November Editorial

When I stepped into the hair and makeup room with the Crida garment rack in my arms, I noticed the women seated before the mirrors turn and look at me with interest. They were all different, yet shared a common trait: smiles on their faces and curious eyes at the prospect of a new experience. We were at the Fairmont Hotel in Monte Carlo, the heart of luxury and high society in the principality, where Daniela and I—never ones to stay still—had set up a pop-up with our dresses to meet our Monegasque clients and friends. But this audience was different. On closer look, these women—some around our age, others younger—had something unique and special: some had very short hair growing back, others (as I later discovered while fitting them) had a single breast and scars or bandages from recent surgery. They were oncology patients supported by an organization (contact@ecoutecancerreconfort.org) that assists them in post-operative recovery—the most difficult moment in a woman’s life when, after such surgery, she feels deprived of her femininity and beauty. The brilliant idea of Vera Facchetti, the event organizer, was to gift these warriors an unforgettable moment of visibility through a fashion show, to which Crida enthusiastically contributed. Nothing utterly groundbreaking—initiatives of this kind have existed for some time and many are now well-established—but when an idea is beautiful and does good, why not replicate it? Copying in this case is both legitimate and welcome.

I reflect on this because I was struck by the controversy raised by Raptus and Rose—a brand I admire because for years they have staged a major runway show featuring women who have faced and conquered cancer—against another maison, Antonio Marras, for creating, with his signature poetic touch, around twenty gowns for oncology patients who, by walking the runway, demonstrated their strength and celebrated their beauty, sending a powerful message of solidarity and hope. The accusation was that “they stole our idea” by doing something similar to what we have successfully done for years. Fashion is certainly about creativity and novelty, but how often does it borrow from past archives or other sources? In this case, copying and replicating an initiative that gives women confidence in a moment of vulnerability and places them at the center of a world usually represented by far more famous but predictable faces seems to me not a problem but a beautiful opportunity.

Our little Monaco show did not spark any controversy—also because it lacked the visibility ambitions or communicative power of those I mentioned. It hardly matters. The only intent was to make these women—who needed to be admired and applauded—feel happy and in the spotlight for a day with their beauty, and so it was.

Every time a woman steps out of the dressing room in a Crida dress to see herself in the mirror, it is an overwhelming emotion for us; but to follow the preparations for that show, to select with these fragile yet determined women the dress best suited to their physiques, to choose the accessories, and finally to watch them enter the room looking radiant in colorful silk gowns—with eyes shining and smiles on their faces—was a rainbow of emotions we will never forget. Never have we felt as proud as we did that day to have created pieces that are both elegant and effortless, that flatter all women and bring joy, lightness, and style to whoever wears them.