What it means to carry on the family name

By Yang Di and Hu Xiaocen | December 22, 2013, Sunday |

Print Edition

Every successful luxury brand with family roots has a strong sense of tradition and core values that are passed on from the founders to the next generation, and often the next.

Succeeding generations typically take the business into new areas of style and creativity, geography and marketing, and philanthropy, while retaining the fundamentals and family passion.

Shanghai Daily interviews executives from the Italian fashion house Etro, cosmetics giant Estée Lauder Companies and Brazilian jewelry empire H.Stern. All grew up within creative and successful families, and continued to innovate, capturing modern trends and know-how.

Etro: Updated passion for paisley

Jacopo Etro, the eldest of the four Gimmo Etro children, says the quest for new looks cannot be separated from fundamental values.

“Brand recognition is the key to this business,” Etro told Shanghai Daily in a recent interview on his first visit to the city. “Though we try to find new inspirations every season, we’ve always been faithful to who we are and what we are. It’s important to be above the trends.”

Etro, creative director of the Etro Accessories and Leather, Home and Textile collections, as well as Head of Communications, was in Shanghai for the opening of Etro in IAPM on Huaihai Road.

The Italian fashion house began in 1968 when founder Gimmo Etro, launched a line of high-quality fabrics using natural fibers, embellished with original designs and innovative coloring dying techniques.

The family has made an art of textiles and fashion, much of it inspired by indigenous peoples.

Today, son Kean Etro is the creative spirit and director of the men’s collection, Ippolito Etro is the CFO and COO, and Veronica Etro is in charge of the women’s collection.

“In the Etro family, we’ve been brought up differently from other kids at our age. Our parents took us around the world to Africa, India, Indonesia, very exotic places so I have developed a lot of passion for archeology,” he said.

The family loved and still loves observing how people in different lands live and what they wear.

Like father like children — they all want to interpret exotic beauty, widely different aesthetics and rich design techniques into gorgeous textiles and silhouettes.

The world’s costumes and stories of ethnic groups are key to their design. They also express concern that many traditional costumes and ways of life, are disappearing in an age of globalization.

“The DNA of Etro has a lot to do with colors, prints and inspirations coming from art and travels,” Jacopo Etro said. “We are putting a lot of effort in the design and we have in-house designers specializing in old skills and techniques.”

For example, Etro’s iconic paisley print has been produced for two decades with old techniques, all designs originally hand-drawn.

“Nowadays, everybody is using digital printing yet we keep doing it by hand, to give it a hand-done feeling.”

Etro senior always had a passion for paisley and collected around 250 19th century scarves made in Europe after the English and French returned from India where the intricate design originated.

Etro is strongly identified with the paisley motif, the Etro Paisley. Some of the best and most inspirational antique pieces will be exhibited next year in China.

Mastering the art of textiles enabled Etro to combine raw fiber in sophisticated ways with designs and motifs.

In 1981 the furnishing textile line was launched.

In the 1990s, the first men’s and women’s pret-a-porter collections were launched, their inventive and recherche style earning the label instant recognition. The materials, the workings and a gift for printing make Etro garments unrepeatable.

Gimmo Etro’s four children share their father’s passion for textiles but all are different, with their own interests.

“I’m not the photocopy of my father. I collect contemporary art but he doesn’t. Sometimes we don’t really get along but it’s a good thing to be different. You can bring new blood and ideas into the company. Part of our collection is very classic but we inject new concepts over time.”

The Etro Paisley has been given a new look by Indian artists Thukral & Tagra who have reinterpreted the traditional print and splashed it across an exclusive bag collection.

Jacopo Etro said working with Indian artists in paisley is about both tradition and renewing the classics.

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