Tutte le strade portano a Roma
It began – and continues – with Rome
Founder and designer Michele Modestino has a lifelong passion for the Eternal City, which has infused and influenced her designs – and lifestyle. Her family origins are from the town of Bonito, coincidentally, the birthplace of Salvatore Ferragamo. The call to design leather handbags, however, came from something much more practical…
“Living in Rome, you become very conscious of style (“la Bella Figura”)…whether it be the architectural ruins of ancient Rome, the masterpieces of the Renaissance, or the chic window displays on Via Condotti. My mind constantly absorbs the details, and my sketchbook becomes very full.”
Allora…
Being an architect, I have always been obsessed with design.
I have always designed everything in my family’s lives…from our homes to our offices, kid’s birthday cakes, invitations, and more. In 2009, I took a sewing class and having been inspired by the beautiful fabrics and trimmings, began creating accessories such as sarongs, skirts, scarves, and belts (using vintage buttons and stamping).
That was all put on hold when we moved our family to Rome, Italy in 2013.
My love affair with Rome began as a student of architecture. I spent a semester abroad in Rome, where I fell instantly in love with the city and the Italian way of life. And so my obsession began…
After years of vacationing in Italy, we finally fulfilled my lifelong dream of moving to Rome for two years.
My first handbag “la Doppia”, was designed out of a frustration of not finding one in the stores that fulfilled my needs while traveling through Europe…a cross-body, small enough to wear on a vespa and flexible enough to use on vacation with a thick comfortable strap and an outside pocket for easy access to my iPhone, yet trendy and fashionable at the same time.
As like everything in my life, I could see the perfect design in my head.
After visiting the leather show in Milan with a friend, I was very inspired by the beautiful leathers I saw and set out to make my own handbag. I found the perfect Roman artisanal family-run leather studio and so it began.
Designing leather handbags in Italy is the perfect fit.
It fulfills my need to design, and allows me to connect both of my countries.
– Michele Modestino
The Roman statue depicted on this page is of MODESTINO, a jurist from third century A.D.
