Lorenza Luti (Kartell): Fashion and Storytelling,This Is How I Changed the Family Brand

A BOCCONI ALUMNA, SHE GRADUATED WITH A DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION IN 2002 AND IS NOW RETAIL MARKETING DIRECTOR AT THE FAMILY COMPANY

She grew up by breathing design, playing with objects designed by her grandmother Anna Ferrieri, and attending events that her grandfather, Giulio Castelli, organized in the showrooms of Kartell, the furniture company founded by the historic Italian designer in 1949. Today, Lorenza Luti, in the role of Retail Marketing Director, has transformed the design brand into a lifestyle experience, by opening the firm to the logic of the fashion system. A Bocconi graduate in Business Administration (class of 2002), she capitalized on the study of case histories in retailing, the area she is now working in.

âžœ Your grandparents introduced colors in home interiors, you have brought fashion into design…
In 2008 we asked some designers to interpret an iconic chair by Philippe Starck and it was a success. But the real opening to fashion came with the Normaluisa fashion show: we wanted models to wear transparent ballet shoes. So, I began to study the possibility of leveraging Kartell's experience in plastics manufacturing to produce fashion accessories. And that’s how Glue Cinderella was born. Since then, the collection has grown, including sandals, galoshes, handbags, as well as collaborations with stylists who sign the items, the latest being with Paula Cademartori.

➜ Today Kartell is a lifestyle brand.
Yes, in the way we treat our product we are closer to the logic of fashion than design. We focus on the personality of the individual pieces, and stimulate impulse purchases. Fashion goes out of season, but design should last over time. We strive to create emotional objects and objects that are timeless. The Componibili collection, for example, has been in production for fifty years and Louis Ghost chair for twenty: behind each project there is great investment in research on materials and development of molds.

➜ How did you manage to export the Kartell image?
Our retail network is transversal and consists of monobrand stores (about 140 of them), multistores, and concept stores. Placement of products does not depend on the country in which they are sold, but rather on the type of store and target: we try to interpret the imagery of those who visit these places, by focusing, for example, on periodic changes in showcasing, as it happens in fashion.

➜ What are other ways to communicate the brand?
We have almost completely abandoned institutional communication and advertising in favor of events, co-branding, collaborations with the world of art and fashion: with Taschen we did a book and with Vogue we took part in a photo project. In August, the Daelim Museum in Seoul will present an exhibition on the world of Kartell.

➜ Why is this a winning approach?
Today's tools enable working in a cross-dimension that touches all communication channels and all aspects of people's lives.

➜ And e-commerce?
We have created an e-commerce platform in collaboration with Yoox, which, in addition to selling design items, is an aggregator of content and stories: our products do not to go out of fashion after one season, and therefore need to be accompanied by a narration.

by Allegra Gallizia
Translated by Alex Foti