It was Mario Lebole himself who had a passion for art and collected everything from Etruscan to contemporary art, transferring his passion for refined and exclusive objects to his daughter Nicoletta, opening in the early 70s in Arezzo, his hometown, a antique shop and then moving in 1984 to Rome, in via del Babbuino.
Lebole Gioielli, how did this idea come about?
It was my mother Nicoletta who transferred her creativity and passion for art and beauty to me, to the point that in 2013 we decided together to start a new adventure, create a collection of objects to wear or rather earrings that always start from a long history. We make the first jewels with ancient Japanese kimono fabrics that we import from the East which are skilfully assembled by experts on bases, in wood or in metal, thus becoming unique, refined and exclusive objects, but above all one different from the other, perfectly asymmetrical. The story tells that Nicoletta, on a trip to Japan, buys a series of ancient kimonos and together with Paolo Perugini the first kimono earrings are born. Perugini's works range from environmental sculptures to design; the fundamental characteristic of him is the recovery and reuse of materials giving them another and different life. Furthermore, her technical ability and her artistic vision of reality, combined with Nicoletta's cultural baggage and feminine touch, make Lebole jewels real masterpieces.
Fashion items designed and created to continue an important family tradition?
Surely creativity in the field of fashion is part of our family. Everything starts once again from the "fabric" the soul of the historic Lebole brand to then become, today, also art and an object to wear. Obviously everything revisited with new trends and above all a new way of life, and the earring is certainly women's favorite accessory: it is history itself that tells us and describes it in many paintings.
You have once again chosen the city of Arezzo as your headquarters, why?
First of all because the bond with Arezzo is very strong, no other place could represent us. And this is how we wanted to create a space of our own right where the first Lebole Uomo structure was originally. It is a particular place, where antiques, design pieces, objects and decorations for the table coexist, all in a very personal way where even a greenhouse-garden comes to life.
How does the Lebole Gioielli product differ?
The Lebole earring always maintains the same particular identification marks: asymmetry as the pair of earrings is always made up of two different elements; the fabric given the jewels are always covered with antique or limited edition fabric; they are all unique pieces because by always cutting the fabrics into different parts, a unique and unrepeatable piece is created. Our collections want to tell the stories and cultures of the world through an object to wear, considering that they are rigorously made in Italy in all parts of the production.
How is your company organised?
The engine of everything is my mother and I, followed by a series of collaborators and professionals. Each project is always shared and then moved on to the different phases, from creation to realization up to the sale. It has been a demanding six years but we are very satisfied with the results that we are slowly achieving. Today we have four flagship stores, two in Milan, two in Rome and 480 points of sale distributed throughout Italy. And where we are not physically present, they can find us through our e-shop portal. We are also present in various museum bookshops.
How many collections do you make each year?
Every season we create as many as six collections for the market and others when we are requested for special events, as in the case of the "The Circle" collection which was officially presented at the "Ottocento in Collezione - From Macchiaioli to Segantini" exhibition held in the halls of the Castello Visconteo Sforzesco in Novara from 20 October 2018 to 24 February 2019.
You have also recently launched a new line called “In Lebole” which reminds us of a slogan from the 60s: “I have a soft spot for the In Lebole man”.
Yes, it was a brand slogan created by my grandfather. The principle is the same, to create a brand capable of combining industrial production and culture to offer the market a repeatable product and for a contemporary public, increasingly influenced by images. The peculiarity of this "The Circus" collection is that the earrings are made with flat capsules - used for the caps of sparkling wine and champagne bottles - then printed on galvanized brass tinplate. Here then are earrings with images on flat, thin and very light medals, representations of details of works of art but also dogs, cats, flowers, the eye of love, zodiac signs, cities, ladybugs, croissants and four-leaf clovers.
Next steps?
Continuing to do what we like, because many new scenarios can open up from an exciting game and an original idea.
