Zitat des Tages von Diego Della Valle:
I need to have a quick wardrobe. Two or three blazers with dark gray pants, two pairs of jeans, two light blue shirts, a casual shirt, two pairs of shoes, one formal one not. Small accessories like Tod's Greca belt and our woven bracelets for a wild touch.
You have to be serious-minded in business, but not take yourself seriously.
I come from a family with a long tradition in shoemaking, and I still live in a region famous for its shoemakers. It is getting harder and harder to find skilled workers. There are no professional training institutes, so we have to train our own employees. And an apprenticeship takes three years.
I worked in the family business, which was my father's shoe making company that he had inherited from his father, and that led me to become interested in what could be achieved by a great Italian brand. That became my ambition as a young man.
Businessmen should not put their finger in politics, because they tend to think only of their own self-interest. But I worry about the low morale in Italian industry and the lack of government initiatives to help the poor.
I remember perfectly my first trip to New York, when I was on the bridge between Brooklyn and Manhattan, when I saw the skyscrapers. It was like an incredible dream.
We must never lose sight of the fact that shoes go on the feet, and if people can't walk in them, they are worthless. Fashion designers who are not specialists need the help of technical people. We help decide the collections together.
The idea behind our shoes is simple: they are as light as possible, very soft and made from the finest leather we can buy. We try to make a combination of something that looks fantastic and is at the same time fantastically comfortable. This is the type of luxury people want to buy now, things that they can use every day.
Saks is one of the temples of good-quality products in America. The Saks shop in New York, for me, is the most interesting department store in America.
You try to be young, maybe you like to have a few toys, but it's not the most important thing in life.
Put a compass to paper and trace a circle. Then tell me which other country has such a concentration of places like Amalfi, Naples, Ischia, Procida, Sorrento, Positano, Pompeii, and Capri.
When I am walking in Central Park, I recognize the Italians. Because an Italian, even when he jogs, he's dressed perfect.
The boom for luxury goods is unending. There are people who never have to worry about whether they can afford something they like. In one part of the world or another there will always be someone with money to spend on luxury.
I bought into Saks as a personal investment because, when I was a young man and went to America for the first time, it seemed to me that Saks was like a cathedral of retail. I never dreamt that I could one day be a part of it. And now I am.
I hope I will be remembered as a good father and a fair employer. And a good host, of course!
Image is something you construct, while reputation starts at home. If you are able to pass on solid values to your children, then they can become citizens of the world.
