Profile

My work is an emotional endeavour. I observe everything, storing sensations and inspirations to share with my creative team. I keep a notebook in which to record things that strike me. Then I work by subtraction, gradually cleaning out the notebook and throwing away most of the notes until it is time to muster up the courage to close the circle. What is left forms the heart of the collection

Veronica Etro was born in Milan on 19 April 1974 under the sign of Aries. She attended the Deutsche Schule of Milan, where she graduated from both the German “Abitur” and the Italian high school programmes. She then attended Central St Martins College of Art and Design in London, graduating with her degree in 1997. Veronica wanted to gain experience with other designers before joining the family company, which she entered in 1998 to work alongside her brother Kean as the creative directors of the Womenswear collection.

She unveiled her first collection in 2000 to immediate acclaim. Her passions include travel, from which she never ceases to draw inspiration, photography and modern art. Instinctive and ironic, her imaginative yet pragmatic outlook surprise in equal measures.

It’s all a question of timing, which is also true of life. The trick is to know when to press down hard on the accelerator, and when to ease off it.

Ippolito Etro was born in Milan on the 31st of January 1967 under the sign of Aquarius. At 11 years old he went to boarding school where he completed his secondary schooling and passed his English A Levels. He then attended University College London (UCL) graduating in Biology in 1988 but combining his studies simultaneously with business and economics classes. That same year he left for New York, where he lived until 1991. After gaining work experience with an administrative, tax and real estate consulting group, he joined Etro USA when the company decided to open a New York office.

On his return to Italy in 1991 he was responsible for the Administration Department before his promotion to General Director, a role that he upheld until the start of 2014. With little inclination for a life in the public eye, he rarely appears in the press despite the key role he plays in the company. In fact, Ippolito adroitly calibrates pragmatism and entrepreneurial imagination to define Etro’s commercial expansion and square the accounts. He is a collector with a passion for photography, ancient Japanese art, contemporary Chinese art and urban art. His additional pursuits of jogging, skiing, tennis and football make Ippolito a versatile sportsman.

The definition of a designer is too tight-fitting for me, I’d prefer to be associated with the idea of an imp, a fantasy creature that discovers and rediscovers brand new ideas. What I want is to find unprecedented and solid solutions in an entirely Natural ability.

Kean Etro was born in Milan on a windy day in 1964, the Year of the Dragon. After studying against the backdrop of the majestic mountainscape of Villars Switzerland, he attended Aiglon College followed by Cambridge before returning to Milan to study Medieval History. He joined the company in 1986 to work on upgrading the information systems. In 1989 he developed the Etro Perfumes division. In 1990 he designed the first Menswear collection, giving extraordinary momentum to the wave of creative transformation that was already sweeping the Etro brand.

In 1997 he presented the first Menswear show, theorising the concept of New Tradition, which would become a keystone theme of his style. He also designed the Womenswear collection until his sister Veronica came on board in 2000. Kean is highly sensitive to environmental and social themes, creating and developing initiatives such as “Gli Oggetti dell’Affetto” (Objects of Love) with Sotheby’s for the Vidas charity association or “Tree of Life”. Volcanic, passionate and cultured, Kean is dominated by a nomadic, cosmopolitan and generous spirit.