Bologna holds a special place in my heart as both my brand and myself were born here – my name is Ilenia Gamberini and I founded my namesake brand in 2014. By no means was it something that happened overnight and this is my story. This historic city that is often referred to as “La Dotta”, “La Grassa” and “La Rossa” has so much to share and today I would like to talk more about the first part of its nickname “La Dotta” or “The Learned One”
Bologna is home to the oldest operating university in the world, having first opened its doors to the curious in 1088, over 900 years ago. Since then this city has always been a center of culture, learning and intellectual thought. It is a city that teaches you to think and reflect as you walk between the red tinted buildings and cobblestone streets. I too was once a student that passed through the doors there to learn and broaden my horizons.
Ilenia Gamberini, Founder and Creative Director of Gamberini Bag
During my youth, I have fond memories of the days spent discussing and arguing with my peers under the classic porticoes with a cup of coffee on the table and an ancient book in my hands. I remember how each and every one of us students had an insatiable drive and curiosity for the words and images hidden away in the libraries and how to connect those nuggets of knowledge to the outside world around us.
My time spent there taught me the value of reflection, of accumulating knowledge with slowness, and of the hidden beauty amongst our everyday lives. When I graduated with a degree in Art History, I left those halls of learning with not only knowledge but also with an eye trained to quietly observe beauty.
Every project I undergo begins with a detail that I observed that then stuck with me, taking root in my mind. This could be as simple as a line in the scenery, a surface in the street or a memory of the past. But these things upon which I gaze then turn into bags, accessories and cameos; small architectures that embody my ideas of design. Each one is essential, authentic and rooted. The Cameos featured in one of my collections and the lions in another collection are prime examples of this and symbolic of my work, surpassing their existences as simple decorations by becoming a bridge between eras, expressing a strong gesture of belonging.
Another deep influence in my work apart from my time at the University of Bologna is the “Aemilia Ars” movement. Born in 19th century Bologna as a cooperative of decorative arts, this movement spearheaded an effort to restore dignity to craftsmanship and to return beauty into our everyday lives. It was inspired by the English Arts & Crafts movement of William Morris and quickly took root in a post unification Italy as it matched well with the culture at the time where tradition and modernity clashed to create something new. Aemilia Ars was quickly recognized as an ambitious but worthwhile project to marry craft with art and to revalue manual work as a major aspect of culture.
Bologna University and the University Library
The women of the time quickly took center stage then as the project quickly focused on embroiders, designers, weavers and wood carvers. The exclaimed works of Alfonso Rubbiani, Achille Casanova and Alberto De Carolis also materialized with the help of these women.They were not simply executors but also interpreters, cultured and refined custodians of generational knowledge pertaining to craft and symbols. Their work can be seen to this day in the streets of Bologna.
However the Aemilia Ars movement wasn’t just limited to large works but rather included everyday objects: a clock, a window curtain or even just a dining room chair. That’s why the movement initially focused on cutwork embroidery, an extremely sophisticated technique applied to fabrics for the home, clothing, and liturgical use. It wasn’t about decoration for its own sake: it was a way to elevate everyday objects, restoring aesthetic dignity to what we live with every day.
For me, as someone influenced and inspired by this historical and ambitious movement, that everyday object is the women’s handbag. In this vision of the world, there is no room for nostalgia, replacing that with a pursuit of clarity. The past can only mean something if it can be transformed into something living. And Bologna, with its full silences, elegant shadows and solid forms is the raw material given to me by the world. Every project begins there as I transform it into the tangible through my eyes and hands.
Living that vision shapes my life and has taught me that a true revolution in design can sometimes happen through the simplest objects – that an accessory, a seam or even just a button can contain a silent but powerful heritage. That beauty is not just an aesthetic: it’s a gesture that encompasses time, precision and respect.
The Chloe, The Taisa and The Maria bags, designer by Ilenia Gamberini, exclusively at www.vetrinamia.com
In Gamberini Bag, this philosophy is present in every detail. Every bag, every cameo, every stitch is born from a thought that connects the past to today’s life. Just like how the women of Aemilia Ars turned needle and thread into a form of knowledge, I too hope to turn my inspiration into a lasting piece of elegance.
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