By the end of last month we had a trip to the charming town Mirano located in the Veneto region of Italy. There we visited our favorite Italian brand, BARENA VENEZIA for the second time - again with some of our dearest partners: FIFTY EIGHTS, VESTIBULE, SCHNEEWEISS & APRIL FIRST. After checking in at hotel 5 Colonne in the afternoon, we first got together for an aperitif and then ended the evening with a wonderful dinner together with Barena Venezias owner Francesca, her brother and the team at EL BACARO in Mirano.
The next morning started with a pickup from our hotel to Barena Venezia’s Headquarters. When we arrived there, we were warmly welcomed by the Barena team and started our tour through the Barena branch. Our first stop was the design studio. There we got insights into the fabrics and materials, which characterize the silhouettes of the Barena Venezia collections. As the brand emphasizes attention to detail, the color palette was also an interesting topic for us to gain more information about. As we learned the brand takes inspiration from the rich heritage of the Venetian landscape and nature. In the design studio we also had a walk through their current collection and could let the fashion work its magic on us. Following that, we had the opportunity to visit Barena Venezia's atelier, a space that showcases their meticulous craftsmanship. Here the brand has established a dedicated indoor shooting location, serving as the backdrop for both product photography and Instagram content creation. Moreover, during our atelier-tour, we were granted exclusive access to peek behind the scenes of their other brands. Alongside our clients, we were captivated by the remarkable samples of their men's line, CINI, as well as the elegant capes produced under their sub-brand, Tabarro.
After our informative and exciting tour, we went to lunch at the TRATTORIA BARISON, which also happens to be Francesca's go to lunch place every day. There we had the opportunity to reflect on our impressions while enjoying the Italian cuisine by eating pasta. This provided the perfect setting to conclude the client’s journey with inspiring conversations and memorable discussions.
Barena Venezia, a small, family-owned company has significantly influenced the way men (and women) dress in and outside of Italy over the past twenty-seven years. Before “sprezzatura” and “soft tailoring” became go-to terms for fashion editors, Barena was showing men how to dress casually and with class utilizing sartorial fabrics for rather sporty, workwear garments. The inspiration for Barena traces back to the style of the rural inhabitants of Venice: in fact, Barena derives its name from the term “baro,” which in Italian translates to “emerged lands” — a reference to a key feature of the Venetian landscape where both hunting and fishing were practiced by a slow sailing on a “Sanpierotta”, the flat-bottom boat depicted on the brand's recognisable logo. “Nothing inspires us more than life by the sea and the lagoon” says Barena creative director Pigozzo. Since the brand was founded in 1993 it grew significantly season after season, extending to womenswear in 2010 when Francesca Zara – daughter of the founder Sandro Zara – became part of the family business and Barena Women's creative director. Meanwhile, Barena maintains the fabric-first ethos it was founded upon. Pigozzo and Francesca Zara build each collection from the ground up, starting by looking for interesting materials and then basing their designs off the fabrics they find, often using original early-20th century patterns from the now rich brand archive.
