VENICE–A contemporary spin on traditional home textiles, Chiarastella Cattana’s vision is at the heart of a new understated luxury. It is the idea of living a modern life with linen, towels, cushions and tablecloths made with the best luxurious materials, manufactured with contemporary design and a vintage touch.
“I have been working on producing a collection of linen for 15 years,” explained Cattana to BACO at her Venetian shop on Salizzada San Samuele (salazzada is a Venetian word for “paved” or “cobblestone” street) just off the Canal Grande.
“Venice helps you to test things before an international audience. I have had good feedback and confirmation that this is the right direction. Especially looking at the market outside Italy,” she added.
Cattana sells the 80% of her products abroad.
A fashion industry veteran, Cattana is originally from Milan. Over the years, she became a fabric specialist and eventually traded the fast-paced life for a more flexible one in the textiles arena.
“I focused my attention on the textiles, especially from the Alto Adige manufacturing tradition with a contemporary Venetian inspiration. Venice is an inspiring city — from the details to the colors, to the design. I wanted to use this jacquard in a non-traditional way,” she said, noting that about half of her total production is bespoke.
Cattana works with small artisan realities — Sicilian and Venetian artisans who can still create fully handmade pieces. A sheet set, she explained, can takes even 6 months to be hand-embroidered.
“I think that this kind of craftsmanship is an understated luxury, a kind of very specific taste,” she said, adding that her best sellers are the cushions.
She mostly uses linen and cottons for her collection, and this year she started working with wool and Italian cashmere for blankets. “I only use Italian yarns and fabrics that I make in Veneto and Lombardy. Everything is finished in Veneto by the hands of amazing artisans. I also work with an artisan from Zoagli, Liguria, for the silk fabrics.”
Cattana collaborates with a Venetian glass studio Yali for a bespoke Murano collection that she sells in her store in Venice and that will be presented soon in London on the 26-28 of November at 10 White Horse Street, Mayfair.
PRICE: from EUR11 (for towels) to EUR650 for cashmere blankets. Bespoke handmade sheets run from about EUR1200.
WHERE TO BUY:
IN THIS ISSUE: Bevilacqua Velvet: A Bastion of Venetian Tradition, Giuliana Longo: The Gondolier’s Milliner , Chiarastella Cattana: Venetian Jacquards, Simone Cevedese: The Art of Murano Glass ; The Gondolier’s Slipper: Alla Giulia ; Tabarro: The Medieval Gentleman’s Cape
