Giada breaks the mold

An Italian luxury house owned by a Chinese company marries European creativity with Eastern ambition. Sun Yuanqing reports.

Many brands want to make inroads into the Chinese luxury market, but it's not easy to get the formula right, especially at a time like this when purse strings have been tightened. Italian luxury brand Giada is among the lucky few to taste success in China. The brand saw a 9.1 percent rise in sales in 2015, making it one of the fastest-growing Italian luxury brands here.

The only luxury house that was born in Milan but is now owned and managed by a Chinese company, Giada is a hybrid - the product of two worlds. It has the creativity of Italy and the ambition of China.

Founded by Rosanna Daolio in Milan in 2001, the brand was acquired in 2011 by Redstone Haute Couture, which brought Valentino, Ferragamo, Yves Saint Laurent to China.

The label recently held its first runway show during Milan Fashion Week.

Paying tribute to its roots in fine art, the event took place at the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan's most important museum, which houses one of the most prestigious collections of Renaissance art. This is also the first time that the museum has opened doors for a fashion show.

Giada's latest collection continues its simplistic approach with clean lines and sleek silhouettes. But this time, the collection is subtler with softer edges, more body-conscious tailoring and warm hues like camel and pink.

The outfits are paired with architecturally structured handbags and ponyskin shoes. Precious metal disks unexpectedly embellish the necks and the arms of the models.

Like with his previous collections, creative director Gabriele Colangelo refers to art as his source of inspiration.

"Danish painter Anne Tholstrup's vivid spheres are the starting point - mixed with the idea of surrealist photography," he says.

"Every Giada collection starts from an artistic reference that influences the selection of the fabrics, the shapes and of course all the details of the clothes. An artsy and cultural point makes the collection's messages stronger and the full vision clearer."

Skirts and dresses feature intricate overlapping panels. Opulent coats highlight shifting volumes. And jackets employ oversized bell sleeves.

The artistic reference is also seen in the selection of the fabrics, which have always been a highlight in Colangelo's work.

Cashmere, a key fabric in this collection, is bonded with soft leather in dual-tone coats. The knitwear has a mohair effect on one side and flat cashmere on the other. The pleated skirts have mohair plisse that moves gently when the woman walks.

While Colangelo's collections have often been described as "minimalist", he says he understands the term as a sensitivity to purity, which means that the focus is on the details, the materials, the identity of the clothes independent of the decorative elements.

"It is research, very subtle, often not immediately perceptible, but which gives a much higher value to the clothes," he says.

Besides Giada, Colangelo has his own namesake brand.

While both brands share the idea of minimalist design and attention to the quality, Giada is more about a kind of luxury that is timeless and effortless, while his own brand leaves room for more experimental projects of new proportions and innovative fabrics, he says.

Colangelo has brought to the elegant, simplistic roots of Giada a touch of modernity, which has helped the brand reach out to a broader audience, says Zhao Yizheng, founder and general manager of Redstone Haute Couture.

The brand targets elite women in the 30s-50s age group, who appreciate understated style and sophisticated details, he says.

Giada now has 53 stores in China, which are being upgraded by master minimalist architect Claudio Silvestrin.

In 2013, the brand opened its first Italian flagship store in Via Montenapoleone. It is now eyeing the international market with plans to open in Madison Avenue in New York in September. It is also going to open in London, Paris and Tokyo in the coming years.

Zhao says he is now looking to bring more Italian brands to China.

"We are willing to help emerging Italian brands to grow and expand. Giada has set a good example and we will use the model to bring in more Italian brands," he says.

Contact the writer at sunyuanqing@chinadaily.com.cn