There are numerous fashion brands in your portfolio. What makes you choose one brand over others or, conversely, how does a brand choose a company as its partner in the furniture industry?
I would say that a fashion brand and a company choose each other: it is not a straight-forward decision, but a complex process involving various factors, including stylistic affinity and the ability to experiment. In the case of Ferré, for example, the process started with us, after we considered the identity and characteristics of the fashion brand and decided that we could take an original direction focused on developing Home collections that have a new look that is distinct to those of fashion brands already on the market.
How do you develop an interior range that is rooted in the fashion world?
It is an honor to work for famous fashion brands such as Cavalli, Ferré and Etro, but also a complex challenge: it means interacting with creatives from different sector, who have different creative approaches. It is therefore necessary to open up your own vision of the project to unusual and unexpected processes and results. You start by identifying the most important part of the fashion brand’s identity, its stylistic background, so that you can then translate it and reinterpret it in the Home collections.
In April, you will present the new Etro home collection: can you give us a preview?
The new Etro Home Interiors home collection will include an assortment of furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and garden. It is all in keeping with the style, philosophy and legacy of the Etro brand, characterized by color, imagination and joie de vivre. The main patterns of the fashion brand, its color combinations and most iconic designs will be used to create a uniquely elegant and charming collection that enriches and completes the Etro world, thus becoming a true lifestyle concept to try out and experience.
How do the products of Jumbo and of the other brands co-exist and harmonize?
Jumbo is a varied, eclectic group that encompasses different creative approaches and styles. The presence of the fashion brands in the group allows us to enhance and complete our furnishings range so that we can offer our customers a rich, varied selection that satisfies every style and requirement. All the brands have certain characteristics in common: the pursuit of quality, innovative designs and materials, the ability to exploit the artistic potential of the Italian manufacturing industry with 100% Made in Italy specialized suppliers, and above all the desire to experiment.
In your view, how has taste evolved in recent times and how has the Group managed to adapt to this change?
Our group’s creative ability seamlessly crosses different historical periods, cultures and worlds. Taste is evolving to favour clean, essential designs and a more minimalist approach and this evolution coincides with the direction of our brands: the creative spirit currently guiding us is leading us towards designs that are more contemporary and clean in formal terms. The change concerns all the brands, from fashion brands to Jumbo Collection, our most classic brand, which for some years has followed an innovative path towards a more contemporary, rigorous style, while always respecting the exclusive characteristics that distinguish it from other brands. JCP, our most experimental brand, merits a separate discussion since it allows us to explore the design world in an alternative way that differs from what is normally associated with the term design.
What is the Group’s relationship (or that of some of its specific brands) with new international markets, particularly China?
China is a fundamental end market for our products, which confirms how the Chinese market is completely opening up to Made in Italy products. The Jumbo Group’s commercial presence in China rests on two pillars: retail and collaboration with qualified design firms. Retail is the necessary and natural showcase for the Roberto Cavalli Home Interiors and Gianfranco Ferrè Home fashion brand collections. Architecture and interior design professionals are the channel for major projects in which the Jumbo Group expresses all its ability as a 100% made in Italy manufacturer.
What about more ‘historic’, consolidated areas like Russia and Ukraine?
Russia and Ukraine continue to provide an important customer base for our furniture. In fact, significant interest in Italian taste and ability has been expressed in different ways in all our collections, which makes our products even more attractive abroad.
