made in Italy - Marche

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Made in Italy

From footwear to fashion, Italy’s Le Marche region is home to some of the world’s finest ateliers. Travel through central Italy, the heartlands of style WORDS Maresa Manara

I’m standing in a cage with a python wrapped around my shoulders; a middle-aged man watching me with delight.

It’s not what you think. This thousand-dollar cage is on luxury Italian fashion brand Tod’s factory floor; the man opposite me is Tod’s leather expert, Tony Ripani; and the green and gold laminated python is about to become one stylish pair of shoes.

“Look at this beautiful Australian reptile,” says Tony, throwing a thick, lumpy crocodile skin into my arms. “It’s big, grown in the sea, the best you can get on the market today. It will make a lovely bag.”

It’s hard to imagine the crocodile skin I’m cradling will soon be dangling off someone’s arm. But Tony isn’t wasting any time, handing me a white cobra with its head still attached (“we’ll make a bag”); a black anaconda (“taken from the wild in Argentina, so it has many scars”); and a Mississippi alligator (“fantastic, we have it in many colours”).

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Some of Tod’s most precious skins: pistachio green ostrich, laminated lizard, pink python, brown kangaroo, lime alligator, taupe crocodile, white cobra, and black anaconda are kept under lock and key in a cage as big as my bedroom until they’re ready to go to production. On the factory floor, Italy’s finest artisans will meticulously transform these skins into some of the world’s most coveted handbags, shoes and leather accessories.

The cage has been opened just for me as part of a special tour of the Tod’s factory, which sits on 65,000sqm of parkland in the small town of Sant’Elpidio a Mare, in central Italy’s Le Marche region.

When I travelled around Italy during university, I never bothered visiting Le Marche.

It didn’t have the allure of Milan, the charm of Tuscany or the grandeur of Rome. Yet in recent years, this hilly, seaside region has become popular with fashion-savvy travellers as an ideal shopping holiday destination. november 2012

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On the factory floor, Italy’s finest artisans will meticulously transform these skins into some of the world’s most coveted handbags, shoes and leather accessories

Some of Italy’s best-known leather and fashion houses were created in Le Marche and have eschewed bigger cities like Milan and Rome to keep their factories and outlets close to home. When I heard that Italian brands including Tod’s, Fabi and Loriblu still hand-make their shoes and handbags in Le Marche, I decided to visit this relatively unknown region to research what it takes to create the world’s finest leather goods.

“Tod’s is exactly as I am: deeply rooted in Le Marche,” admits Diego Della Valle, CEO and president of the Tod’s Group.

“If today you would buy a quality pair of shoes from Italy, be sure that it was produced in Le Marche region. Leather craftsmanship, shoes in particular, has become a fateful destiny of the region. In Sant’Elpidio you can even find a shoe museum, while [Giovanni] Boccaccio’s [medieval allegory] The Decameron mentions Sant’Elpidio shoemakers. Tod’s heritage is centred in the shoe district of Le Marche, and they have both become internationally known for their quality.”

Indeed, everyone from factory workers to fashion editors can be seen wearing a pair of Tod’s, thanks to the brand’s classic styles, high-quality leather and trademark rubber pebble soles. It’s such an Italian institution that when my friend fell pregnant, her doctor ordered her to wear only Tod’s and Hogan (a brand of the Tod’s Group) shoes for nine months. It was an expensive pregnancy.

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On Filippo Della Valle Street, named after Diego’s grandfather who started the shoemaking business that would eventually become Tod’s, the Tod’s headquarters is more art gallery than shoe factory. Inside, floor to ceiling windows offer views of manicured lawns and hills. When workers trudge up the steps to the factory floor, their staircase is a modern metallic sculpture by artist Ron Arad.

On their way to the laboratories, they stroll beneath rice paper kites designed by artist Jacob Hashimoto, pass artwork featuring the iconic Tod’s driving shoe and admire a bronze sculpture by Polish artist Igor Mitoraj.

Michael Schumacher’s Formula 1 Ferrari is parked in one of the rooms, a gift from Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo; while wooden lasts (the wooden block around which a shoe is moulded) of Tod’s favourite Hollywood stars – including Michael Douglas, Demi Moore, Drew Barrymore and George Clooney – line the walls. There’s so much to see that I don’t know how factory workers get anything done.

