FROM LEFT: SHOUT (ILLUSTRATION); F. MARTIN RAMIN, STYLING BY ANNE CARDENASWHAT’S NEWS56 WSJ. MAGAZINEO
UTERWEAR TRENDS this winter
lean toward quilted jackets and
all-enveloping puff ers, both
of which are specialties of Italian
label Herno. In fact, Herno has been making
luxe coats in the town of Lesa since 1948,
when husband-and-wife team Giuseppe
Marenzi and Alessandra Diana introduced
a double-breasted trench, a style that em-
bodied the simplicity of postwar fashions.
Over the decades, the family-owned
com pany continued its own line; then in the
1980s and ’90s it expanded production
to make coats for Prada, Gucci, Armani and
others. “The model back then was manu-
facturing, not our own brand,” says current
Herno president Claudio Marenzi, 57, the
couple’s youngest son. In 2005, under
Marenzi’s stewardship, the label closed its
doors to third parties to focus on elevating
the brand itself instead.
“When we wanted to develop the col-
lections further, we went back to the past
and looked at this idea of the raincoat,”
says Marenzi, who is also the president
of the Confi ndustria Moda—which bringstogether Italy’s textile, fashion and acces-
sories industries—and of the annual fashion
trade fair Pitti Immagine. “The raincoat
is a functional item, so we are a functional
fashion company.” Herno has since evolved
to include the waterproof, wind-stopping
Laminar lines, and it recently revealed the
Monogram Collection, blanketed with
the H initial introduced in the 1970s. Results
have been strong: Annual revenue has
risen from $7.7 million in 2007 to $124.7
million in 2018.
This year, Marenzi also introduced
Globe, a line of iconic styles— a vest, parka,
military jacket and bomber ($900–$2,300)—
made of 84-percent-recycled nylon dyed
with plant-based colors and padded
with recycled down. “Everyone is talking
about sustainability, but sometimes it
is more about marketing than reality,” says
Marenzi, whose offi ce and factory in Lesa
have been running on solar power since- “I live in a very nice place in the Erno
valley.... I want to preserve it,” he says.
“We have to use the best practices.” herno.it.
—Alice Cavanagh
THE CULT OF
HERNO COATS
The 71-year-old Italian fashion company, which once made coats for the
likes of Prada, has benefi tted from refocusing on its own brand.WARMING SIGNS
Herno outerwear,
which has been
made in Lesa, Italy,
since 1948, recent-
ly introduced a
line using recycled
down and plant-
based dyes.Elegant bags in crocodile,
python and iguana add an
exotic touch to any outfi t.From top: Givenchy; Dolce & Gabbana;
Tom Ford; Gucci; Hermès; Jimmy Choo.
For details see Sources, page 150.SKIN DEEP