An exclusive collaboration

Luisa World proudly presents the next chapter in its long and succesful history. A unique collaboration with the historic House of Etro, has given birth to a capsule collection honoring the House’s iconic prints. Just ten pieces have been created of each design: Four sleek and sexy kimonos, a bag and a hat made of raffia are the labor of love between Luisa World and Etro, a marriage of high aesthetics, love for authentic style and a fresh take on tradition. We talked to the person behind it all, Veronica Etro _daughter of founder Gimmo and heart and soul of the House’s womenswear collections.

Veronica, growing up in the Etro family, what has always been the «quintessentially Etro thing», for you?
Paisley, of course! It is a distinctive symbol of our brand since its origins in 1968. It identifies with us so well that I would say that it has become our logo without being a logo. Also manuality is very Etro: we all like to touch, manipulate, deal with fabrics and textiles.

Entering the family business after gaining some experience in other houses, did you succeed in looking at it from a clear perspective?
I had some first job experiences at Clements Ribeiro in London and also helped out at our showroom in New York during my college holidays. At the beginning I used to help during shootings and campaigns, I shared my styling ideas and attended some shop openings. I always tried to see things from different perspectives and think “out of the box”. I then started working full-time for the family business in September 1997, right after the summer of my graduation from Central Saint Martins. I was only 23 and was really excited…but also quite nervous I have to admit.

Did you ever feel you needed to rebel against it?
No, not at all. Since the beginning I was given the freedom to express my aesthetic – just like when I used to visit my father at the office when I was a child and spent my free time happily playing with colours and fabrics. My favourite playground was to get “dirty” with glue and paint!

Which is your favorite, iconic Etro print? How did you choose which ones to feature in the capsule collection created for Luisaworld?
Once again, paisley! Its multi-faceted essence permits so many different declinations, from aristocratic to psychedelic. I really love experimenting with different combinations of the pattern. The interesting thing about the Paisley design is that it is also very versatile: it can be naturally mixed and paired with different patterns. For the Luisa World special collection I was inspired by the colours of Mykonos. You can see the pattern matched with naive florals and colourful birds, like in a garden of Eden, or reduced to a pochette square with tribal borders, or, again, enlarged like a tattoo with stripes and abstract geometric motifs. It is never the same!