Interview
Patience
In Conversation with Fashion Designer Daniela Lombardo, founder of the fair fashion brand Patience in Venice.
Daniela Lombardo has set up her fair fashion design studio ‘Patience’ in the heart of Venice. Next to a picturesque canal, she designs, sews, and sells her own fashion. We met in her enchanting studio to talk about her very special business.
You have a very interesting story, Daniela. After growing up here in Venice, you travelled all over the world. In the middle of the pandemic you came back to Venice and opened your shop. Why did you choose this city?
I have always loved Venice. Originally, I was born in the United States because my mother is from there, but I grew up in Venice from the age of two. I’ve always loved living here. It’s a wonderful pace of life because you can walk everywhere and there’s beauty everywhere and all the time. But I’ve also travelled a lot because Venice is a small town after all – not many people actually live here – so sometimes you can feel a bit stuck. I like seeing new places and meeting new people. After a trip to India where I bought a lot of fabric, I started selling my own clothes. In 2020 I was in New Zealand when COVID hit and I decided to come back to Venice. This had not been my plan – the last time I had left Venice I had done so with a farewell, thinking I would not return. But because the situation in Italy was particularly bad and it was quite scary, I came back and within two months I found this shop.
"It is very good for doing fashion to have a shop."
Daniela Lombardo, Patience, on Kodak Ektar 100 and Kodak Portra 400
Amazing! Such an unexpected turn of events!
Yes. Because of COVID, many shops have closed. I liked the big windows of this shop and made an offer to rent it. The landlord accepted immediately – I hadn’t expected that because my offer was much lower than she had asked. So there I was with a shop – I hadn’t planned it, it just happened. But it is very good for doing fashion to have a shop. Before, I did markets, some in Venice and also in the United States – Florida, and Virginia – and I tried to sell online, but it never really worked out. I felt that if I had a shop it would be different.
I imagine it makes a huge difference! After all, a lot of people pass these windows every day...
Yes, people can see me sewing and making things through the shop windows. That way they can understand that everything is actually made here.
"I want to give people the opportunity to buy clothes that are not socially or environmentally harmful."
Daniela Lombardo, Patience, on Kodak Ektar 100
Right, that's big! Talking about clothes made in the studio: What is the concept behind your label?
I started sewing as a passion. Soon I thought about selling what I made and decided to use only natural fabrics and to pay attention to how the fabric was produced. I work with organic cotton, linen or silk from fair trade producers or with factory leftovers. Also, I’m careful about the waste I produce and try to find projects that reuse anything that would otherwise be thrown away. This is to give an alternative to fast fashion. It’s really important to me that we don’t use clothes like a one-time product. We also have to make sure that we buy clothes made from natural materials, because synthetic materials are harmful to the environment. And it is also important to ask who makes our clothes. The fashion industry is one where the workers are the lowest paid and the conditions in which they work are often very bad. So I’m trying to give people the opportunity to buy clothes that are not socially or environmentally harmful.
What would you say is the role of Venice as a tourist attraction in this concept?
My clientele is half Venetians and half people passing through. Venice definitely gives me the opportunity to work with visitors from all over the world, and tourists who are already aware of slow fashion and the problems of the fashion industry are very open to the concept of my shop. But it has been nice to see that locals come too. For example, older people who don’t question the fashion industry because they’re used to always wearing clothes that they made or that their parents or grandparents made. So when they see a shop where someone is making things, they really appreciate it. That is really nice. I want to work with local people and I have built a lot of relationships within the city, which is very important to me. The population of our city is decreasing every year, and there’s very few Venetians left. So it’s really important that we support each other. Having the shop gives me the opportunity to be part of this social scene in Venice.
"The population of our city is decreasing every year, and there's very few Venetians left. So it's really important that we support each other."
Daniela Lombardo, Patience, on Kodak Ektar 100
Is it just you in the shop or do you have a team?
For the first three and a half years it was just me. However, for the last few months, I’ve had Elisa working with me. She is an artist and she started with an internship here. Now we are working together. It is nice to have help in the shop, someone to sew with me. Because the first few years it’s just running after tasks and trying to make everything work. Obviously there’s so much more than just production, there’s running the shop and accountability, there’s social media and promotion. There is a lot on the plate. So the last few months that Eliza has been with me it has been amazing to have a second person in charge of things.
You can find more about Patience here: www.madewithpatience.com/en/
Their Instagram is @madewithpatience
To visit the store in Venice, Italy, go 39 Calle Lion 3385/H
Sestiere Castello.
About the author: www.business-photographer.com
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