Coronavirus Update/We at CRIDA are also ready for a new beginning. – HUB Style

“Being from Bergamo means being practical, not fearing sacrifice, hard work, or fatigue. Everyone is now ready to roll up their sleeves and start again. And so will we at Crida.” This is the message of positivity that Cristina Parodi and Daniela Palazzi want to share. With CRIDA, they have bet on femininity and on their home city, Bergamo.

Given your background, Cristina, why did you decide to embrace the CRIDA project?

C.P: I have always been passionate about fashion. I followed and studied it even more closely as a journalist when I was at TG5, and for some time, the idea of creating a line of only dresses had been growing with Daniela Palazzi. After producing several for ourselves and our friends (Daniela is the true creative soul and designer), we thought it wasn’t too late to chase our dreams. So, we dove in.

CRIDA is the acronym for Daniela and Cristina. Inspiration, design, and expression for the former; communication, words, and relationships for the latter. Where did the project originate?

C.P: The project stems from the idea of bringing women back to wearing dresses. They must be comfortable yet chic, feminine and elegant, carefully tailored with natural fabrics. Garments capable of staying in the wardrobe for much longer than a single season.

CRIDA is relatively young. What does it mean for a reality like yours to navigate the current scenario?

C.P: Crida was born in December with a first collection of silk and cotton dresses that received excellent feedback from the press and buyers. The COVID emergency blocked everything, halved orders, and like the rest of the fashion world, we stopped. For a small, new company like ours, it is a hard blow, but now we are ready to start again, delivering to shops and through our e-commerce.

How have you been, and how are you, facing the emergency situation we are forced to live through?

C.P: The pandemic that overwhelmed us has not only disrupted our lives but has certainly changed the rules of the world we will find once the isolation ends. The fashion sector will also have to adapt to new needs and perhaps slow down the frantic pace and super-fast consumption. I believe that now more than ever, clothing companies must offer consumers concrete values and emotions, in addition to extreme trends and frivolities.

Will consumer needs change? If so, how?

C.P: The needs of ultra-luxury consumers might not change, but those of others will. I believe purchases will be made with more awareness; people will look for garments that can stay in the wardrobe for more than one season, seeking quality over quantity. Crida was born with exactly this philosophy: offering women well-crafted dresses at a reasonable price, combining Italian sartorial elegance with style that lasts over time.

And what about purchasing methods?

C.P: For us, physical stores are fundamental. Being our first collection, we need customers to discover us in boutiques, to try on the dresses to verify the excellent fit, to feel our fabrics, and to notice the sartorial details. Then, online will be essential to reach more people, including those abroad. I like to think that we can organize small presentation events in stores that believe in us, to better tell the story behind a collection and provide customers with experiences of dialogue and information, as well as purchase.

What are the future strategies the brand wants to approach?

C.P: Our future strategy is to remain faithful to the idea of elegance we wanted to create. We will continue to buy Italian fabrics from our local companies and use manufacturing workshops in our area between Bergamo and Milan. We want to be totally environmentally sustainable and guarantee the highest quality. We want our customers to recognize in us the Italian style that the whole world envies.

What does it mean to be from Bergamo and live in one of the hardest-hit territories? Is your production carried out in the area?

C.P: We are proudly from Bergamo. And being from Bergamo means being practical, not fearing sacrifice, hard work, or fatigue. The period opening up now will be very tough for us, as it will be for the thousands of companies in the area. We have had so many deaths and too much pain, but everyone is now ready to roll up their sleeves and start again. And so will we at Crida. In our local dialect, we say “mola mia,” which means “never give up.” Now that we have built our little dream, we won’t let it fade away.

edited by Sara Cinchetti

Source: https://bit.ly/3cvbViq