Collini Milano returns both to home and to Schön! for another intriguing campaign. As the brand is headquartered in Italy, Collini Milano thought that this continued period of isolation would be an ideal time to celebrate the treasures of its homeland. By placing its many works alongside popular Italian landmarks and destinations, the label seamlessly blends its own history and present to that of its nation. To discover more about the new campaign, Schön! again spoke to label head Carmine Rotondaro for a sponsored interview about how the campaign came together and how the brand has adapted to the current pandemic.
Why did you choose to focus on various locations in Italy for this new campaign?
Collini is a fashion house with very deep and strong roots in the Italian tradition. Therefore, Collini has a very strong bond with Italy and its heritage. Such a heritage is embodied and represented, first and foremost, by the unparalleled gems of Italian architecture and by their magical and unique atmospheres. Over the past few months and still, right now, these cities are going through very strange times in which they have been totally or partially deserted by the normally very consistent flows of tourists that normally crowd them. They seem neglected and abandoned, and yet they shine in their eternal beauty. Together with Ilaria Niccolini, the art director of this campaign, we thought that this was the good moment for a love declaration that is not to be shouted in the crowd and in the noise but rather whispered in the moments of silence and quiet like this one.
Talk us through the featured pieces themselves — inspirations, story, etc.
The Collini Love Declaration Campaign is a collection of various postcards of some of the most beautiful Italian cities in which some iconic Collini pieces have found their place, which they have done in a surprisingly seamless and natural way. We started with Venice, in which a gorgeous Piazza San Marco in twilight hosts our Beau Rivage tote, which — with its lucent metal and its precious crocodile print — almost looks proud to be there surrounded by so much beauty. We go on with Milan, which will host its first post COVID fashion week, and here our Dunkerke boots, bright with their silver crocodile print, stand up to the Duomo and seem to keep watch on it as glamorous soldiers of fashion. Our Jay and Torah sneakers sail in the waters of Capri with their elegant calligraphy and their star-shaped studs… Perugia hosts our Havana bag and its golden reflections, kissed by a hint of sun breaking through a cloudy day. The leaning tower of Pisa looks smart in our Ice Queen star and gold leather blazer on the background of a glorious dusk and seems like it dressed up for a promising night out.
You’ve said this campaign is a response to the pandemic. What has the pandemic taught you about your designs and the role of fashion in general?
I believe that, in the post COVID world, people will want to regain what the pandemic emergency has taken away from them. More specifically, they will want to enjoy, celebrate, and communicate (all of which has been inhibited during COVID in the same way), and they will want to do so appropriately and responsibly.
Collini will be there to cater to these wishes and aspirations of our customers. As said, I believe that fashion is a means of communication and, most importantly, it is communication from a distance. By wearing a special and unique garment, footwear or accessory, we all send a message about our mood, our state of mind. And we can do so from a distance and without breaking the new social distancing rules. These rules have redefined some aspects of socialising and of accosting other people. I think that a bold and unique look and appearance will be more and more a way of communicating and socialising. With its array of glamorous looks, Collini can certainly help with that.
But also a special and unique look is a way of celebrating ourselves and the beauty of many aspects of the daily life that we used to take for granted and that the current pandemic has suddenly interrupted and turned off. I think that Collini style is particularly suitable for this need for celebration, and we will always be up to it.
The title of this campaign is A LOVE DECLARATION. What does this “love declaration” mean to you?
The Love Declaration means to me to restate the strong connection between Collini and Italy. And to do so in this particularly difficult moment for the fashion industry, for Italy and for the whole world.
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