FASHION HISTORY
PELLETTERIA ARTIGIANA VIVIANI
A LITTLE GUCCI, A LITTLE ARGENTINA,A LOT FLORENCE By Laurie Melchionne
Leather handbags, synonymous with Florence’s diverse Renaissance spirit, find their quintessence at Pelletteria Artigiana Viviani. Nestled on Via Guelfa in Florence’s centro storico, the workshop and boutique are within walking distance away from Medicean landmarks like Palazzo Medici Riccardi, the Basilica di San Lorenzo and the iconic Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. Suffice it to say, when founder Renato Viviani chose the spot in 1965, the historic location was top of mind (it also happened to be the former studio of Giuseppe Poggi, the architect behind Piazzale Michelangelo). Renato Viviani’s journey with the Pelletteria is as storied as the city of its birth. At the start of his career, Viviani apprenticed in the workshop of Guccio Gucci himself. While Viviani’s craftsmanship flourished, World War II’s clouds blackened Italy’s horizon and drove him across the sea to Argentina. There, he continued his trade in handbags, blending traditional Tuscan craftsmanship with Argentinian leather techniques. For years, he honed his unique aesthetic and dedicated production practices from his Calle General Escalada workshop in Buenos Aires. By 1965, Viviani, his wife Delia, and their young daughter Viviana returned to Florence to deliver the family business home. Just a year later, Viviani—again—cemented the Pelletteria in legendary Florentine history. On November 4, 1966, the overflowing Arno River drowned most of the city—and Viviani’s brand-new workshop. A deadly catastrophe, the flood hurled at the City of the Baptist its worst blow since the war. But in traditional Florentine spirit, the disaster did not break Viviani. The workshop was rebuilt. Business resumed as usual and eventually blossomed. Quality materials and head-turning designs flocked fashionistas to the Pelletteria. Before long, Viviani even had a new apprentice. His daughter, Viviana. Today, Viviana shares her father’s legacy with her own son, Leonardo. With her husband, Francesco, in charge of material cutting, you’ll find the mother-and-son team in the workshop handcrafting Tuscan leather with the Argentinian-Italian values, skills and techniques used by Renato Viviani in that same room. The workshop’s open layout reveals to customers a nostalgic glimpse of Florence’s retail of old: craftsmen at work, surrounded by hardware, tanned leather scraps and skiving and sewing machines. Viviana and Leonardo are hands-on—literally. Stitching, dying and painting, embossing and hardware nailing are some of the daily techniques, all done by hand, that eventually become a bag.
90 | FM April 2024
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