“The Tod’s headquarters are a rare working environment, especially in Italy,” admits Diego.

“I wanted to give something back to my employees and create a truly unique work environment. The headquarters symbolise the dream behind the product. If we make the best product, we need to give our employees some of the care and attention that we put into our accessories. That way, the level of quality and the attention to detail that you find in our products will be ensured.”

Previous PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: More than 100 steps are involved in hand-crafting a pair of Tod’s shoes; designs for the Fabi shoe collection; Loriblu heels are popular all over the world; the brand also makes bags to match their shoes.

THIS PAGE, FROM LEFT: Tod’s artisans’ tools; discussing Fabi shoe designs; Tod’s colourful skins will be transformed into bags, shoes and accessories; a Loriblu “Ponte Vecchio” stiletto.

“If today you would buy a quality pair of shoes from Italy, be sure that it was produced in Le Marche.”

But it is Filippo Della Valle’s original wooden table, chair and cobbler’s tools that bring everyone to a standstill. Neatly placed in a corner, they are there to remind every employee that despite being a multinational corporation, Tod’s hasn’t forgotten its familial roots.

“The Tod’s Group is indeed a family business: it was founded as a small shoe factory near Fermo, in Le Marche, at the beginning of last century,” says Diego. “My father Dorino transmitted the love for our factory and the Made in Italy of our products to me and my brother, Andrea. It is easy to maintain the balance between being an international reality that is family oriented at

the same time. We are modern outside but traditional inside. I grew up here. Our small village was the centre of the universe. When I notice that my younger son wants to stay at home, he reminds me of myself. When I was younger, I did not want to move anywhere either. Even now, I travel a lot but I always come back here to where my family is.”

The bowl in front of me is heaped with something that looks like porridge, feels like risotto and tastes incredible. But for some reason, chef Rosaria is apologising. “It’s a very simple, traditional dish from Le Marche,” she says, dabbing her forehead with a november 2012

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Experience italy for shopping: Le Marche With Italy’s best fashion brands selling samples and last season’s stock for heavily discounted prices, a shopping holiday in Le Marche is a great way to see Italy and get a new wardrobe at the same time. Don’t miss stylish Italian brands like Manas, Fornarina and Nero Giardini, or if high-end fashion is more your style, drop by the Prada and Armani outlets. www.regione.marche.it

FROM FAR LEFT: A Loriblu Autumn Winter 2012 bag; one of Fabi’s skilled artisans at work; the Fabi showroom in Monte San Giusto; and Tod’s headquarters in Sant’Elpidio a Mare.

Some of Italy’s best-known leather and fashion houses were created in Le Marche and have eschewed bigger cities like Milan and Rome to keep their factories and outlets close to home napkin. “I hope you like it. It’s really nothing special, but today I am alone, cooking, bringing the food to you. I started to make something fancy, but I thought perhaps you would prefer this.”

She needn’t worry – I’ve been waiting for a home-made Italian meal for weeks. Making things even cosier, I’ve accidently ended up with an afternoon of private dining. No one else booked a table at the ristorante Due Cigni so chef Rosaria gave her staff a day off and opened the doors especially for me. I’ve never felt so welcome in a restaurant.

“Here in Le Marche we couldn’t afford rice, so we created this dish, which is our version of risotto,” says Rosaria. “It’s made from durum wheat and water to make little lumps that looked like rice. On top we add a tomato sauce and some meats. Simple!” She is still muttering as she shuffles into the kitchen.

Nestled between the Apennine Mountains and the Adriatic Sea, Le Marche was a poor farming region until the 1980s, when local fashion, leather, furniture and textile industries started gaining international momentum.

Affectionately nicknamed the “Miami of Italy”, owing to a narrow strip of Riviera where palm trees lead to clean beaches and seaside

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resorts, Le Marche tourism grew. As the region got wealthier, its people kept their traditional values and skills – and the artisans at the local shoe and fashion factories aren’t the region’s only talented workers.

“I’m part of an association called Marchigian Chefs,” Rosaria says during the elaborate four-course meal. “We promote the regional food across Italy and the world.”

