle myself to LA, where I found a day Job at production company.

This job has allowed me to re-invest in this business by curating Fashion/Auction shows. Because yes, Piece Unik became the only auction house dedicated to independent designers.

So overall, challenges were everywhere – but there is only one way! FORWARD!

We’ve been impressed with Piece Unik, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Piece Unik is a platform that revolves around promoting and curating sustainable fashion. We create & post only original content. We work with artists from all over the world to showcase and auction off their 1 of 1 designs.

Our shows are really Unique. Our main attraction is a the runway show – which ends in an auction where all the attendees have the opportunity to bid on the pieces they see live. We believe this to be the only way we are able to put these designs on the pedestal they deserve.

We’ve had some pretty awesome performances; one of the craziest we have on record was by an artist called Andy Thussy. He quite literally wrestled his painting for a really engaging 30 minutes. We also host the “Piece Unik Awards” which are live competitions between artists this have been an amazing way to have our attendees have a glimpse of what it means to create art.

Our goal is to be the spot to find the best of the best in this specific industry – all our designers are onboarded based on merit, not following or clout. We want all of our customers to come home with a story and if they choose to purchase a piece, they will hold on to what we believe to be an investment in an independent artist.

We’ve had 8 Shows so far; showcasing over 100 artists from 6 different countries, including countries like New Zealand and Ghana.

Our most successful event was in partnership with a Non Profit “Sunflower Network” – we dedicated a show to Ukraine and brought to the stage only Ukrainian designers. We auctioned the pieces and raised 14,000$, which were all donated to buy materials and equipment for the people of Ukraine.

So long story short no one does it like us – mostly because we do not care if this venture will make us rich. As long as we are giving importance to these young artists the rest is meaningless. You have no idea how much someone’s life can change by just telling them. We don’t only tell them but we show them by catering a show around their artworks – we know this is true because we have seen a spike in productivity with all the Artists we have worked with.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
If finding a mentor was easy everybody would have one – I’ve met a lot of great mentors in my life but none that I’ve followed 100%.

Mentorships have to taken seriously by both the pupil and the mentor and unfortunately, I have not found someone that I trust as much.

Although I listen a lot – I take in all advices that are given to me. I go out of my way to seek more – but in the end, my stubborn nature will always rather learn by trial an error.

Networking on the other hand is the backbone of any business that wishes to be successful. It is not only required but mandatory. You have to get out of the house and talk about your passion, your business and your art. Whatever wakes you up at night – by speaking about it you are actualizing your goals, it might not seem like it at first but the world listens.

You should take 100% of all the opportunities thrown your way. Most times you will go back home with one more person that is willing to fight with you to achieve your dreams. If your dream is big enough, it will fuel other dreams around it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pieceunikarchives.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/piece.unik/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pieceunik1587/videos

Image Credits
Photographers: Lokiiproblematic Stars productions Saiko