Valentino looks inside its atelier to find passion, craftsmanship

January 24, 2018

Valentino looks to its tailors and seamstresses for passion. Image credit: Valentino

Italian fashion label Valentino is highlighting the craftsmanship behind its designs ahead of its Haute Couture show to demonstrate the quality of its products.

Luxury brands often take time to connect with consumers by revealing the craftsmanship behind-the-scenes to show the real caliber of their products. Valentino is using this strategy by giving its seamstresses a platform to discuss the passion that goes into making couture items ahead of its Haute Couture presentation on Jan. 24 in Paris.

"Having employees share their stories and insights is not necessarily new, but it is great marketing," said Michael Becker, managing partner at Identity Praxis, San Francsico. "Previous trust research by Edelman revealed the consumers and shoppers respond favorably to employee testimonial content, that they trust the employees more than most other actors, above marketers and CEOs.

"Couture’s understanding and leverage of this insight is powerful," he said.

Craftsmanship and passion
Valentino is stressing to followers that its seamstresses and seamsters are not just “petites mains,” which translates to small hands, but that they have big personalities.

In a social video series, Valentino is featuring various personalities behind-the-scenes at its atelier in Rome leading up to its Haute Couture spring/summer 2018 fashion show in Paris, which will be live-streamed to its Web site and social channels Jan. 24 at 12 p.m. EST.

Valentino's “What’s Your Name” series introduces each seamster or seamstress by giving him or her their own one-minute video.

Irene Stranieri was the focus of the campaign’s video premiere, discussing how beautiful it is to see a new generation come to work at the Roman atelier. Ms. Stranieri has witnessed many newcomers over her 39 years with Valentino.

In a second film, Alessio Pellecchia reveals his engineering background and what it feels like to watch a dress you have made shown on the runway.

Another film highlights Maria Casini, who has worked at Valentino since 1967 and gets emotional when seeing women wearing her creations.

Valentino | #2 What is your name?

Antonietta‬ De Angelis explains her first day of work at the label and how her enthusiasm for the work makes her feel like every day is her first day.

Seamstress Maria Sole Migliozzi has only been with Valentino for four years, but in her video she discusses how scared she was on her first day. Ms. Sole Migliozzi explains that some days as a seamstress she feels amazing and other days it can become frustrating.

Daniela Toni talks to viewers about how the best part of her job is creating the collection, but that it takes sacrifice. Ms. Toni says that when the dress leaves her hands it feels like a child leaving, because every dress is unforgettable.

Valentino | #5 What is your name?

She gets personal and explains that when her father passed away she was working on a dress. Now every time Ms. Toni sees that dress, it is like seeing her father again and in a way it makes her happy.

Valentino video
The Italian fashion label is often finding unique ways to use video in an effort to connect with consumers.

For instance, Valentino recently took a unique approach to a film campaign with unscripted footage that surprised its participants.

“Expect the Unexpected” was the brand’s film starring its Rockstud Spike handbag and used a common trope seen on social media to grab viewers. Those featured in the video were unaware they were being filmed while it was happening and were pranked by the brand (see more).

Valentino was also recently one of the first brands to create shoppable social media videos using technology from a new startup.

Smartzer, the startup, uses a patented click-to-buy technology to make videos shoppable, allowing customers to jump straight from watching an advertisement to buying the clothes they saw in it. With Valentino using the tech, along with other brands such as Bulgari, shoppable video may be an important trend to watch in the future (see more).

"Luxury is about more than the acquisition of a quality product, it is about the entire experience people have with it, including knowing that every detail has received meticulous and purposeful attention," Mr. Becker said. "This knowledge helps people build an emotional bond with the luxury product, it helps them find themselves within the product and relate to it, to make the luxury brand part of their own brand."

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