I’ve never heard anyone call a meal of lasagna, rabbit and thyme parcels, stuffed tomatoes, roast potatoes, and sponge cake and custard dessert “simple”. As I recover from the news that my delicious lasagna was made from brain, I tell Rosaria my idea of simple is scrambled eggs on toast. She laughs but looks mildly horrified. Over an espresso and glass of local liquor, we agree she should never call her meals “simple” again.

Lunch drifts into late afternoon, but at Italian shoe manufacturers Fabi, the working day is in full swing. On the design office floor, two stylists are sketching a new collection amongst old heels, photos, glitter and colourful prints.

Rows of women in crisp pink shirts, spectacles and stylish neckties stitch the Fabi

logo to tidy stacks of inner soles, while men in burgundy coats operate heavy machinery that turns plump leather cut-outs into some of Italy’s most stylish footwear.

Many wave me over, keen to show me their role in this elaborate shoemaking process. I certainly can’t imagine factory workers in my home country of Australia being so proud of their work.

“You can feel the history and the tradition of shoemaking everywhere in this region; making shoes here is almost an art,” says Alessia Fabi, whose father Enrico and uncle Elisio Fabi founded the brand in their mother’s dining room. “Made in Italy are not just words,” she continues. “It’s the history, tradition and culture of our country, and the craft of so many men and women who work to create things of true beauty.”

Like Tod’s, the Fabi Group has stayed in the family. Today, Alessia runs the business from the Monte San Giusto factory with her brother Flaminio and cousins Emanuele and Cinzia.

“Our company has very strong ties to the region: it was born and grew around the hills of Le Marche,” she says. “As time passes this relationship between the brand and the region only gets stronger. It would make no sense to

“You can feel the history and the tradition of shoe-making everywhere in this region; making shoes here is almost an art.” even think of moving to another location, because we would lose part of our identity.

Milan is the Italian fashion capital, but it is a window in which to display our products, not the place to produce them.”

It’s a similar story across town at Loriblu, an Italian footwear company famous for their glitzy, bejewelled sandals that are popular among Russian and Middle Eastern high flyers, celebrities and anyone wanting their feet to be remembered.

“My husband and I were born in Le Marche, so it was natural to set up our company here,” says Annarita Pilotti, who runs Loriblu with her designer husband Graziano Cuccù.

When I visit the industrial-sized workshop, I’m impressed by the number of young staff members working beside older Italians. When I mention this to Annarita, she tells me Italy’s young people are still interested in learning this ancient craft.

“Every day we receive a lot of requests to join our company,” she says. “Our son and daughters are beginning to come to work with us, but they are still young. We also have more than twenty young apprentices who want to learn how to create a shoe. In our region the manufacturing of shoes is a long tradition, and we want to save it. So it’s important for us to have young people who want to continue it.”

Back at Tod’s, Tony is inspecting a tan calf skin with a magnifying glass. He rubs the leather with his finger, splashes water across it and then mops it up. Satisfied, he turns to me.

“I’m 63-years-old, and I’ve been here for fifty years,” says Tony. “As high-quality as these skins are, you have to remember they are animals and each one is different. You never stop learning in this job.”

With rich traditions, skilled workers and strong generational ties, the artisans of Le Marche continue to put their best foot forward.

for sleeping: Villa

Lattanzi

After a day of shopping, put your feet up at Villa Lattanzi, a 300-year-old luxury hideaway nestled amongst lemon groves, manicured lawns and cobbled paths. Rooms have great views across Torre la Palme and the Adriatic, while the restaurant’s chef uses produce grown in the villa’s own orchard. Be sure to try the seafood dishes – the fish is caught fresh each morning. It’s Marchigian hospitality at its best. www.villalattanzi.it

for walking: monti

Sibillini National Park

Le Marche has some terrific walking trails, so pack your hiking boots and visit Monti Sibillini National Park, a spectacular reserve that borders Umbria. Animal lovers can admire the park’s native badgers, foxes, hedgehogs and red deer, while nonwalkers might prefer to cycle, horse ride or ski through the park. www.regione.marche.it

WITH ETIHAD HOLIDAYS Experience Italy with a package from Etihad Holidays. Return coral economy class flights with Etihad Airways and AlItalia between Abu Dhabi and Rome and three nights twin share accommodation at The Westin Excelsior Rome (5 star) with breakfast start from AED 5,550 per person.

Terms and conditions apply. To book call +971 2 599 0700.

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