Last 16 November, Masoni Industria Conciaria S.p.A. – a subsidiary of the LVMH group from 2019 – turned 20 years old and celebrated the milestone with a docu-film entitled ‘From Raw to Wow. A love story” written and directed by David Lopardo and with the site-specific audiovisual installation “FRAME” curated by artist Felice Limosani. “When I founded the company 20 years ago,” says Fabrizio Masoni, President and CEO of Masoni, “my intention was to create a company that would be able to protect and respect the craftsmanship tradition of the area where I grew up, but that could also ride the technological evolution putting it at the service of that experimentation that is indispensable to offer a high quality product in line with what the market demands and that could satisfy increasingly demanding customers”.
Fabrizio, your love for leather is a true love story, but how did it begin?
It is a love story that started quietly. My father had a tannery, and I didn’t care much about it, so much so that he later closed it. My passion for leather was born when I was in my 30s. I began to realize how rich this work was in tradition, a centuries-old artisan culture that I think is extremely fascinating and important to protect. At the age of thirty, I had not yet met the woman of my life, and the desire to create my own tannery became, already in power, a great love story.
The LVMH Métiers d’Art group bought a minority stake in Masoni in 2019. You are now the only Italian tannery to be part of the group. What has changed since then?
The entry of LVMH Métiers d’Art into Masoni Industria Conciaria represents the opportunity to implement our common vision on the pursuit of quality. Excellence means espousing new projects, facing new challenges, growing, training, and involving the most deserving talents in creating a product that is unique every time.
Tell us what role art plays for you and how it contaminates Masoni’s work.
Art, what can I say? is first and foremost passion and appreciation for the vision of the artists. I have always enjoyed contemplating and being moved by contemporary works of art. Since 2001, the year Masoni Industria Conciaria was founded, this predilection of mine has also turned into one of the pillars of the company’s philosophy of promoting art in sociocultural and work contexts. Art is freedom of thought, avant-garde expression, and limitless experimentation – all qualities that I also find in the universe of leather. It is a stronger connection than one might think. Underlying it is the same creative act, the exercise of a téchne, a skill that, as the ancient Greek reminds us, is the essential prerequisite of know-how. Tanning leather is an artisanal process, and craftsmanship is, etymologically, the twin of art.
Fabrizio, what is “Made in Italy” to you?
For me, Made in Italy means “Thought of and made in Italy,” and it is a CHOICE. I could never deviate from this approach. It is necessary to protect Made in Italy, against all counterfeiting and countering the common idea that a true made in Italy production is only a niche and cannot reach large numbers.
