Nicola Sorio unveils Christia’s secrets to highlight the true essence of the luxury shearling top brand. He tolds a story of tradition, passion and quality with a special focus on the newest trends!
Love for fashion is a family thing. Why did you decide to follow your father’s footsteps?
I’ve always wandered around the many departments of the family company since I was a kid, playing the cutter, the model maker or the storekeeper… the smell of leather and shearling is something I have been carrying inside me since forever. The decision to pursue the family business developed later in my mind; it happened when I realized that Christia was not a simple shearling coat brand but had created a category of new luxury outwears that did not exist before. The company transformed a sporty and typically male piece of clothing (as a 60’s/70’s shearling coat) into a bright and feminine luxury item! This is the amazing story of a small Italian company waiting to be told. My main goal is to spread it to the World.
Your product, 100% Made in Italy, was born in Molvena. How important is the “Made in Italy” label for you?
“Made in Italy” is not just a simple label of origin but it is a signature and a hallmark which indicate both a unique and special product. Made in Italy makes our product different from others, making sure that it comes from a region where the art of working different raw materials and the ability to change them (following the steps of ancient traditions) has been passed on through countless generations.
You have been trying to save the tradition of craft production. How important is craftsmanship for you?
Craftsmanship is essential for us; it is what makes every item we create unique. In a world which tends towards homologation and mass production, luxury means having something unique and inimitable. Shearling is one of the few materials which cannot be cut with an automated plotter (as happens for most fabrics) because it needs the eye of an experienced craftsman to detect imperfections of every leather type to be matched to perfection.
How did the step form small craft laboratory specialized in leather and shearling clothes to worldwide production happen?
Basically nothing has changed, we have never lost our craftsmanship even though we adapted our products according to the different types of markets and to the changes in times and trends.
You are the first company for luxury shearling, what makes it different in the market?
Christia, for the first time, transformed shearling, which has always been a sporty and manly item of clothing, into an elegant, refined and feminine outwear. Even today, thanks to a more than 50 years experience and to the deep knowledge of this particular material, we are able to produce clothes with extremely light fabrics which, for their hard availability, cannot be used in mass production. Christia’s creations can be distinguished from the rest of the market for the quality of their shearling. Many of the clothes are limited edition items because of the rarity of the fabrics and their hard availability on the market. Christia’s creations are one of the most exclusive items of clothing in the shearling field for their features and high prices.
Your production process is constantly developing: where does it start from?
Searching is fundamental to create a luxury, modern, easy collection which keeps up with the latest fashion trends. We collect information all year long, from the market demand to changes in people lifestyle. At the same time we study new kinds of fabrics, new colors and finishings, aiming to obtain a softer and lighter type of leather without losing its own naturalness.
Christia, for the first time, used colors for shearling coats: how important is color for you and how do you use it for your clothes nowadays?
Colors have a huge impact on people, mood and perception and thus on our choices… this is one of the reasons which led Christia, in the 70’s-80’s, to completely change the shearling world, coloring for the first time a fabric which, until then, had always been presented in black or brown shades. We could achieve this thanks to our long-time, constant research and innovation, which are the starting point of our collections still nowadays.
Which type of woman do you address to?
A modern, sophisticated and practical woman who does not like luxury on display.
3 adjectives to define Christia’s fashion taste?
Elegant, luxurious and unique. I like to call our fashion taste “Rich Casual”.
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