Fashion Designer Maria Vittoria Colonna, lives on the outskirts of Vicenza, some 75-kilometers west of Venice.
Having grown up in Rome, a member of one of Rome's oldest noble families, Maria Vittoria's ancestry stretches to the 12th-Century and includes Popes, Senators and Governors. Her great great grandfather, Prospero Colonna, was a Senator and three times elected Mayor of Rome, and her great grandfather, Piero Colonna was Governor of Rome.
When she was a teenager, Maria Vittoria's family moved to Switzerland, and when it was time for university, she relocated to the nation's fashion capital, Milan, to study fashion design at Istituto Europeo di Design. She began her career designing pyjamas for children and women for international fashion companies and producing trade shows for young designers. Having met her husband, Giovanni, in Milan, she moved to Vicenza, some two hours closer to Venice, ten years ago. “I love Vicenza, it is a charming town, and the architecture here is especially inspiring,“ she says.
Vicenza is renown for the striking Piazza dei Signori lined by the elegant Basilica Palladiana with its grand archways, portico and clock tower designed by 16th-Century architect Andrea Palladio, and the vast Palladian Villas that he designed on its outskirts. The town was added to UNESCOs list of World Heritage Sites in the 1990s.
In addition to its strong architectural heritage, Vicenza has long been a centre for Italian agriculture including wine and wheat, and for manufacturing, especially textiles.
In early 2016, Maria Vittoria launched her fashion label, Ma.mi.mo, specialising in pyjamas and sleepwear, in Vicenza. “It is a perfect town to be based in as a designer,“ says Maria Vittoria. “Here we have textile mills and dressmakers who have been in business for generations,“ she says. “It means that as a designer I can source all of my fabrics here, and have the pyjamas made by hand by a family business. The dressmakers who make my nighties and pyjamas have been seamstresses for three generations.“
Maria Vittoria uses soft 100% Italian cotton poplin milled nearby, as well as handmade ribbons, lace and mother of pearl buttons to embellish her pyjama sets which come in sizes 2-years to 14-years for children, with matching nighties for Mum, or pyjamas for Dad.
“It is very fashionable in Italy right now for young children to 'match' their parents style,“ says Maria Vittoria. “So I have designed a line of nightwear for mothers and daughters that sees little girls in nighties that match their Mummy's, and a line of pyjamas for little boys to match their Dad's.“
Maria Vittoria's designs have become popular throughout the Veneto, and her first shipment has just been dispatched to London. “We ship internationally, and have had great interest from Australia,“ she says. “Our busiest time so far has been mothers' and fathers' day,“ she says. “It is a nice idea to have a photograph of your little one and you in the same 'jarmies' on a special day,“ she says.
“Children grow up so quickly, and they soon have very strong ideas on what they will and what they won't wear,“ she says. “Its nice to be able to share a look, behind closed doors, while you can.“