Eleonora’s charm with her sustainable brand
There’s a certain lightness and warmth that come from Eleonora’s works, all in cashmere. Cashmere is indeed a very fine and delicate product that provides coziness and elegance in all types of shapes. Eleonora’s brand is a great leader in the world of small businesses that respect sustainability while fueling her company with creativity and harmony.
You can find Eleonora Gottardi’s products here and on her social media channels as well.
What's your background in fashion?
I was born in a artisan family and I used to spent my after-school afternoon playing at my grandfather knitwear company and there, surround by colors and yarns, my imagination flew high. I became a very appasionate of colors and yarns at young age and during my growth it was super natural to me to start creating my career in fashion.
I went to the US to study English as second language knowing it was an essential tool to have in my personal baggage. Immediately after I went to Milan to start my specialized study at Istituto Marangoni Milano, on of the most prestigious fashion school. I graduated cum laudae and won a Master in fashion there. After finished my studies I started working for some luxury brands. After few years I come back to my roots and I started working on my knitwear company, family business handed down for three generations since 1979. After years of hard work to learn all the knitting know-how and techniques, I felt very confident with knitwear world and on September 2021 I decided to launch my own knitwear brand.
What is the best feature of a piece that is knitted? What's one thing about this practice that you enjoy more than anything else?
when you wear knitwear you feel protected and safe, inside a warm soft cloud that seems to be able to protect you from everything. I love to wear knitwear both at home and outside as I feel super confident on it and I love to mix knitwear pieces to create both casual and elegant style.
Why are your clothes so bright and rich in color?
I really believe in the power of colors. As Kandinsky said, “color is a power that directly influences the soul”. This is why I decided to put colors at the center of my project. Bright colors are pure energy and while wearing them you have the chance to feel much more powerful and vital. Soft colors make you feel more calm and relaxed. This is why I love colors, they have a huge benefit on us and on our psychology.
How does it feel like to be a woman in the fashion industry and as a business owner in Italy?
Since I am Italian and very patriotic obviously thinking about the birth of my company I could only have opened it here in Italy. I am a great supporter of made in Italy because it is based on traditions and knowledge that are handed down from generation to generation and are the clear proof of how much quality is a unique and essential value. Being a businesswoman who enters the fashion industry I must admit is a bit scary. You have to prove that you are up to it not only professionally but also personally. You have to give your all, without being afraid of being judged. when you decide to do something new, innovative, different, to get out of the ordinary, you have to be ready to be judged and criticized.
I have always loved ambitious challenges so now this is a challenge I have first of all with myself! I am pushing myself to be always the better part of me, thinking about me, my workers and the entire community. Today, exiting from these hard years of lockdown and pandemic, is certainly a difficult period to start a new business but the satisfaction you get when everything go in the right directions is amplified. I am super positive and I really believe everyone of us next years will do their best to make a better future all together. This is why I am believing so deeply in my concept.
What does sustainability mean to you and your team? there is this wrong conception that an ecological and eco-sustainable product cannot be luxury, nor fashionable, nor refined. I have tried with all my knowledge to overturn this perspective by creating fashionable, luxury and eco-friendly products. Our philosophy is fully based on eco-friendly and sustainable processes, and on respect and ethical work for us, our workers and animals.
Nowadays unfortunately, no brand discloses information on its productions. So in most cases you pay for the style and the brand not for the real quality of the garment. I think customers should be given all the information they need to know how the item is produced.
I believe it is crucial to give people the information they need to assess whether what they are buying is the right product or not for them. This is the moment to give to our principles a value.
What kind of future do you see for your company? Any directions or implements you want to take to the next level?
Right now I exclusively sell online. From next the fashion week FW season I will be sold in many luxury boutiques around the world. Slowly I would like to be able to create a widespread distribution that can cover the whole world and that can give people the opportunity to see my products, touch them and try them before buying to really understand the concept of the quality of the garment. I hope to be able to leave a mark by launching a fair and ethical message, which enhances the quality of the products that become eternal pieces. I would like that in future fashion will be always side by side with quality and real valued products.
