Where did you grow up? Tell us about something you remember from your childhood that had an impact on you.
I was born and raised in Cortina d’Ampezzo, a beautiful town in the Dolomites in the Veneto region of Italy. The root or initial seed that germinated into Eliot can be found during my childhood in Cortina. Looking back now as an adult, I can say with certainty that I was very lucky to grow up where I did. Constant contact with nature and the outdoors coupled with the open space and sense of freedom associated with growing up between mountains and fields all had a very positive effect on me. It bestowed important life lessons, ethics, and practical knowledge in me that have proven fundamental in my adult life.
Once you left home what did you do?
I attended university in Bologna earning a degree in Economics followed by a European Master’s degree in Law and Economics, which included a year in Madrid. My professional career started with an internship at Enel and continued in different fields. For over 10 years I worked for a small investment bank at the Rome office in administration, accounting and compliance. In 2014 I joined Kering group (Brioni) as a financial controller working directly under the CFO in the Rome headquarters. In the fall of 2021 I left Brioni to start Eliot and well.. here we are.
How did you end up living where you do, now? Tell us about your current life and family.
I live in Rome due to my professional and personal life. During my time at the investment bank, I met my partner and father of my children Alex. Giulia was born in 2018 and Tea in 2020. Professionally my career took a “non-creative” path and it was during a trip to my childhood home, during my second maternity leave, before the second Covid lockdowns that started the “snowball” that became Eliot. During that trip, I found some of my old drawings and sketches that I made during my childhood. Not just any drawings but clothing sketches: models sporting different looks wearing pants, shirts, jackets and more that I had “designed”. It was a mere coincidence that during those months I had been thinking about maternity wear and how I could not find anything I liked for various reasons: style, quality and price. Those sketches, made with childhood creativity awakened something within me and forced me to question many things in my professional and personal life. Making the choice to change career path has not been without challenges, however, I find it highly rewarding on both a personal and professional level.
Tell us about your earliest experience with fashion.
My experience with fashion began around the age of nine when I decided to buy myself a beautiful notebook with my pocket money to be able to draw and bring to life to all the ideas I had in my mind...thus starting to give free rein to my creativity!
I stole all the glossy fashion magazines from my aunts and studied them for hours…dreaming and trying to imagine my line!
What’s the milestone you’re working towards right now in your personal or professional life?
As I mentioned before, presently I am working to grow Eliot from a small startup into an established reality as both a personal and professional goal. Eliot gives me the flexibility to pass quality time with my family while slowly rewarding me professionally as well. With Eliot the personal and professional has become intertwined. It would be an immense satisfaction for me both personally and professionally for Eliot to succeed. Furthermore, I can already see the effects of my choices on my daughters who are starting to realize that their mother doesn’t work a “regular” job. I hope this example will one day inspire them to take a chance and follow their dreams.
