The life of an accessories designer is anything but boring, so in this month’s installment of Designer Diaries we follow the beautiful Natalia Barbieri, co-founder and designer of luxury label Bionda Castana, as she jets off from her base in London to New York and Milan.
Barbieri’s schedule is incredibly busy and varies greatly from day to day. She tells Savoir Flair exclusively, “The only thing that remains the same is what I have for breakfast and the fact that at some point in the day there will be a pilates or spin class involved. Every single working day varies so much that it’s hard to describe. From design, to directing a campaign, to press visits, to typing delivery notes, to budgeting, to store visits… the list goes on. There’s really no time to feel uninspired – I’m always on the go.”
Taking us through a week in her life in the gallery above, Natalia attends high-profile events in London and New York, meets with international buyers, and visits the label’s shoe factory in Milan.
On route to a cocktail party at the Royal Academy of Arts to celebrate the opening of the Bicester Village ‘British Designer Collective’ pop-up store
At the Royal Academy of Arts in London with my wonderful friend and DJ, Zara Martin
I love wearing a bright jacket over head-to-toe white; it makes me feel more comfortable and safe without my mini stain-remover pen!
At the photocall of the ‘British Designer Collective’ store with other fabulous British designers and brand ambassador Ellie Goulding
Today is shoot day for the Donna Ida denim stores. Donna is a dear friend, and I occasionally shoot for her to showcase her denim brands.
A close-up shot of the ‘Rosario’ red pump against the wonderful tiling on location at the Thompson Hotel for Donna Ida
One of the first shots we took of me wearing boyfriend jeans and the ‘Daphne Bis’
The second shot for Donna Ida, wearing light and airy pastels. Don’t be afraid to mix and match prints and pastels.
Today is FW14 campaign shoot day. The entire collection is on display, ready to be styled.
A close look at the fringed micro bags, which are must-haves and real stand-out pieces
Our model Ellinore is getting her makeup done by makeup artist Ariel Yeh before the first shot.
Our studio set. We chose to shoot in Shoreditch, London. A very early call time!
A close-up of the ‘Renee’ striped pump, one of our best-selling styles of the season
Getting ready to shoot our new micro vintage-inspired bags and get them all in one photo – a real close-up!
All the edits are placed together in order to make our final selection. It’s a decision that takes a while, but we get there in the end.
A flying visit to Milan to check up on all production leaving for stores for Pre-Fall 2014. The ‘Atlanta’ slip-on mule waits to be placed in boxes.
The shoes are sitting on the final carousel ready for their boxes, including a special bridal order for Net-a-Porter.
We’ve come to New York for four weeks to sell the new Resort 2015 collection to buyers from all around the world. Here is the new collection.
A close-up shot of one of the popular styles of the Resort 2015 collection, the ‘Denni’ flat pointed shoe
While in NYC, I took some downtime to visit a very close friend of mine, Zoe Buckman, at her studio in the East Village.
