COVER STORY: LAVINIA BIAGIOTTI CIGNA

With mother and daughter united in their efforts, the future of the Biagiotti label looks bright

Text Francesca Lombardo

Lavinia, the 30-year-old daughter of Laura Biagiotti and granddaughter of Delia – who founded the family business and was famous for designing the uniforms for Alitalia in the 1960s – represents a third generation of the Biagiotti style dynasty. She has lived and breathed fashion from an early age. “I was born on the day of one of my mother’s fashion shows and I grew up backstage. I followed my mother around the world,” says the young designer and businesswoman. Although she intended to study medicine, Lavinia decided to join the family firm following the premature loss of her father when she was just 17. Today, she has the good fortune to live in a world suspended between the past – an 11th-century castle set in the countryside of Guidonia, outside Rome, where she lives and works with her mother – and the future, travelling around the world to promote the Biagiotti brand in her role as vice president for marketing and creator of the Biagiotti Dolls line.

How did the Biagiotti Dolls collection come about?
I was watching my friends’ children when I realised that young girls between six and 12 want to be tomboys and princesses at the same time. I was excited about creating a collection with feminine colours, designs and details, such as tulle, sequins and taffeta, and mixing them with trousers and sweatshirts. It was fun to play around with fashion without restrictions, using my imagination and sharing beautiful things with children.

In 1998 you launched your fragrance, Roma. Is this a tribute to your home city?
The perfume represents 40% of our business and Rome is certainly the city that we love most. It is a wonderful, lively melting pot, where you can find old and new, and where people and cultures from all over the world live side by side. And it is a city which has inspired and continues to inspire our creativity. Personally I am not just Roman by birth but also in temperament. I have a house in the city centre where I often stay, although my permanent home is in the countryside outside Rome – in Guidonia, where I grew up.

What do you love most about country life?
The clean air, being close to nature, the chance to see the seasons change, being able to walk to work with my dog, Guido. My life is non-stop and its pace moves in time with technology, so staying in contact with nature, animals and the countryside gives me the chance to acquire an inner balance. Nature keeps your feet on the ground!

From a very young age you planned to study medicine, is that correct?
That’s right, I wanted to have some time for myself and try something different before joining the family business. I thought I would join the business at around 30, but then when my father Gianni, the managing director of Biagiotti, passed away, I had to roll up my sleeves and step in. The first years were very tough and there was a lot of pressure. My mother is very strict, but luckily she is also happy to teach and give young people room to manoeuvre – and there are many young people within the company. But I can say that over the last four years, travelling on the same path, we confront everything together but work independently. Everything that the company produces reflects both of our spirits and our dreams.

So is your work just about responsibility, or does passion play a role as well?
Of course! You cannot achieve great results in this industry if you do not have a deep passion for it. I have always really loved fashion – since I followed my mother around the world and went to her first fashion shows in Russia and China. I can say that I know both the most positive and the most negative sides of this industry.

And what aspects are you not so keen on?
The world of fashion is very interesting, but also extremely competitive, and it’s a place where things change very quickly. It is becoming harder and harder to keep up the success of luxury brands, for example, because high-street brands offer fashion that imitates the big names – even though they do not hold up when it comes to quality, or inspire you in the way that haute couture can do.

Anything else?
The egocentric nature of many people working in the industry. For me, my mother has remained an example of simplicity, humility and commitment to work, and above all to family. And it really is thanks to this that today I can keep delusions of grandeur and the flattery of fame at a safe distance. Easy success can take you for a ride and then it can easily burn you out. My mother taught me to keep both feet on the ground, and to hold on to and believe in the company values, while remaining committed and hard-working.

Who is your idol in the world of fashion?
My mother, and Giorgio Armani.

What does a company like Biagiotti need to do to stay competitive in the global market?
Like many companies in Italian fashion, such as Missoni and Ferragamo, Biagiotti is known for its family collaboration. This is a strong point because it allows you to stay faithful to the values of your own brand. But on the other hand, if external influences and collaborations do not open up, it can become a double-edged sword. You need to know how to surround yourself with an excellent team of experts and professionals to stay competitive, and above all to reinterpret your image.

Do you prefer being a manager or a designer?
I am comfortable both with numbers and with fabrics. I have many friends in sport and their discipline and their strenuous training have also inspired my approach and my work as a manager.

On the subject of sport, is it true that you play football?
Yes! My passion for football came from my father, who took me to see Lazio at home for the first time when I was just two years old [she laughs]. Since then I have always been a Lazio supporter and I love to kick a ball around. Commitments allowing, I play with the national fashion designers’ team, with all the proceeds going to charity. I am proud to say that I am the only woman on the team… don’t forget to include that in the interview!

COVER STORY: LAVINIA BIAGIOTTI CIGNA

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