London, 30 April 2025 – The Italian Embassy in London hosted the seventh episode of Italian Threads: Conversations on Fashion, a series of events in collaboration with the online news outlet ThePlatform. The series, which began last year, is dedicated to one of Italy’s most iconic industries: fashion. This evening’s theme focused on creativity and entrepreneurship—two essential qualities that must coexist for companies to thrive. The guest of the evening was Claudio Marenzi, President of Herno.
In conversation with Maria Silvia Sacchi, Director of ThePlatform and creator of the project, Marenzi explained how he transformed the small raincoat company founded by his parents in 1948 into a fully-fledged business that has also made acquisitions. Marenzi recounted key turning points (“it was anything but easy”) and the constant need to balance style, price, and business profitability.
As a testament to Italian craftsmanship, a small tailoring workshop was set up at the Embassy during the event for the personalization of pocket squares.
“Craftsmanship, attention to detail, and personalization remain hallmarks of Italian excellence,” stated Ambassador Inigo Lambertini, commenting on the initiative. He described Marenzi as “a symbolic figure of the union between tradition and innovation.”
The project with ThePlatform runs in parallel with the “Italian Fashion Days in the World” series, announced at the end of January by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani, in collaboration with the main industry associations. The ongoing series in London aims to showcase the entire functioning of the fashion industry and the unique features of the Italian system.
For this reason, the first 2025 event, held in February, was dedicated to the “diplomacy” required to build the global network of fashion weeks and trade fairs, with guests Carlo Capasa (National Chamber of Italian Fashion) and Antonio De Matteis (Pitti Immagine). The series continued in March with a focus on industrial districts—a hallmark of Italy’s production model—with contributions from Gianluca Isaia (Isaia Group) and Cristina Squarcialupi (Chimet-Unoaerre).
The series will continue in May with an episode on technologies transforming fashion (from blockchain to artificial intelligence), featuring Stefano Rosso, President of Marni and Maison Margiela and founding board member of the Aura Consortium. In July, the topic of sustainability will be explored with Davide Bollati, CEO of Davines.
For further information, please write to: stampa.amblondra@esteri.it
